I'm very honored to have been invited to be the Guest Speaker at the 2022 Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Awards. These awards are very close to my heart, being for poetry and school students. It is a great privilege to join with the students and their teachers to celebrate their wonderful achievements, and to recognise these young writers! My congratulations to all the winners that will be announced at the event on the 2nd of September, and to all who made the shortlists and were commended. Also, my great admiration to the awards team for their ongoing commitment to inspiring young Australian poets.
First run in 1984, the awards in their 38th year are the largest and longest running poetry awards for school-aged children in Australia. Each year tens of thousands of poems are entered into the awards from students aged from Kindergarten through to Year 12.
The Ceremony held in Gunnedah every year.
