The Vital Signs Poetry Competition is a partnership between the Queensland Poetry Festival and Red Room Poetry.

The competition shares the Queensland Poetry Festival theme for 2018 "Vital Signs". Sessions at the 2018 festival explore health and healing in the context of poetry and story telling. We believe that sharing our stories and inner worlds is vital to our physical, mental and societal health.

In 2017, poet Kel Watson's poem was published on the William Jolly Bridge. The highly-visible publication for this year's poem is to be announced.

The competition is now closed.

Congratulations to Aden Rolfe for his winning entry 'Siren song'. 

Poems | Siren song

Partners & supporters

  • Queensland Poetry Festival

  • Australia Council for the Arts

  • Create NSW