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Australian Poetry Slam (APS) is a live literary performance program where the audience chooses the champion. APS is run by Word Travels, a Sydney-based literary arts organisation.

With 60 slams across the nation, the best writers perform for the chance to win the Australian Poetry Slam National Final at Sydney Opera House. The ultimate prize? In past years it’s been an all-expenses-paid international tour, performing at arts festivals around Australia, Southeast Asia and North America. We’re working on an amazing prize package for the 2022 Slam Champion - to be revealed soon.

Australian Poetry Slam began in 2005 and has grown into an internationally-renowned poetry slam. APS has presented over 1,000 spoken word artists, bringing their words from all corners of the globe to an audience of over 20,000 within the Asia-Pacific region. As one of the largest initiatives of Word Travels, APS touches rural and urban communities in Australia, China, Indonesia and New Zealand, inspiring a love of poetry and catapulting spoken word artists onto an international stage.

 
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As well as APS, Word Travels delivers spoken word events throughout the year including: Story Week, Multilingual Poetry Slam, Australian Poetry Slam Youth and bespoke events and workshops for schools, companies and organisations.

Rob Waters and K.J. Hayward were crowned Co-Champions of the 2023 Australian Poetry Slam National Final, held live as the closing event of Story Week 2023.

Catch the raw and witty, vulnerable and downright gritty voices of the world's best wordsmiths, live at Australian Poetry Slam.

For the latest news on APS, including the announcement of this year’s tour, sign up for our e-news.