Rochford Press was established in 1983 and is one of the smallest and oldest literary presses in Australia.
It publishes the on-line journal Rochford Street Review as well as the occasional literary journal P76 Rochford Street Review is an on-line journal reviewing new Australian writing – with an emphasis on poetry and small press publications. While Rochford Street Review is published quarterly, reviews will be uploaded to the site as they are received. We will also attempt to cover as many publications (both traditional and on-line) as we can.
06/08/2025
Rochford Street Review Issue 42. Kai Jensen: 6 Poems from ‘The Zebra Path of Tree Light’
Kai Jensen was born in Philadelphia, USA; he lived from the age of five in Aotearoa/New Zealand, then moved to Australia with his Australian wife Rajni (Kathy) Troup in 2004, and is now learning to be Australian. Kai’s poems have appeared in most leading Australasian literary journals, and in many North American journals; his first book of poetry, 'The Zebra Path of Tree Light', was published by 5 Islands Press in May 2025.
Kai Jensen was born in Philadelphia, USA; he lived from the age of five in Aotearoa/New Zealand, then moved to Australia with his Australian wife Rajni (Kathy) Troup in 2004, and is now learning to…
04/08/2025
Rochford Street Review Issue 42. A remarkable and many-sided achievement: Eamonn Wall launches ‘Seang (Hungering)’ by Anne Casey
"Throughout our history many people have been silenced. Anne Casey’s project in Seang (Hungering) is to give voice to the Irish girls and women who were forced to emigrate to Australia in the decades after the Great Hunger. In this book, we travel both with them from Plymouth to Sydney and join them in their new home Down Under, their strange place in a world literally turned upside down."
Rochford Street Review Issue 42. A remarkable and many-sided achievement: Eamonn Wall launches ‘Seang (Hungering)’ by Anne Casey
"Throughout our history many people have been silenced. Anne Casey’s project in Seang (Hungering) is to give voice to the Irish girls and women who were forced to emigrate to Australia in the decades after the Great Hunger. In this book, we travel both with them from Plymouth to Sydney and join them in their new home Down Under, their strange place in a world literally turned upside down."
Her new book is her best, bravest, and most ambitious work to date, a remarkable and many-sided achievement that elevates her work, thematically and aesthetically, to a new level.
03/08/2025
Rochford Street Review Issue 42. Secret Restraint: Michael Witts reviews ‘A Woman Talks to her Tongue’ by Alison Gorman.
This very beautiful book is a credit to the design flair of Gerhard Bachfischer and the editorial work and fine production values of Mark Tredinnick and Steven Meyrick at 5 Islands Press. It is itself a beautiful object and a triumph for Alison Gorman as her debut collection.
This very beautiful book is a credit to the design flair of Gerhard Bachfischer and the editorial work and fine production values of Mark Tredinnick and Steven Meyrick at 5 Islands Press. It is its…
30/07/2025
Magabala Books: call for submissions of short works of romance fiction by First Nation writers
WE WANT YOUR LOVE Magabala Books is excited to announce a call for submissions of short works of romance fiction by First Nation writers for a world-first anthology, edited by Melanie Saward, Ambel…
30/07/2025
Rochford Street Review Issue 42. Aideen Henry: 5 poems from ‘A Bloodless Field’
Aideen Henry is a poet, short story writer and dramatist. She completed an MA in Writing, NUI, Galway (1st class Honours) and has published 3 books of poetry with Salmon Poetry, Hands Moving at the Speed of Falling Snow, Slow Bruise and A Bloodless Field. She has published 1 collection of short stories, Hugging Thistles, with Arlen House. She has written plays for stage and radio. She is a recipient of a Literature Bursary Award from the Irish Arts Council and was shortlisted for the Hennessy XO Literary Awards.
Aideen Henry is a poet, short story writer and dramatist. She completed an MA in Writing, NUI, Galway and has published 3 books of poetry with Salmon Poetry, Hands Moving at the Speed of Falling Sn…
30/07/2025
Join us on a Sunday afternoon in mid-August for a celebration of the work of the late Antigone Kefala, one of Australia’s most important writers in poetry, fiction and the journal form.
The event marks this year’s publication of the two commemorative volumes by Giramondo, Antigone Kefala’s collected Poetry and Fiction. It will include presentations by Ivor Indyk, Mireille Juchau, Brigitta Olubas, Lauren Aimee Curtis, Anna Couani, Vrasidas Karalis and Alexander Wells.
Rochford Street Review Issue 42 - Paul Scully: 4 poems from ‘The Literate Detective & Other Crimes’
Paul Scully is a Sydney-based poet, an actuary by training and works part-time in finance. He holds a Masters in Creative Writing and is a Doctor of Arts from the University of Sydney. The Literate Detective and Other Crimes is his fourth published poetry collection.
