Australia, 23rd Sep 2025, -
The Chrysalis BREW Project has announced the winners of the 2025 BREW Poetry Award, celebrating exceptional poetic works that capture human experience with clarity, empathy, and lyrical resonance.
Overall Winner
The Judges’ Poem of the Year title has been awarded to Letter to the Editor of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Robert Bailey Thomas by Lauren Mills. This inventive and intimate meditation on time, memory, and human longing bridges the past and present with humour, historical homage, and lyrical reflection. The poem uniquely addresses a 19th-century historical figure, merging biography, climate observation, and personal reflection into a letter format that feels both whimsical and profound. Through understated humour, longing, and reflective melancholy, the poem evokes nostalgia and wistfulness for both past lives and a changing world.
Judges’ Pick Category Winners
In the Tertiary Category, the Judges’ Pick is awarded to Letter to the Editor of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Robert Bailey Thomas by Lauren Mills. In the Open Category, the Judges’ Pick is Portrait After Breath by Yvette Rejuso. For the Secondary School Category, the Judges’ Pick is Ink-stained Silence by Michael Pope.
Community’s Pick Category Winners
The Community’s Poem of the Year has been granted to The Believer by Chris Biscuiti. In the Open Category, the Community’s Pick is Nite Bikes by Cassandra Caverhill. In the Tertiary Category, the Community’s Pick is Ghost Ship by River Chen. In the Secondary School Category, the Community’s Pick is Epicaricacy by Cyrus Everglade.
Poet of the Year
Lauren Mills has been recognised as the Judges’ and Overall Poet of the Year for her inventive work that blends historical reflection, lyrical humour, and meditations on memory and human connection. Chris Biscuiti is the Community’s Poet of the Year for his emotionally honest poetry, rich with vivid imagery and intimate reflections on family, caregiving, and everyday life. Together, their poetry demonstrates the enduring power of the art form to illuminate human experience and resonate deeply with readers.
About the Award
The BREW Poetry Award honours lyrical and rhythmic compositions that touch the soul, recognising poetry that fosters a close relationship between the poet and the reader by condensing feelings, experiences, and observations into a select few words. The honour acknowledges poetry’s ability to arouse feelings, spark ideas, and distil the essence of the human spirit.
For more information on the winners and to read their poems, please visit https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/2025/09/23/announcing-the-winners-of-the-brew-poetry-award-2025/
Nominations for the award are open year-round via https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/the-brew-poetry-award/
