Founded in Wollongong (New South Wales) in 1986 by Ron Pretty, Five Islands Press was an independent publisher committed to publishing fine Australian poetry, including the work of emerging and established poets. Under Pretty's management the press published more than 230 books of poetry as well as the Five Islands Press New Poets series. Initiated in 1993 the program delivered 12 volumes up until Pretty's retirement in 2007. The press has also occasionally published in areas outside poetry, one such example being Intimate Armageddons an anthology of Australian horror edited by Bill Congreve in 1992.
In 2007 a new publishing committee was established to oversee the continued operations of Five Islands Press. This team initially comprised Kevin Brophy, Lyn Hatherly, Dan Disney, Robyn Rowland, and graphic designer Libby Austen. Later editors have included Susan Fealy, Katia Ariel, Sandy Fitts, Michael McKay, and Jenna Shaw.
Five Islands Press, which is a member of The Small Press Underground Networking Community (SPUNC), is based in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton.
In late 2018, Five Islands Press announced that it was no longer accepting new manuscripts and would cease to publish new titles after 2019. The editing team at that time included Kevin Brophy, Katia Ariel, Eddie Paterson, and Bella Li.
The press was later revived as an imprint of Oystercatcher Enterprises, established in 2023 by Mark Tredinnick and Steve Meyrick.
