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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
Robert Gray Prize for Poetry: Winner
“… a poem that never confounds the reader, inviting us all in to see and feel the scene with a devastating clarity. This is one of the...
Sep 2, 2025
UK Recognition for "The Making of a Poem"
We were very pleased to learn that Rosanna's McGlone's fascinating book, The Making of a Poem , was recently reviewed by UK poet and...
Jun 8, 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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