Alphabet Soup Books

School holidays activities: poetry with Meg McKinlay!

Meg McKinlay poetry workshop In this fun activity led by children's author and poet Meg McKinlay, you'll craft short, one-of-a-kind poems using words and phrases cut out from magazines and old books. Mix and match different styles, fonts, and colours to bring your poem to life in a whole new way. Let’s turn ordinary words int...

Happy World Poetry Day! And thank you to The Literature Centre for stocking these excellent poetry books. 🌟

Submissions for the poetry anthology for children are now closed.

Love a deadline? Poetry anthology submissions close tonight, 11.59pm AWST, Friday 21st February 2025.

Closing Friday 21st February

Calling all WA poets! Submissions are open for children’s poetry anthology - Fremantle Press Fremantle Press and Alphabet Soup Books are excited to announce that submissions are open for a poetry anthology for children, the companion to Right Way Down and Other Poems. The anthology, to be published in 2026, will be co-edited by Rebecca M. Newman and Dr Sally Murphy. Rebecca said, ‘We are ...

Calling all WA poets! Fremantle Press and Alphabet Soup Books are excited to announce that submissions are open for a second poetry anthology for children, the companion to Right Way Down and Other Poems. The anthology, to be published in 2026, will be co-edited by Rebecca M Newman and Sally Murphy.

Submissions are open to Western Australian writers, 18 years and older. Writers may make one submission with up to 3 poems.

All submissions are to be made via the Fremantle Press Submittable portal. https://fremantlepress.com.au/submissions/

Submissions close 21 February 2025.

Rebecca M. Newman on the inspiration for her poem 'Cricket' in Right Way Down and Other Poems, illustrated by Briony Stewart:
"Playing with poetic forms is fun - the build up to a ball being bowled felt perfect for a Fibonacci poem!"

Sharron Hough on the writing of her poem 'Tick-Tock' in Right Way Down and Other Poems, illustrated by Briony Stewart:
"The inspiration for my poem came from my job working with cardiologists. They fix hearts every day and do everything to keep them ticking."

Teena Raffa-Mulligan on the inspiration for her poem 'Peacock Patrol' in Right Way Down and Other Poems, illustrated by Briony Stewart:
"I was outside one of the lecture rooms at UWA watching a crow and a peacock while waiting for a writers' festival session to start and a poem began to form."

Raewyn Caisley on the writing of her poem 'Whale Shark' in Right Way Down and Other Poems, illustrated by Briony Stewart:
" I like to know what I'm dealing with! (I had a whale of a time writing this.)"

We asked Cindy Lane about the inspiration for her poem 'Come on In!' in Right Way Down and Other Poems, illustrated by Briony Stewart:

" I watched my friend go straight into the chilly water, diving and splashing like a fish. She was so joyous in the sea!"