Australian Poets Festival

Our Australian Poets Festival, which presents in 16 capital city literary festivals across 2016 and 2017, hosts 80-plus poets and poetry commentators annually, utilising a passion and expertise in poetry in its curating.

In 2017 we’ve linked our publications and festivals programming, making an agile, responsive and experimental model for the cultivation and dissemination of new works by contemporary Australian poets

By linking the festival and publications programs AP uniquely situates itself as a publisher which also presents an extensive, national festival events program.

Over this year, poems have been commissioned for the festival program and then selectively published in the relevant journal volume, and/or online. CEO of Australian Poetry, Jacinta Le Plastrier works closely with Australian Poets Festival director Toby Fitch, to curate new works for publication from the festival program.

APJ 7.1 theme ‘Skin’, guest poetry eds. and foreword co-authors, Ali Cobby Eckermann and Ellen van included 8 new translations of Dorothy Mackellar’s poem, ‘My Country’ commissioned by Melbourne Writers Festival and Queensland Poetry Festival 2016.

APJ 7.2 themed ‘Disruption’, guest poetry eds. and foreword co-authors, Benjamin Laird and Cassandra Atherton with poems from our partnership project ‘New Shoots’ with Red Room Poetry Company and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria for the Melbourne Writers Festival 2017.