The Reason-Brisbane Poetry Prize was established in 2004 as part of the Words in Winter Celebrations that are held, each August, in towns across Hepburn Shire in Central Victoria. In 2010, the competition, initially for Victorian residents only, was opened to all Australian residents.

The Prize has been generously sponsored by Joy Brisbane, a published poet and author who understands the difficulties poets face when trying to find outlets for their work.

Joy’s aim is to encourage and nurture the talent of both new and established poets.

With a total prize pool of $2300 the Reason-Brisbane Poetry Prize continues to be one of the most lucrative poetry competitions in Australia. In 2011 the first prize will again be $1500, second prize is $500 and third prize is $300.

The judge for 2011 is Melbourne poet Petra White, whose first book of poetry, The Incoming Tide, was shortlisted in the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards. She was a 2008 Fellow of Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers, and her second collection, The Simplified World, was published by John Leonard Press in 2010.