The Emerging Older Poets Mentorship is designed to address a lack of opportunities in the 55+ age bracket. So many great writers come to their craft later in life, and create wonderfully rich and meaningful work as a result.

Due to an overwhelmingly positive response to the inaugural mentorship in 2018, the Queensland Poetry Festival is excited to announce that we will continue this initiative in 2020.

The successful recipient receives editorial feedback and advice from award-winning poet Philip Neilsen, publication in Overland online, and an invitation to read at Queensland Poetry Festival in 2021.

See 2019 winner, Julie Manning’s poems here

What do we mean by ‘emerging’?

In this instance, we define an emerging poet as a poet who has not yet had a full-length collection of poetry professionally published. Those who have had a single poem, a suite of poems, a poetry zine, or a poetry chapbook published, or those who are self-published, are eligible to enter.

How do I enter?

Prepare a sample of your very best work. Writing samples should include between three and five previously unpublished poems, saved in a single file (word document or PDF only). The online application form below will allow you to upload this file.

Application deadline extended to 5pm, May 4th 2020  

Online application here: https://queenslandpoetryfestival.com/emerging-older-poets-mentorship/