The Australian Haiku Society is proud to announce the 4th running of the John Bird Dreaming Award for Haiku. This award is a biennial international haiku competition open to poets from all over the world.
Background: The award is named in honour of the “right-handed poet from the east coast of Australia” who instigated and established the Australian Haiku Society, bringing together haiku poets from around the country with the mission to encourage and promote the enjoyment of haiku. John was a passionate advocate for haiku that is written from an authentic sense of place, which he encouraged through his “Dreaming Collection”. He was also a gentle mentor to countless Australian haiku poets and his influence on the growth of haiku in Australia is inestimable.
Entry Procedure: Please use the form below to submit to the John Bird Dreaming Award for Haiku. In your submission, please include your email address, name and country of residence. Write your submission of up to three haiku in the boxes of the form.
Submissions: All submissions must be in English, unpublished and not concurrently entered for any other competition and remain unpublished until the results are declared. Submissions that have appeared in any print or online publication, social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) will NOT be considered. Contest organisers and AHS committee members are not eligible to enter. AHS Regional Representatives are eligible.
By submitting your entry, you confirm that the haiku submitted: 1) is/are your own original unpublished work, 2) was/were not generated by AI nor composed with assistance of AI, 3) will remain unpublished until the results are declared and 4) is/are not concurrently entered for any other competition.
Deadline: 1st March 2027.
Entry Fee: None
Prizes: The first three place getters will receive an original ink painting featuring their winning haiku by renowned Australian artist and poet, Ron C. Moss. The prize-winning haiku plus those awarded Honourable Mentions will be announced on the Australian Haiku Society website on 1st May 2027.
Judge: Jennifer Sutherland is a Melbourne-based, poet who has been writing haiku since 2010. Her work has appeared in prestigious anthologies published by Modern Haiku, Red Moon Press, The Haiku Society of America, and the Australian Haiku Society, as well as in numerous print and online journals. In 2023, her work was shortlisted for a Touchstone Award for Individual Poems. She currently serves as a co-editor for the Australian journal Echidna Tracks.
The judge’s decisions are final, and no correspondence can be entered into regarding those decisions.
Entry Form
Thank you for your entry.
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