The Marrow Chapbook Prize
The Marrow’s inaugural poetry chapbook prize is open for submissions from 14 October to 14 December 2026. The winner will receive AUD $1,000, publication of their chapbook with 5 Islands Press, and ten author copies of the work. The winning chapbook will be offered for sale through the 5 Islands Press website.
A longlist of 20 finalists will be published on this page and our social pages in February 2027. The shortlist and winner will be announced in April 2027. We recommend following us on social media or signing up for our newsletter to stay up to date with prize updates.
Full details below!
Meet the judges
The judges for The Marrow’s poetry chapbook prize are Maya C. Popa and Damen O’Brien.
Maya C. Popa is the author of three poetry collections: If You Love That Lady (W. W. Norton, 2026), Wound Is the Origin of Wonder (W. W. Norton, 2022), named one of The Guardian’s best poetry books of the year, and American Faith (Sarabande, 2019), winner of the North American Book Prize. Her poems and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. She is the Poetry Editor of Publishers Weekly and the founder of Conscious Writers Collective, an online literary program and community serving more than 400 writers worldwide.
Damen O’Brien is a multi-award-winning Australian poet. His prizes include The Moth Poetry Prize, the Peter Porter Poetry Prize and the New Millennium Writings Award. His poems have been nominated for a Pushcart and a Best of the Net and highly commended in the Forward Prizes. Damen’s poems can be found in New Ohio Review, Poetry Wales and Arc Poetry Magazine. Damen’s first book of poetry, Animals with Human Voices, is available through Recent Work Press. His latest book is Walking the Boundary (Pitt Street Poetry, 2024).
PRIZE Rules
Closing date: 11.59 pm AEST, 14 December 2026.
Entries should be submitted only via the entry form at the bottom of this page.
Late entries will not be considered. Emailed entries will be deleted unread.
Submit 20-24 pages of poetry, in English (including dialects of English), with each poem starting on a new page. Title page and contents page (optional) do not count towards the overall page limit. Please number the pages.
Poems should be in 12-point Times New Roman font (or equivalent) and single spaced (where possible).
Files must be either .doc, .docx or .pdf.
Each entry must be the sole work of one entrant. (Collaborations are not permitted.)
Multiple submissions per entrant are permitted.
Entries will be judged anonymously and the poet’s name must not appear on any page of the manuscript.
Any number of poems may have been published individually (e.g. in journals, newspapers and anthologies) but the poems should not have previously been published in collected form (i.e. in a poetry collection or chapbook).
Entries are welcome from poets based anywhere in the world and there are no restrictions on subject or form.
Translations, versions, cento or pastiches are not permitted.
Simultaneous submissions are permitted but please notify editors@themarrowpoetry.com if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. No refunds will be given for withdrawn submissions.
Please do not include acknowledgements, publication credits or any other information that could identify the author.
Once entered, no alterations can be made to your submission.
Entry fee: AUD $42 per manuscript. Follow the link below to make your payment and submit your entry.
GOOD LUCK!