The Student Poetry Competition is back, and so is a brand‑new panel of judges who will bring their insight and passion to recognising exceptional student work.
Natalie Rose Dyer is a poet, essayist and academic. She teaches in the Creative Writing Program at The University of Melbourne where she is Honorary Research Fellow. Natalie is the recipient of The Peter Steele Poetry Award 2021, and was highly commended for the 2024 Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize. She is presently completing work on her first collection towards publication this year. Natalie’s poetry is widely published in literary journals, including Meanjin Quarterly, Australian Poetry and Cordite Poetry Review. Her book, Notes on a Wild Fluidity, was published with Palgrave (2020). Nothing But a Fine Nerve Meter; New Maps at the Planetary Turn was recently published (2025) with Revolutionaries Press. Natalie issues a call to re-write ourselves as planetary players, tethered to place yet attuned to fault lines of poetic rupture, care, and resistance.
Denise Jarrott is a writer and librarian from the American Midwest. She is the author of the poetry collection NYMPH (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press, 2018) and is the current writer in residence at a secondary school. Her work has appeared in Australia and the US in Overland, Sugar House Review, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She lives with her family in Naarm/Melbourne.
Paul Stewart teaches Literature, English and History at Korowa Anglican Girls’ School. He is also Head of Debating and Public Speaking, as well as Head of Year 9. In his spare time, Paul has written several books. His novel Auguries of Innocence is on the Korowa syllabus, and he has other books that have occupied students’ time and imagination. Paul particularly loves teaching poetry. Watching students peel the skin off a poem like a slightly cooked onion is something that still delights him, even after thirty-odd years of teaching. Despite his great affection for history (and History), Paul is extremely fond of cutting edge technology, and has spoken at conferences from Christchurch to Montreal about the ways in which it can augment student learning.
Lynn Swannell is a highly respected Head Librarian and administrator at Mount Eliza Secondary College, with over 44 years dedicated to education, literacy, and student support. Alongside managing the library, she coordinates Year 12 exams, mentors students, edits the annual Ripple yearbook, and leads the school’s ‘Proteads’ alumni network. Lynn is also a longstanding leader within the School Library Association of Victoria, serving as State Secretary and Peninsula Branch Convenor, and was recognised with the prestigious Penny Geoghegan Award in 2020.
