Make a New Year’s resolution to develop your creative writing
Red Earth Ecology, based in the NSW Riverina, is offering a series of haiku-related workshops in early 2026. Full details are available on the Stay Cool website – read on for workshop dates and leader information.
These workshops will introduce various styles and establish an international collaboration.
Join for one evening or as many as you like to get a taste of how a few words can paint a picture. To participate just email staycoolexhibition@gmail.com
The handful of lessons will be presented by writers based around the world and each workshop will offer their perspectives on poetic processes, so you don’t need to commit to attend all of them and can dip in to get a sense of what each instructor brings.
27 January 2026: Jason Richardson is an interdisciplinary artist and curator exploring the Riverina landscape through text and digital media. His exhibition at the Narrandera Destination and Discovery Hub from 18-31 January will launch the Stay Cool project with examples of his senryu-style micro-journaling and photography. Jason’s workshop will focus on writing short descriptive poems using strict constraints.
03 February 2026: Lisa Germany is a professional writer and photographer, and a published haiku and haibun author currently based in Arctic Greenland. Lisa will guide participants through the craft of writing and editing your own poem in English.
10 February 2026: Marco Sebastiano Alessi is the founder of Naviar Records, a music community and record label exploring the connection between experimental music and traditional Japanese poetry. He often shares his music and haiku through Naviar’s creative challenges, and writes for various music publications such as Sound of Life and HigherHz.
17 February 2026: Greg Pritchard is a writer of haikus, short poems and adept at using writing in other ways not on the page. A PhD in literature and philosophy informs his work as a writer, performer and visual artist. Greg’s workshop will open up possibilities for your writing you never imagined.
24 February 2026: Sherry and Zoe Grant will be sharing their enthusiasm for rengay, which is a form of collaborative poetry.Both are award-winning haiku poets, as well as editors of Raining Rengay and Haiku Zoo Journal. This New Zealand-based mother-daughter duo aspires to inspire at least one billion people with their creative pursuits.
Australian Haiku Society 