Author: Leanne Mumford

President, Australian Haiku Society

WA Poets Haiku Reading Event, 14th August

The Australian Haiku Society is pleased to announce the second haiku reading event for the year, this time featuring poets from Western Australia. The reading will take place on Friday 14th August from 5pm WA time, which equates to 7pm in the Eastern states and 6.30pm Central Australian time. This will be an online event over Zoom.

The programme will include a brief presentation from AHS, the planned readings by multiple WA poets and an ‘open mic’ session. The event is free and open to all interested poets to attend. Please register by 12pm AEST on 13th August to receive the Zoom link, which we will send out a few days before the event. Link for the Registration form.

Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival ‘Spring Flowers’ Contest opens 1st August

In the lead up to the Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival, being held again in late August at Auburn Botanic Gardens, the Australian Haiku Society is running a haiku contest this year with the theme of ‘Spring Flowers’. We will be inviting Australian poets only to submit one haiku on this theme. The submission period will be from 1st August, closing at 5pm AEST on Monday 17th August. Results will be announced at a haiku event during the festival on Monday 24th August commencing at 10am. Prepare your best work and stay tuned for the submission form, which will be available from 1st August.

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Report on Gadigal Ginkō, Winter 2026

Five poets met at the State Library of NSW on Saturday morning 20th June, 2026. Zina Ioannou, Margaret Mahony, Nick O’Connor and Leanne Mumford welcomed Lisa Germany to her first Gadigal Ginkō. The weather was cool but sunny – very suitable for wandering outdoors in the nearby Domain parklands and Botanic Gardens. There were also some interesting spaces and exhibitions to explore inside the library itself, with all its history and silence.

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Cloudcatchers 2026 Autumn Ginko No. 81

The Cloudcatchers group held its Autumn ginko (Number 81) on Thursday 30 April 2026. This was a period of excessive and unpredictable rain, so two of our members, Norma and Richard Watts, offered their home in Ballina for the occasion. Yes, it did rain on and off, but we were able to share our previously written ‘autumn haiku’ under cover … (those written prior to this date). This was followed by a stroll in their back yard and then a sharing of first drafts.

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Upcoming Gadigal Ginkō for Sydney poets: Saturday 20th June

The next Gadigal Ginkō will take place on Saturday 20th June, 2026 from 10am. For this winter gathering we will meet at the State Library, which will provide options for both indoor and outdoor ginkō. To join with other Sydney haiku poets for this event, please register via the form on my Gadigal Ginko page. There you’ll find an outline of what’s involved in the ginkō, as well as links to reports of previous ginkō.

Leanne Mumford
Convenor, Gadigal Ginko

Queensland Poets Haiku Reading Event, 22nd April

Join us on Wednesday 22nd April from 7.30pm AEST for a Zoom reading by three experienced haiku poets from Queensland – Duncan Richardson, Jeffrey Harpeng and Vuong Pham. The programme will include a brief presentation from AHS, the planned readings and an ‘open mic’ session. The event is free and open to all interested poets to attend. Please register by 9am AEST on 22nd April to receive the Zoom link. Link for the Registration form.

There is still space in the programme for additional poets. If you are a Queensland haiku poet who would like to read your work at this event, please get in touch right away via the Contact Secretary Form.