Paul Scully is a Sydney-based poet, an actuary by training and works part-time in finance. He holds a Masters in Creative Writing and is a Doctor of Arts from the University of Sydney. ‘The L…
27/07/2025
We are delighted to announce that renowned poet Dr Robyn Rowland AO is returning to the Illawarra and will be reading from her latest collection, Steep Curve, at Collins Booksellers, Thirroul. Steep Curve, Robyn's twelfth book of poetry, was published by 5 Islands Press in 2024.
The book, “a collection of final father poems”, centres on the two-and-a-half years between Robyn’s decision to return from Ireland to be close to her centenarian father and his death. Robyn lived with her father in her childhood home, which he had built 65 years before, acting first as his companion, then as his carer. The poems trace the course of this changing relationship through physical and emotional challenges, anger, frustration, loss and love.
Robyn’s father, Norm Rowland OAM, was a widely respected local identity, amongst whose many contributions to the region was the founding of Warrigal, a provider of not-for-profit aged care facilities in the Illawarra and beyond.
“Heartachingly beautiful, wistfully wise and meticulously crafted, this book dexterously captures the humility, grace and wisdom a daughter divines in tending to an ageing, then dying, father.” (Dr. Anne Casey)
“Robyn Rowland never shirks from the details, the hard facts, the sting of the sublime. Steep Curve is a book of remarkable moments and enduring love.” (Dr. Kevin Brophy)
You can catch Robyn talking about the book on Radio Illawarra at 10:30 am tomorrow (28 July). Registration and other details for the reading on 3 August are given on the Events page of the Collins Bookseĺlers, Thirroul website https://thirroul.collinsbooks.com.au/pages/4102-EVENTS.
rowland
24/07/2025
Rochford Street Review Issue 42. rich experience expressed intensely and courageously: Barbara Geraghty launches ‘A Bloodless Field’ by Aideen Henry.
"It seems to me that themes in this collection include medicine, reflecting Aideen’s work as a doctor; relationships, often bringing the sting of betrayal in their endings; and also, other types of love, particularly the fierce, pure love for one’s children, as well as changing feelings about our parents as they age".
It seems to me that themes in this collection include medicine, reflecting Aideen’s work as a doctor; relationships, often bringing the sting of betrayal in their endings;
21/07/2025
Rochford Street Review Issue 42. Allan Lake: Bread of Heaven.
Allan Lake, originally from Canada, has lived on Cape Breton Island, Ibiza, Tasmania, Sicily and Melbourne. His latest chapbook of poems, My Photos of Sicily, was published by Ginninderra Press. Such journals as The Hong Kong Review, The American Writers Review, Tokyo Poetry Journal, The Antigonish Review, New Philosopher and The Fabians Review have published his poems.
Allan Lake, originally from Canada, has lived on Cape Breton Island, Ibiza, Tasmania, Sicily and Melbourne. His latest chapbook of poems, My Photos of Sicily, was published by Ginninderra Press. Su…
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Rochford Press is one of the smallest Australian literary presses having been established by Mark Roberts in 1983 as a vehicle to publish 7 issues of P76 Magazine. The press has always operated independent of any government funding, and has continued to contribute to the small press poetry scene of this country. Rochford Press is committed to publishing creative and critical writing which pushes boundaries and stands out from the everyday. It is run by Mark Roberts and Linda Adair and is based in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
Since 2011 to the present time, we have published 26 issues of the online critical journal Rochford Street Review as well as producing several chapbooks and books including: Robbie Coburn’s first collection Before Bone & Viscera, Stevi-Lee Alvers Cactus and The Selected Your Friendly Fascist based on the cult poetry magazine established by Rae Desmond Jones and John Edwards in the 1970s.
2019 has seen resurgence of energy in Rochford Press as Linda Adair has driven the publishing program. Within the first half of 2019 the press has edited, produced, and launched the following three books:
The End of the Line by Rae Desmond Jones
When I was Clandestine by Juan Garrido Salgado
Open by Sarah St Vincent Welch
Additionally we promoted them by arranging launches and readings around the country ranging from venues such as The Exodus Foundation, Shop Gallery and Ashfield Library in Sydney, to the Press Bookhouse as part of the Newcastle Writers Festival, That Poetry Thing at Smiths Alternative in Canberra, The Dan O’Connell in Melbourne, a nightclub in Adelaide and Voicebox in Perth.
Most recently Rochford Street Review has partnered with creatives in the Blue Mountains to promote exhibitions by MAPBM and has produced a website for Vivienne Dadour’s exhibition Resilience in Times of Adversity: Blue Mountains responses to World War II.
More chapbooks will be coming in the next 6 months including from Blue Mountains writers and other regional areas.
