Welcome to the Australian Haiku Society 2025 Autumn Equinox Kukai. This is a new participation-based event open to haiku poets. It will open on the Autumn Equinox, 20th March 2025, and results will be announced to coincide with International Haiku Poetry Day on 17th April 2025. The window for entries has now closed. Thanks to all participants. Check below for what happens next!
Australian poets and those from outside Australia are invited to submit one unpublished poem during the one-week submission period. Submissions will then be compiled and participants will be emailed a list of anonymous poems to vote for during the one-week voting period. Voting will be by email. The five winning poems will be published with author names, and a ranked list of poems with author names will be emailed to participants at the conclusion.
The contest has the theme of ‘Autumn Flowers’, and submissions should address this theme in some way.
We reserve the right to exclude any submissions that do not adhere to any part of the instructions.
Full instructions are set out below.
Submitting your entry
- Submissions open Thursday 20th March 2025 (12.01 am Australian Central Daylight Time – ACDT)
- Submissions close Wednesday 26th March (9.00 pm ACDT)
- Submit only one original, unpublished work of the author in English addressing the theme of ‘Autumn Flowers’.
- A poem that has appeared anywhere with its author’s name may not be submitted.
- Poem form may be free (various numbers of lines and/or syllables) or traditional (three-line, 5-7-5).
- Season words (kigo) may or may not be used at the poet’s discretion.
- No distinction will be made between haiku and senryu.
- Use the website form to submit your poem. Be sure to include your full name, your City/State and Country of residence with your entry.
- Note that these identifying details will not be included in the ballot material for the Kukai.
- The website form for entries will be removed at the end of the submission period. Late entries cannot be accepted.
Copyright of the submitted poem remains with the author. We assume non-exclusive permission to publish your work on the AHS website and republish it online anytime.
Australian Haiku Society Executive Committee members are not eligible to enter or vote in the Kukai. In the event of any discrepancies or disputes, the President of the Australian Haiku Society will have the final say.
Kukai Entry Form
Voting for poems
- Voting opens Thursday 3rd April 2025 12.01 am Australian Central Standard Time – ACST)
- Voting closes Wednesday 10th April 2025 (11.59pm ACST)
- After entries close, Kukai participants will be emailed an attached a list of poems without any author details. Each poem will be assigned an identifying number, which will be used for voting for that poem. This is the ballot.
- If you submitted a poem and didn’t receive an email with the ballot, check your Spam / Junk folder.
- To be fair to all participants, if you submitted a poem, you are expected to vote. If you fail to vote, your poem will be excluded from the final results.
How to vote
- Select the five poems you think are best, and rank them from one to five, your first choice being the poem you think is the very best.
- Do not vote for your own poem.
- Vote for exactly five poems.
- Include your name at the end of your vote.
- Return your five votes by email, in the body of the email, by the deadline, using the email subject: AHS Kukai Voting.
Vote Format:
- Use the Number assigned to each poem, plus the first two words of the poem, to identify your choices. For example:
- First choice (5 points): 049 the scent
- Second (4 points): 122 a yellow
- Third (3 points): 076 under the
- Fourth (2 points): 267 cold rain
- Fifth (1 point): 015 first autumn
- Voter Name: Average Poet
Results
The five poems that receive the most points tallied from all participants’ votes will be the winners of the Kukai. The winning five poems, together with their authors’ names, will be published on the AHS website on 17th April 2025, International Haiku Poetry Day.
All participants who submit votes will be sent a full set of ranked results, but point tallies will only be provided for the winning five poems.
Leanne Mumford
Kukai Convenor
Australian Haiku Society 