Woorilla Poetry Prize 2025 - Entry Terms and Conditions 

The Hills Arts Alliance (HAA) is proud to work in collaboration with Woorilla Poetry Prize. Entries open at 12:00am 1st June, 2025 and close at 11:59pm on 30th September 2025. 

Late entries will not be accepted. The competition is open to anyone, including overseas applicants. 

Categories and relevant fees per poem are: 

- ‘Judith Rodriguez’ Open Section - $20 each

- ‘Louise Rockne’ Youth Section - Participants in the 12 - 18-year-old age group are eligible to compete in the Woorilla Youth Section at no cost for 4 separate entries. Additional entries are charged at $5 per poem. 

Prizes are: 

- Judith Rodriguez Open Section - $3,000 (Winner) & $500 (Runner Up)

- Louise Rockne Youth Section - $300 (Winner) & $100 (Runner Up)

Awarded Prizes: Prizes will be awarded at a special event on Sunday 16th November, starting at 2pm at the Hills Hub in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria as well as streamed online. All entrants are cordially invited to the Awards Event.

Entry Conditions: Participants in the 12 - 18 year old age group are eligible to compete in the Louise Rockne Youth Section at no cost for 4 separate entries. Additional entries are charged at $5 per poem If desired, Youth entrants are also eligible to submit pieces for the Judith Rodriguez Open Section and Ekphrasis Section at set rates​ 

Poems should be composed in English and may be up to 80 lines per poem. 

Poems must be the original work of the entrant. 

Entries must not have been previously published or broadcast (print or electronic, including social media), or a prize winner in any other competition. 

If the judges have read part or all of your entry prior to making your submission you cannot submit that poem. 

Fees will not be refunded under any circumstances 

Submissions will not be returned 

You may make corrections to your poem until the competition is closed, by emailing woorillapoetry@gmail.com and requesting your submission is opened for editing. 

If you wish to swap your poem or resubmit, normal fees will apply. 

Members of the Hills Arts Alliance are eligible to enter the Woorilla Poetry Prize. 

Copyright remains the domain of respective entrants. However organisers retain the right to publish prize-winning pieces on the Woorilla website and/or as a commemorative hard-copy compilation featuring respective award winners.  

Poems that are published in the annual Woorilla Prize Booklet may be edited to fit printing guidelines and overall design of the booklet.   

Entrants are invited to submit a video or audio recording of their poem as part of the entry process, in addition to a written copy. This is not mandatory and will not affect the judging process in any way.  

By submitting a video or audio file, you are authorising The Woorilla Poetry Prize to use this recording for promotional purposes, during and after the awards presentation, whether your poem is short listed or not. 

Woorilla organisers reserve the right to withhold awarding prizes in any category in any given year in the event of insufficient entries, or due to lack of acceptable literary standards. 

Adjudication of Woorilla Poetry Prize Judge(s) is final, and no correspondence will be entered into, following each annual poetry prize event. 

There is no limit to the number of entries each poet may submit, providing the appropriate entry fee is paid for each poem submitted. 

Entries may be submitted in hard-copy format or lodged electronically, through the Submittable platform. Hard-copy entries should be printed as single-sided individual copies.  

While typewritten / printed copies are preferred, legible handwritten entries are acceptable. 

Typed entries must be double-spaced and using a standard 12 point font such as Times New Roman or Arial 

Hard copy entries may be posted to Woorilla Poetry Prize, C/O Hills Arts Alliance Incorporated P.O. Box 103, Emerald 3782. If posting hard copy poems, please either include a cheque in Australian Dollars for entry fees, made out to Woorilla Hills Arts Alliance Incorporated or pay entry fee by direct deposit to: Hills Arts Alliance Incorporated Inc BSB: 633 000. Acct No: 230 701 377. Be sure to identify your name and poems in the reference section.  

Judging Process: As all entries are subject to a blind judging process, no identifying matter is to appear anywhere on the poem​, including the file name, poem title or text on the submission. It is the responsibility of the poet to ensure their name does not appear anywhere on the submitted poem. Entries that identify the poet's name, will be disqualified and no refunds provided. 

Judges' decisions are final.

$300 First Prize, $100 Runner Up
Note: Use this form only for the Youth Section.
Use this form to submit your first four poems in the Youth Section

• Use a different form for each submission
• If submitting additional poems use the Woorilla Poetry Prize Louise Rockne Youth Section 2025 (Five or more poems) Form

Key Dates

• Opens on the 1st June, 2025
• Closes on the 30th September, 2025

Awards Ceremony

• Sunday 16th November 2025 – 2:00pm
• The Awards Ceremony will be a hybrid event presented online and in person at The Hills Hub, in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges, Victoria on the 16th November 2025 at 2:00pm.

Entry Fees
Youth Section

• 4 poems for free (12-18 years) 
• Additional entries $5 per poem

See full terms and conditions for further information

$300 First Prize, $100 Runner Up
Note: Use this form only for the Youth Section.
Only use this form if submitting more than the 4 free poems allowed in the Youth Section

Use a different form for each submission

Key Dates

• Opens on the 1st June, 2025
• Closes on the 30th September 2025

Awards Ceremony

• The Awards Ceremony will be a hybrid event presented online and in person at The Hills Hub, in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges, Victoria on the Sunday 16th November 2024 at 2:00pm.

Entry Fees - Youth Section

• First 4 poems are free (12-18 years) 
• Additional entries $5 per poem

See full terms and conditions for further information