2025 Robert Gray Prize for Poetry

1.The Prize

The prize for the winning poem is $5000 in cash.

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2.Principal dates

Opening date for submissions:   17 March 2025

Closing date for submissions:      5 May 2025

Announcement of short list:         30 June 2025

Announcement of winner:            In August 2025 (the date and place will be announced along with the shortlist)

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3.Eligibility

• Entries must be the original work of the Entrant.

• Entries must be written predominantly in English.

• Entries must not exceed 40 lines, or, for prose poems, 500 words. These limits do not include the title, sub-headings citations or epigraph (if any). There is no minimum line limit.

• Images must not be included in submission.

• No part of any Entry must have been written with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence.

• Entries must not have been previously published, either in print or in electronic form. Publication, for this purpose, does not include appearance on the private website or social media pages of the Entrant, or printing of the poem in a pamphlet for private circulation that was not made available for sale.

• Entrants must be 18 years or over at the closing date for submissions.

• Entry is open to all, without restriction on nationality or domicile.

• Members and employees of Oystercatcher Enterprises Ltd, members of the 5 Islands Press Editorial Advisory Board, and their family members are not eligible to enter.

4.Entry procedures

• Entry is online only. Poems must be attached as an MS Word document (doc, .docx) via the entry form.

• Entrants may also provide a pdf version of the file to ensure that the intending formatting is preserved.   It is the responsibility of the Entrant to ensure that the text, including punctuation, of the MS Word and pdf files are identical.  If there are any differences, the text of the MS Word will be regarded as definitive.

• The entry fee is $A20 for each poem entered.

• There is no limit on the number of entries that an Entrant may submit.

• For administrative purposes, Entrants must provide their own name on the entry form.

• If an Entrant prefers to be published under a pseudonym, they must note both their pseudonym and real name on the entry form.

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5.Conditions of entry

By entering the Robert Gray Prize for Poetry, the Entrant agrees to be bound by the following terms and conditions.

• Until the announcement of the shortlist, poems entered for the Robert Gray Prize for Poetry may be entered into other competitions or submitted for publication elsewhere.

• If a poem is shortlisted for the Robert Gray Prize for Poetry, the poet will be given a 24-hour period to decide whether they want to withdraw their poem from the Prize or from the other competition. Once a poem is shortlisted, it may not be entered into other competitions or submitted for publication elsewhere.

• If, during the judging period, a poem is longlisted or shortlisted in another competition, the poet must immediately notify 5 Islands Press, and either withdraw their entry from the Robert Gray Prize for Poetry or withdraw from the other competition.

• If, during the judging period, a poem is accepted for publication elsewhere, and the Entrant decides to proceed with publication, the Entrant must immediately notify 5 Islands Press and withdraw their entry from the Robert Gray Prize for Poetry.

• Entry fees will not be refunded if a poem is withdrawn from the Robert Gray Prize for Poetry for any reason.

• Entrants must acknowledge in a footnote or citation at the end of the poem, any quotations or text from other sources used within entered poems.

• Entrants give permission to 5 Islands Press to publish their poems, if shortlisted for the Prize, in the 2025 Oystercatcher Two anthology. The copyright to the work is retained by the Author. 

• As publisher of the anthology, 5 Islands Press may use any title or excerpt from any Entry for the purpose of promoting the competition and the anthology.

• Any subsequent publication that includes a poem published in the Oystercatcher Two anthology should acknowledge the anthology as the first publication of the poem.

• All Entrants whose poems are published in the anthology will receive with one (1) free print copy of the anthology.

• Entrants agree to receive opt-out correspondence from 5 Islands Press.

• The winner of the Prize may be required to participate in media-related events associated with the competition.

• The judges’ decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into by either the judges or members and employees of 5 Islands Press.