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DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260805T130000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260805T140000
DTSTAMP:20260630T211624Z
CREATED:20260630T211624Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260630T211624Z
UID:10031612-1785934800-1785938400@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:Poetry and the Australian publishing industry: A 2026 snapshot
DESCRIPTION:Poetry has always been an essential part of Australia’s literary landscape\, but the opportunities available to our poets are scarce and industry practices often opaque. Red Room Poetry and the Australian Society for Authors (ASA) are teaming up this National Poetry Month to host a free discussion with Australian industry experts to provide valuable insight into where poetry sits within the broader Australian publishing industry\, the opportunities and the challenges for poets\, and the role that festivals\, organisations\, literary journals\, and publishers play\, now and into the future. \nRed Room Poetry’s Artistic Director David Stavanger will be joined in conversation by Wiradjuri poet and Editor-in-Chief of The Suburban Review Alison J. Barton\, poet and Australian Poetry CEO and publisher Melinda Bufton\, and director of Giramondo Publishing Ivor Indyk. \nThere will be time for further questions from participants. \nThis event is co-presented with ASA.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/poetry-and-the-australian-publishing-industry-a-2026-snapshot/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Poetry
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260806T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260806T113000
DTSTAMP:20260630T212058Z
CREATED:20260630T212058Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260630T212058Z
UID:10031615-1786010400-1786015800@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:Workshop: Duplex with Jericho Brown
DESCRIPTION:In this 90-minute virtual masterclass\, poet and educator Jericho Brown will lead students through an exercise for writing a duplex poem – a form he invented that is featured in his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection The Tradition – that blends the ghazal\, the sonnet\, and the blues.\n\n\n\n\n\nEach student should bring 14 lines of nine to eleven syllables for each line. The lines should come from the past and might be from sentences they take from their own prose as well as lines from poems that haven’t worked. No two lines have to be from the same source or time\, but they can. Don’t bring poems; just bring disparate lines. It may be a good idea if some of them have images\, but none of them have to have images. Each student should have fourteen lines and come to the workshop with each line on its own small piece of paper; that means come to class with 14 slivers of paper and a line on each sliver. \nNote: Jericho asks that participants read this article on the duplex in advance of the workshop.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/workshop-duplex-with-jericho-brown/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Education,Poetry
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260808T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260808T130000
DTSTAMP:20260415T044802Z
CREATED:20260415T044802Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260415T044802Z
UID:10030854-1786183200-1786194000@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:The Rebellion of Form: Writing Beyond Rules
DESCRIPTION:Every story inherits a structure: plot arcs\, narrative voice and literary tradition that shape how novels are written and read. But some of the most effective writing begins when those structures are bent or broken. Learn how to break them effectively in this workshop. \nIn this session you learn the conventions of storytelling so you can challenge them. Together with the other participants\, you look at how writers use and disrupt form: fragmenting narrative\, bending chronology\, playing with the visual aspect of the book form\, or long voice lead structure rather than plot. Ideally\, you come with an existing piece of writing you are willing to ‘break’ or ‘disrupt’. \nNote: This workshop best suits writers of long-form fiction. \nYou will learn:\n\nHow to develop your original work by engaging with experimentation of the key narrative structures and literary conventions commonly used in contemporary fiction \nHow to apply techniques of formal experimentation\, such as fragmentation\, nonlinear structure or hybrid forms\, in your own writing. \nHow to analyse a writer’s experimental techniques that strengthen narrative effect\nHow to evaluate the way structural choices shape meaning\, voice and reader experience within a text\n \n\nAbout the tutor:\nJamie Marina Lau is the author of the internationally acclaimed novels\, Gunk Baby and Pink Mountain on Locust Island published by Hachette\, Astra House and CoffeeHouse Press. Her prose has been praised by the New York Times Book Review for its exquisite precision and immersive world-building. Jamie has taught and practised fiction around the world. In 2022\, she was selected for a full scholarship at the Iowa International Writers Program. She was an Emerging Writers Festival Ambassador\, Red Room Poetry Ambassador and a National Writers Conference Keynote Speaker.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/the-rebellion-of-form-writing-beyond-rules/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Writers
