2026 Ros Spencer Poetry Prize Finalists

We are delighted to announce the longlist for the 2026 Ros Spencer Poetry Prize.
This year’s competition drew entries from across Australia, offering a rich and varied celebration of poetry in all its forms.

Our heartfelt thanks go to every poet who entered, and to our judge for their careful reading and thoughtful selections.

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Introducing This Year’s Judge – Jaya Penelope

The Ros Spencer Poetry Prize 2026 was judged by Jaya Penelope, a poet, spoken-word artist, oral storyteller, facilitator and mentor based in Walyalup/Fremantle. Jaya has been part of Western Australia’s poetry and performance community for more than two decades, performing at festivals, hosting readings and facilitating creative writing and storytelling workshops across the state. She holds a degree in Creative Writing from Curtin University and has taught creative writing in the community sector for 25 years.

Her poetry has appeared in literary journals and anthologies including Creatrix, Indigo, Blue Dog, Voiceworks, Cuttlefish and Poetry d’Amour. She won the Poetry d’Amour Prize in 2014, and her spoken-word collaboration with musician Gosia Winter, you knocked out my walls, was featured on ABC Radio National’s Poetica. Her debut poetry collection, Impossible Tasks, is forthcoming from WA Poets Press in 2026.

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Poem Title	Poet	State
I could be the Broken Hill Motel	Kim Kenyon	QLD
Lost in the Fire	Siobhan Hodge	WA
Syrian Spring	Jenny Magann	WA
An Aubade with Warbles	Gaye McPhie	WA
Microchimeric	Fiona Burrows	WA
Whistle Up the Wrens	Krista Schmeling	ACT
The Book of Longing	Rhian Healy	WA
In the Quiet Deep of Winter	Kay Cairns	WA
Imago	Magdalena Ball	NSW

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THE LONGLIST

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Closing Note

Congratulations to all poets selected for the 2026 Ros Spencer Poetry Prize Longlist!

We’re delighted to celebrate this year’s longlisted poets and their work, and we hope you’ll join us at the Perth Poetry Festival Awards.

🎟 Longlisted poets can book a free seat here:
https://events.humanitix.com/ppf2026-awards

Alongside our shortlisted poets, we’ll also be inviting a small number of longlisted poets who are among the first to register to read their selected poem at the event.

Come along, celebrate the poets, hear some of this year’s selected work, and be part of the 2026 Ros Spencer Poetry Prize celebrations.

Congratulations again to everyone on the longlist. We look forward to seeing you there!