Louise Rockne Youth Section (up to 4 free entries) - Woorilla Poetry Prize 2026
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Woorilla Poetry Prize 2026 - 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, 2026 and close at 11:59pm Australian Eastern Time on 30th September 2026.
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 - $25 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 - $3,500 (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, 22nd November, starting at 2 pm 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 to 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 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.
The use of AI in any form is prohibited for this competition. Judges have the right to refuse to judge any poem they believe has been written or edited using Artificial Intelligence.
Entries must not have been previously published or broadcast (print or electronic, including social media), or be a prize winner in any other competition, although poems that have been submitted to other competitions without winning may be entered.
If the judges have read part or all of your entry before making your submission, you cannot submit that poem.
2026 judges are:
- Toby Fitch - Judith Rodriguez Open Section
- Maxine Beneba Clarke - Louise Rockne Youth Section
Fees will not be refunded under any circumstances
Please ensure the poem you upload is the correct poem. Any changes required to the poem will require you to withdraw and resubmit your entry, which will incur an additional fee, where relevant.
Changes may be made to the entry form (Eg. Poem title, your name or contact details), up until the competition closes, by requesting the entry is "Opened for Editing". Note, this does not allow changes to uploaded files.
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 the 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 Poetry Prize 2026 - 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, 2026 and close at 11:59pm Australian Eastern Time on 30th September 2026.
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 - $25 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 - $3,500 (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, 22nd November, starting at 2 pm 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 to 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 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.
The use of AI in any form is prohibited for this competition. Judges have the right to refuse to judge any poem they believe has been written or edited using Artificial Intelligence.
Entries must not have been previously published or broadcast (print or electronic, including social media), or be a prize winner in any other competition, although poems that have been submitted to other competitions without winning may be entered.
If the judges have read part or all of your entry before making your submission, you cannot submit that poem.
2026 judges are:
- Toby Fitch - Judith Rodriguez Open Section
- Maxine Beneba Clarke - Louise Rockne Youth Section
Fees will not be refunded under any circumstances
Please ensure the poem you upload is the correct poem. Any changes required to the poem will require you to withdraw and resubmit your entry, which will incur an additional fee, where relevant.
Changes may be made to the entry form (Eg. Poem title, your name or contact details), up until the competition closes, by requesting the entry is "Opened for Editing". Note, this does not allow changes to uploaded files.
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 the 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 a 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 each entry is on a separate form and the appropriate entry fee is paid for each poem submitted. If multiple poems are loaded onto one entry form, either as separate files or in a single file, only the first poem will be judged.
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
Submissions will not be returned.
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.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 a 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 each entry is on a separate form and the appropriate entry fee is paid for each poem submitted. If multiple poems are loaded onto one entry form, either as separate files or in a single file, only the first poem will be judged.
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
Submissions will not be returned.
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.