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Helga Jermy's Brush With Japan
It’s hard to travel to Japan and not return with something refined and beautiful. But most of us settle for set of fine knives or an elegant woodblock print. Not Helga Jermy. Helga has brought the whole country back—and, in the best tradition of Japanese gift-giving, the way it is wrapped is as impressive as the contents. Anne Kellas writes: “… Helga Jermy transposes the English language into something new. In Following the Ink , layered text becomes a live and mobile lens th
Dec 16, 2025


Life observed by an eye that rarely blinks
There is much, much more to our latest release— A Blink of Time’s Eye , from David Adès —than its gorgeous cover. David Adès will be known to many, especially those living in Sydney, as the producer and host of the podcast Poets’ Corner . David’s poems and short stories have been published all over the world. Of this collection, selected from work that David’s fastidious craftsmanship has produced over many years, Damen O’Brien has that “these are poems that should be read
Nov 6, 2025


Outcome of our Call for Submissions
After a long and arduous, but also very rewarding, selection process, we are announcing the names of the accomplished poets whose collections will be included in our 2026–27 publication program. Our congratulations to each of these authors. Our 2026–27 program provides opportunities for new voices as well as honouring the achievements of poets who have spent the best part of a lifetime perfecting their craft; it includes both first books from emerging poets, and collections t
Oct 12, 2025


A Gray Day Out
By a very happy coincidence, Australian Book Review chose to publish Mark Tredinnick's excellent essay on Robert Gray in the same week as 5 Islands Press opened submissions the 2026 Robert Gray Prize for poetry. Mark, as some of you will know, knew Robert Gray well, and was a great admirer and promoter of his work. Last year, he conceived, coordinated and edited Bright Crockery Days —a festschrift in Gray's honour. Twenty-four literary luminaries each contributed an essay on


The Ease of Eggs: Nourishment for the Soul
This week, we celebrate the arrival of Benjamin Dodd's third poetry collection, The Ease of Eggs . The world Dodds witnesses and recalls in these tidy, playful lyric poems has a dignity and courtesy and unexpected kindness. And what a various, surprising and surprisingly tender world it is. As Carol Jenkins has written: "This book ... is a cabinet of the eclectic: school observations, the universe at large, men and gender, cinematic culture, science at work. But always we a


Definitely A Woman We Should Listen To
A Woman Talks to Her Tongue speaks of a family, its secrets and silences, unacknowledged griefs and inherited traumas. Written from the point of view of the fifth child in a complex family, the early poems catch and release a few moments in a daughter’s life, from her early childhood to parenthood. The second section of the book is a kind and passionate cry for truth-telling, femininity and creativity, and includes a series of remarkable monologues that examine silence and b
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