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260816T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260816T130000
DTSTAMP:20260409T043408Z
CREATED:20260409T043408Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260409T043408Z
UID:10030754-1786874400-1786885200@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:Plotting and Structure
DESCRIPTION:How do structure and pacing bring your work of fiction to life? \nThis workshop provides practical strategies for structuring your work of fiction or non-fiction through a combination of writing exercises\, discussion and examples from a range of literary works. Be inspired by lively group discussion and contemporary writing and consider creative ways to approach structure and pacing to reflect the themes and motivations at the heart of your own writing.  \nIf you are starting a new fiction or non-fiction project\, this workshop gives you the tools to start your first draft.  \nYou will learn:\n\nHow to consider the architecture of your fiction and non-fiction writing and brainstorm ways to approach structure at the macro level\nHow structure and pacing interact in strong writing\nHow to use structure and pacing in creative ways to reflect the themes of your work\, including linear and non-linear structures\, the work of memory in fiction and the impact of point of view on structure\n\nAbout the tutor:\nKatherine Brabon is the award-winning author of four novels\, including Body Friend\, shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the ALS Gold Medal\, and Cure\, published in 2025. She lives in Naarm/Melbourne.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/plotting-and-structure/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Education,Writers
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260818T190000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260818T203000
DTSTAMP:20260630T211755Z
CREATED:20260630T211755Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260630T211755Z
UID:10031613-1787079600-1787085000@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:Accessible Online Open Mic
DESCRIPTION:A crowd favourite\, our open mic night for disabled creatives is back as part of Poetry Month! Join us on Zoom to click\, stomp and cheer in celebration of disabled poets and poetry. \nEnjoy special feature sets by neurodivergent author of Wiradjuri heritage Beau Windon and writer\, editor\, poet\, collage artist\, and average kook Alex Creece\, and share your own poetry. Come along and read a poem\, or turn up and show support. \nYou can read your poetry aloud\, or share it in the chat. This free online event will be a fun relaxed night\, and also an opportunity to socialise with other writers in the disability community. \nPlus\, join us at the Dis-Poetics Workshop with queercrip doctor of history\, writer\, teacher\, and multidisciplinary artist Robin Eames on Wednesday 29 July to pen some new poems for sharing. \nNote: Sign-up for the open mic is during the Zoom only; the event hosts will try and accommodate as many poets as is possible until all slots are filled (maximum 3 mins per poet). Auto-live captioning can be enabled in Zoom and text-based poems via chat are welcomed on the night too. Please feel free to contact us if you have any accessibility queries for this event via access@redroompoetry.org
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/accessible-online-open-mic/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Poetry
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260819T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260819T210000
DTSTAMP:20260630T212242Z
CREATED:20260630T212242Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260630T212242Z
UID:10031616-1787167800-1787173200@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:Workshop: Persona with Pádraig Ó Tuama
DESCRIPTION:Working in the space between the speaker and the poet\, explore the role of persona in poetry with theologian\, writer\, conflict transformation practitioner and host of the Poetry Unbound podcast Pádraig Ó Tuama.\n\n\n\n\n\nWhether drawing from mythology\, popular culture or your own imagination\, this generative workshop will create space for you to stretch the possibilities of poetry on the page. Join us for an engaging and inspiring invitation to practice poetry alongside one of its masters\, using wide-ranging examples from classic and contemporary poets to demystify the craft. \nTogether\, we will examine the intersection of personal truth and collective memory\, sharing practical tools to help you nurture your voice\, expand your poetic range\, and give yourself permission to experiment and fabricate within your work.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/workshop-persona-with-padraig-o-tuama/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Education,Poetry
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260822T090000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20261028T233000
