Red Room Poetry Fellowship 2021 – Now Open
To unlearn is not to recite or react but to exhume; it is to mine
with a tongue that pushes and probes our history’s darkest cavities.
~ 'Green Cape’ by Michelle Cahill, Red Room Poetry Fellow 2020
The Red Room Poetry Fellowship recognises the achievements and artistic goals of contemporary Australian poets. Now in its fourth year, the Fellowship was established to foster poetic and professional development of an individual within the wider poetic community.
Valued at $10,000, this opportunity encourages poets to undertake an intensive period of creative development involving a range of commissions, residency, recordings and publication outcomes. Previous recipients of the Red Room Poetry Fellowship include Michelle Cahill (2020), Jeanine Leane (2019), the late Candy Royalle (2018) and Ali Cobby Eckermann (2017).
The 2021 Fellow receives
- $5000 poetic stipend “no strings”
- $1000 commission to create a suite of poems inspired by an existing Red Room Poetry project
- A two-week residency at Bundanon Trust with local workshops (Monday 12 July – Monday 25 July 2021)
- Travel assistance
- Opportunity to film or present a public address during the year-long Fellowship
How to apply
Applications open: 9:00 am, Monday 1 December 2020
Applications close: 5:00 pm, Monday 22 February 2021
Step 1: Read our Terms and Conditions and Application Information
Step 2: Submit your application via the online form below
You'll need:
- a recent CV
- three recent poems
- a high-res headshot
- a biography
- a cover letter (1000 words max) addressing the selection criteria
Poets who have been previously-commissioned by Red Room Poetry, are warmly invited to apply. In 2021, we’re also thrilled to welcome applications from poets whose work was selected for Writing Water and In Your Hands in 2020.
It is expected that the Fellow will complete all activities within 12 months of the announcement of the Fellowship unless otherwise agreed.
Meet the 2021 Judges
This year, we warmly welcome Jessica Alice, Stuart Barnes and Tony Birch as judges of the Red Room Poetry Fellowship 2021.
Discover past years
- See Fellowship 2020
- See Fellowship 2019
- See Fellowship 2018
- See Fellowship 2017
- email us at fellowship@redroomcompany.org
While this Fellowship is currently only open to previously commissioned Red Room Poets, we're always looking for new voices for upcoming poetic projects. If you're interested in a Red Room Poetry commission, email contact@redroomcompany.org with a copy of your CV, a suite of your best poems, as well as the kind of projects in which you are interested.
Partners and Supporters
The Red Room Poetry Fellowship is supported by generous individuals and our partners:
