The ACU Prize for Poetry 2026 is one of Australia’s leading opportunities inviting poets to submit a single unpublished poem responding to this year’s theme, ‘witness’. With prize money totalling over $20,000 and national recognition through publication and shortlist exposure, it offers an exciting platform for both emerging and established poets to share their work with a wide audience.
Here’s the details from the ACU website:
Inspired by the Catholic Church's longstanding tradition as a patron of the arts, the ACU Prize for Poetry has become one of Australia's most prized poetry awards since its inception in 2013.
The prize has as its aim the simple goal of supporting the emergence of new and dynamic Australian poets and poetry.
An initiative of our university's Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Catholic Mission), the ACU Prize for Poetry receives hundreds of entries each year from across Australia.
Theme
The theme for the 2026 ACU Prize for Poetry is Witness.
“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”
-Elie Wiesel
Key entry and eligibility criteria
- The entry fee is $25 per poem.
- Poems must not exceed 60 lines and each page of the document should be numbered. All poems will be judged anonymously and must not include the author's name.
- Poems must be in English and be the original work of entrants.
- Poems must be unpublished (including on any website or blog), must not have won any other competition, and must not be under consideration by any publisher or literary journal, or for any other prize for the duration of the competition (1 April – 4 November 2026).
- Australian residents, including any international student currently studying at an Australian university, are eligible to enter.
- No changes can be made to a poem once received by ACU.
The winning, highly commended, and shortlisted poems will be announced on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Results will be published on the ACU website and may be published in external publications including newspapers, magazines etc. The winning and commended works will be displayed at the Awards ceremony, which will be held on Wednesday 4 November 2026.
The judges' decision will be final and no correspondence about the result will be entered into.
Prizes
- First prize: $10,000
- Second prize: $5,000
- Third prize: $3,000
- Highly commended: $750
The prize is made possible through the sponsorship of the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Catholic Mission) at ACU.
Entries close on Wednesday 1 July 2026