DTSTAMP:20260415T045240Z
CREATED:20260409T043953Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260415T045240Z
UID:10030755-1787389200-1793230200@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:Online Feedback Clinic: Poetry
DESCRIPTION:Join this writing course and work on your poetry under the guidance of Tim Loveday. \nThis online feedback clinic is an opportunity to work on your poetry collection or on poems you are keen to send to competitions or journals. It gives you time to reflect on and edit your work over a sustained period. \nOver three months\, you’ll submit a poem of up to 60 lines and receive personalised feedback from Loveday and your peers. The feedback will develop your work-in-progress and give you tools to advance your practice. \nThe feedback will vary depending on each submission\, but it may focus on rhythm\, structure\, voice and more. \nBetween submission rounds\, Loveday will also share insightful readings or comments to inform and guide your practice. \nThis program is asynchronous and takes place on a website designed to make it simple to share your writing\, receive feedback and interact with your peers. \nPlease note that this is a feedback-based course. \nStudent submission before 11:59pm on Saturday 22 August\, Monday 14 September and Monday 19 October \nTutor feedback before 11:59 on Monday 31 August\, Wednesday 23 September and Wednesday 28 October \nAbout the tutor:\nTim Loveday is a poet\, writer and academic living on Wurundjeri country. He won the 2022 and 2024 Dorothy Porter Poetry Awards\, the 2025 Calanthe Poetry Prize and the 2023 Venie Holmgren Environmental Poetry Award. He was a finalist in the 2025 DHA\, 2024 Montreal Poetry Prize\, 2024 Big Australian Yarn and 2023 David Harold Tribe Prize. Tim’s work has been widely published. He is the poetry editor at Island Magazine.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/online-feedback-clinic-poetry/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Education,Poetry,Writers
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260826T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260826T193000
DTSTAMP:20260630T212409Z
CREATED:20260630T212409Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260630T212409Z
UID:10031617-1787767200-1787772600@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:Workshop: Elegy with Tusiata Avia
DESCRIPTION:What does it mean to write toward loss without flattening it? How do we make space for grief\, memory\, and witness on the page while holding space for complexity\, contradiction\, humour and the body?\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this generative workshop led by acclaimed poet and performer Tusiata Avia (NZ)\, explore elegy as a living\, elastic form. Moving beyond traditional notions of mourning\, we’ll work with elegy as a space for addressing what has been lost\, what is still unfolding\, and what resists being resolved. \nThrough close reading\, guided writing prompts\, and discussion\, participants will be invited to experiment with voice\, fragmentation\, address\, and refusal. We’ll consider how elegy can hold anger and humour as well as tenderness\, specificity as well as myth\, and how it can speak to personal\, collective\, and inherited forms of grief. \nThis workshop is open to writers at all stages who are interested in deepening their practice\, especially those working with poetry\, hybrid forms\, or performance writing. Participants can expect to leave with new drafts\, expanded approaches to elegiac writing\, and a renewed sense of how language can hold what feels unholdable.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/workshop-elegy-with-tusiata-avia/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Festivals
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260827T183000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260827T200000
DTSTAMP:20260630T213019Z
CREATED:20260630T213019Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260630T213019Z
UID:10031618-1787855400-1787860800@cityofliterature.com.au
SUMMARY:National Poetry Month Gala
DESCRIPTION:Poetry’s night of nights! The National Poetry Month Gala returns to the State Library of New South Wales\, featuring some of our finest contemporary poets\, wordsmiths and spoken word artists including Evelyn Araluen\, Dakota Feirer\, Lisa Gorton\, Hera Lindsay Bird (NZ)\, and Jihad Yassine. Hosted by much-loved presenter and journalist Jan Fran\, the night also sees special guest Zoe Terakes reading their favourite verse and a feature musical performance by Grammy-nominated Tibetan musician Tenzin Choegyal. \n\n\n\n\n\nNote: This event will be live and live-streamed (via Red Room Poetry’s YouTube channel). The performance will be AUSLAN interpreted. Further venue accessibility information here. \nPresented by Red Room Poetry as part of Poetry Month 2026 with the support of City of Sydney\, Copyright Agency\, State Library of NSW\, The Guardian\, and Sydney Writers’ Festival.
URL:https://cityofliterature.com.au/event/national-poetry-month-gala/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Poetry
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