- Many poets send their poems to competitions. This can be a good way to find out what other people think of your writing.
- We add competitions to this list when organisers send us information.
- To enter the competition, send a stamped addressed envelope to the competition's address, and they will send you an entry form, or ask for an entry form by phone or email.
- The Poetry Library accepts no liability in connection with the information contained in the list [boring adult stuff!]
The Page is Printed Creative Writing Competition | Closing Date: 29-May-12
Details:For writing in any genre on one side of printed A4. Adult Prize: £100 Waterstones voucher, £50 Waterstones voucher, £25 Waterstones voucher. Under 16s: 5 prizes of £20 Waterstones Voucher. Everyone who enters the competition will be given a complimentary ticket to attend our Open Mic Spoken Word Night on Friday 29th June 2012, 7:30pm.
Entry Fee: £4 (under 16s free)
Contact:
Online: You can pay your £4 entry fee online (£2.50 plus £1.50 booking fee). On completion of payment you will be given a unique Paypal code which needs to go on your entry form. Email your page and completed form to: thepageisprinted@gmail.com
By Post: Send us your page and entry form along with a cheque payable to The Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre to :
The Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, School Road, Taunton, TA2 8PD
By Phone: Call us on 01823 414141 to pay by card and email your entry to thepageisprinted@gmail.com
The Times Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry in Translation | Closing Date: 01-Jun-12
Details:Three prizes in each of the Open and 18-and-under categories. The winners of the Open prizes will receive £1000 (first), £750 (second) and £500 (third); the winners of the under-18 prizes will win £250 (first), £150 (second) and £100 (third). There will be one prize (£100) awarded in a 14-and-under category. Each entry must comprise the following: the translation, the original poem, a commentary. Judges: Susan Bassnett, Edith Hall, Patrick McGuinness & George Szirtes. 60 lines maximum.
Entry Fee: £5 (Anyone eighteen or under on 1 June 2012 is exempt from this charge)
Contact:
The Times Stephen Spender Prize, The Stephen Spender Trust, 3 Old Wish Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN21 4JX
Online entry and full details at http://www.stephen-spender.org/
Wirral Festival of Firsts Open Poetry Competition | Closing Date: 01-Jun-12
Details:3 Categories, each for poems up to 40 lines: (a) Open poetry competition. First prize £100, then 2 x £50 prizes; (b) Humourous poetry competition. Prizes as category (a); (c) Under 16s Poetry competition. First prize £50 in book vouchers. 4 x runners-up at £25.00 each. Adjudicators: Jan Dean, Andrew Rudd and Colin Watts.
Entry Fee: £3 per poem, £5 for 2 poems (Free for under 16s category)
Contact:
Full details at www.festivaloffirsts.co.uk
Wirral Festival of Firsts Poetry, 71 Alderley Road, Hoylake, CH47 2AU
Keats-Shelley Prize 2012 | Closing Date: 30-Jun-12
Details:For poems up to 40 lines on the theme of 'Gold'. Judges: John Hartley-Williams and Matthew Sweeney. Maximum of two poems per entrant. Full details and entry form on website.
Entry Fee: £5 per poem.
Contact:
Entries can be emailed in Microsoft Word format to:
susanna.seekings@talktalk.net
Postal entry: Keats-Shelley Competition, c/o Beaufort Montague Harris Solicitors, Old Bank House, 79 Broad Street, Chipping Sodbury, BS37 6AD.
Cheques payable to Keats-Shelley Memorial Association
www.keats-shelley.com
Ledbury Poetry Festival Competition 2012 | Closing Date: 03-Jul-12
Details:For poems of up to 40 lines. Three categories: Adult (18 and over), Young People (12-17), and Children (11 and under. Cash prizes for Adult and Young People categories. Children's category winners receive book tokens. Adult 1st prize includes Residential Course at Ty Newydd. Judge: Ian Duhig
Entry Fee: £5 first poem, then £3 per poem (adult); first poem free, then £1.50 per poem (young people and children)
Contact:
Please make cheques payable to:
Ledbury Poetry Festival
Address:
Ledbury Poetry Festival, Church Street, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 1DH
http://www.poetry-festival.com/poetry-competition.html
Telephone 08454581743
The Ted Hughes Young Poets Award | Closing Date: 06-Jul-12
Details:Theme - Stages. Judge:Andrew McMillan. First Prize: £100. Runners Up: £50 in each of three age categories: 6-10 years, 11-14 years, 15-18 years.
Entry Fee: £0
Contact: Calderdale Ted Hughes Writing Competition, Central Library, Northgate, Halifax, HX1 1UN For further information please contact :
The John Betjeman Poetry Competition 2012 | Closing Date: 31-Jul-12
Details:Competition for 10-13 year olds on the theme of place.
The first prize is £1,000 (£500 to the winner and £500 to the English department of his or her school, or local library or church). The winning school and the school that inspires the greatest number of children to enter the competition will each win a poet visit. The winner, runner-up, and second runner-up will each win four standard class tickets from St Pancras International to Paris, Brussels or Lille. The top six entrants will win prizes of £50 book tokens.
One poem per entrant. The judges are Grace Nichols and Andrew Martin.
Entry Fee: £0.00
Contact:
Entry forms at www.betjemanpoetrycompetition.com.
Postal entries to:
The John Betjeman Poetry Competition
PO Box 3770
Swan Lane
Farringdon
Oxfordshire SN7 7JB
Website: www.betjemanpoetrycompetition.com
Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award | Closing Date: 31-Jul-12
Details:Ages 11-17. Judges: Helen Mort and Christopher Reid. Fifteen overall winners will be published in an anthology going out to more than 20,000 people worldwide in March 2013. Of these, winners in the 14-17 year old age group get the chance to attend a week-long Arvon residential course at The Hurst in Shropshire where they will be tutored by the judges. The younger age range winners (11-14 year olds) will receive a visit to their school from a professional poet, followed by distance mentoring. 85 Commended Winners also receive book prizes and a year's Youth Membership of the Poetry Society. All 100 winners of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award benefit from ongoing support and encouragement, via publication, performance, promotion and internship opportunities throughout the UK.
Entry Fee: £0
Contact:
Enter online at www.foyleyoungpoets.org
Request an entry form by writing to
Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award, 22 Betterton Street
London
WC2H 9BX
Or email fyp@poetrysociety.org.uk
Barnet Open Poetry Competition 2012 | Closing Date: 16-Nov-12
Details:For poems up to 35 lines. Adult prizes: 1st £200, 2nd £100, 3rd 3 of £50 each. Junior (for each age group 7 - 11, 11 - 16) 1st £20, 2nd £10, 3rd 3 of £5 each. Judges Martyn Crucefix (adult) and Katherine Gallagher (junior).
Entry Fee: £5 a poem (£4 for Barnet residents), £1 for 7-16 year olds, free for Barnet schools (donation appreciated)
Contact:
Download application forms from www.barnetarts.org.uk
or send SAE to: Barnet Borough Arts Council, c/o All Saints Arts Centre, 122 Oakleigh Road North London N20 9EZ
For Barnet Schools entry please ring 020 8445 8388 for full details
