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Commended in Anne Elder Award
We were thrilled to see Alison Gorman's “A Woman Talks To Her Tongue” listed in the results of the Anne Elder Award for 2025. In commending Alison's book, the judges described it as “a collection in which craft is refined with a light touch and the weight of wisdom is borne with tenderness”, and elaborated: “‘A Woman Talks To Her Tongue’ shifts between the domains of folklore and of personal memory, negotiating the shadows cast over the present by both. Alison Gorman imagines
6 hours ago
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
Apr 11
Robert Gray Prize 2026 Now Open
Submissions are now open for the 2026 Robert Gray Prize for Poetry, offering a $5000 cash prize and publication in Oystercatcher Three for shortlisted poems. Deadline: May 18 at 11:59 pm. Following the extremely enthusiastic response to the inaugural Robert Gray Prize for Poetry last year, 5Islands Press is again offering the prize, which we hope will be a fixture of the Australian poetry calendar. View the full terms and conditions here . Or go straight to the entry form by
Apr 6
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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