Hunter Writers’ Centre and presenting partner The University of Newcastle are pleased to announce poet Greg McLaren as the winner of the 2026 Newcastle Poetry Prize, valued at $15,000.

The winners of the nationally significant prize were announced on Saturday evening at the University of Newcastle’s NUspace building as part of the Newcastle Writers Festival.

This marked a strong moment in Newcastle’s cultural calendar, bringing poetry to a broad audience and reinforcing the city’s place in Australia’s literary landscape.

The event featured live performances by Rosemary Ponnekanti and spoken word poet Lamisa Sadique, alongside readings from prize-winning poets.

Jennifer Compton, who judged the Prize alongside Eunice Andrada, said of the winning poems:

“I had been reading ‘Late sonnets’ and loving on its succinct, reflective mindfulness, the way it moves through looping, soaring, retreating enigmas of perception and acceptance, leavened by humour. Then I came upon my morning glory in the last line and a half. ‘morning glory / surfs the fence, climbs the verandah toward this chair.’ Yes! I said to myself. Yes!”

University of Newcastle Deputy Vice-Chancellor Engagement and Equity Nathan Towney said the Newcastle Poetry Prize was a great celebration of our city’s culture.

“The Newcastle Poetry Prize is a unique event that celebrates our rich cultural landscape here in Newcastle, and the power of language to connect us. Congratulations to this year’s winning and shortlisted poets,” Mr Towney said.

The winning and shortlisted poems are published in the 2026 Newcastle Poetry Prize anthology, launched over the weekend. Copies are now open via the Hunter Writers’ Centre bookshop.

Full results are available at: Newcastle Poetry Prize 2026.