Poetry Competitions
Here is a selection of poetry competitions in closing date order. Please email details (no attachments, thank you) of any competitions you are organising so we can promote them on NAWG's website.
When entering competitions do not forget to mention you found out about them on the NAWG website.
For Writing Competitions take a look at our Writing Competition Page
Monthly or On-going Competitions
Poetry Library
Find all the current UK poetry competitions at:
www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions
Earlyworks Press Competitions 2008
Rhymers Poetry Competition
Is
verse a thing of the past? The Queen's English Society says if it don't rhyme
and scan, it ain't poetry. Contemporary editors say end-line rhymes are
old-fashioned and too obvious. Each side proves their point by holding up BAD
examples of the other side's poetry. Let's show them some good ones. Send us a
rhyming poem - it may be in a traditional form or a pattern of your own, but
must use line-end rhymes.
£50 first prize; £20 second prize
Winners and runners up will be published on the
website. £5 paid for each one we use.
Also regular
web-based competitions – poetry, flash fiction,
short story and
genre challenges. Full details on the website, or write to
Earlyworks Press, Creative Media
Centre, 45 Robertson Street, Hastings, Sussex TN34 1HL
Title: The McLellan Poetry Award
Criteria: For poems in all varieties of Scots and in English, no more than 40
lines
Judge: W.N.Herbert
Prizes: 1st £1000; 2nd £350; 3rd £150
Entry Fee: £3.50 per poem
Contacts: info@mclellanawards.co.uk; <www.arranart.com>;
The Administrator, Corriegills
Farm, Corriegills, Isle of Arran, KA27 8BL.
The Joshua Foundation Poetry Competition.
Theme: Children. Adult and children's categories.
Entry fee: £2 per poem adults/£1 per poem children. (Cheques payable to the Joshua Foundation). Please send all poems to: Poetry Comp, 5 Windsor Street, Caerphilly, Mid Glamorgan CF83 1FW. nashmailbox11-poetrycomp@yahoo.co.uk.
All proceeds go to the Joshua Foundation, which provides holidays and experiences for children and their families where the child is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Reg. Charity No. 1072365. www.thejoshuafoundation.co.uk
The Manchester Poetry Prize 2008.
First prize: £10,000*
The Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching The Manchester Poetry Prize* - a new literary competition celebrating excellence in creative writing. The Manchester Poetry Prize is open to writers internationally, and will award a cash prize of £10,000* to the writer of the best portfolio of poems submitted. In addition, a bursary for study at MMU will be awarded to an entrant aged 18 to 25 as part of the Manchester Young Writer of the Year Award*.
Entrants are asked to submit a portfolio of poetry (three to five poems; the total length of the portfolio should not exceed 120 lines). The poems can be on any subject but must be new work, not published elsewhere. Entrants can submit work via the competition website www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk, or by post using an entry form.
If you have any queries, or would like a printed entry pack, please contact: James Draper, Project Manager: Writing School, Manchester Metropolitan
University, Manchester, United Kingdom . Telephone : +44 (0) 161 247 1787.
Email : j.draper@mmu.ac.uk
Writing School website: www.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/english/writingschool
Poetry Prize website: www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk
*Terms and conditions apply. See: www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk for details.
Derbyshire Scribes Poetry Competition
THE GLORIOUS TWELFTH OF AUGUST
Closing date for both competitions : 12th August, 2008
 |
1ST Prize: £100 |
|
2nd Prize: £50 |
|
3rd Prize: £25 |
Entry fee £3 per entry - £2 for subsequent entries if made at the same time.
Youth section: Under 16.
Entry fee: £1 per entry
All prize money for this category will be returned as prizes
Entries should be sent to:
Derbyshire Scribes,
c/o 107 Field Drive,
Shirebrook,
Notts. NG20 8BT.
Standard competition rules apply – please check our website - www.derbyshirescribes.co.uk
Arvon International Poetry Competition
2008 marks Arvon’s 40th birthday and the 14th Arvon International Poetry Competition. The competition is open to all poets around the world and poems are entered anonymously. There are no line or subject matter restrictions. The judges are UK Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, Moniza Alvi and Alice Oswald.
First Prize £5000. Second Prize £2500. Third Prize £1000. Three commendation prizes £500 each.
More details and entry form at:
http://www.arvonfoundation.org/p88.html
Essex Poetry Festival 8th Open Poetry Competition
Closing date 30th August 2008
First Prize £500, Second £200, Third £100 and 3 runner-up prizes of £10 book tokens.
This years judge will be Catherine Smith.
Prize-giving will be at the Essex Poetry Festival in October
Winners & runners-up will be invited to read their winning poems at the festival. Winning poems will be published on the Festival website
For details of rules and entry fee visit Essex Poetry Festival website
www.essex-poetry-festival.co.uk
32nd YEAR OF PUBLISHING QUARTERLY MAGAZINE - “SALOPEOT” poetry prize
The Salopian Poetry Society will be holding their 32nd Annual Open Poetry Competition this year with a top prize of £200. There will be a second prize of £100 and a third prize of £50. There will also be three prizes of £30 plus one year’s free subscription of the magazine “Salopeot” worth £10 for each of the six winners to commence from December 2008.
For members of the Salopian Poetry Society, the fee of £2 per poem will stay the same but for non-members the fee will be £3 per poem or four poems for £10. Anyone joining The Society before the closing date on August 31st will be allowed the rate of £2 per poem.
The adjudicator will be Hilary Llewellyn-Williams. The Competition Secretary is Irene Hoult.
A self-addressed and stamped envelope must be sent to Lilian Parker, of 54 Coronation Drive, Donnington, Telford TF2 8HY, for an entry form.
The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest
Deadline: July 31, 2008
Winners will be announced on August 31, 2008
Open to everyone whether experienced or not. This competition welcomes anyone who loves to arrange words into beautiful art or to write a short story that is worth telling. And to all who have the ability to dream. Write your best short story or poem for a chance to win cash prizes. All works must be original. www.dreamquestone.com
Guidelines:
(1) Write a poem, thirty lines or fewer on any subject, style or form,
single or double line spacing, neatly hand printed or typed.
And/or
(2) Write a short story five pages maximum, single or double line spacing, on any subject or theme, creative writing, fiction or non-fiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries and screenwriting). Must also be neatly hand printed or typed.
Multiple poem and story entries are accepted
Prizes:
Writing Contest
|
First Prize: $500 |
|
Second Prize: $250 |
|
Third Prize: $100
|
Poetry Contest
|
First Prize: $250 |
|
Second Prize: $125 |
|
Third Prize: $50 |
Entry
fees:
Writing Contest entry fee is: $10 per short
story
Poetry Contest entry fee is: $5 per poem
To send
entries by mail:
Include title and story or poem, your name, address, phone, email, brief
biographical info. (Tell us a little about yourself) on the coversheet, add
a self-addressed stamped envelope for entry confirmation. Mail entries/fees
payable to: Dreamquestone.com
Dream Quest One
Poetry &
Writing Contest
P.O. Box
3141
Chicago,
IL 60654
Visit www.dreamquestone.com for further details, to print out an entry form or to enter online
Jo Cowell Competition
Closing date 19 September
The competition is run annually by Ormskirk Writers Club, and is one of the best known in the UK. The genre of the competition changes, ranging through short story, non-fiction and poetry. This year the competition is for poetry. Alison Chisholm, author of eight collections of poetry and three books of advice for poets, is this year’s judge. She gives readings and tutors courses all over the UK, writes poetry columns for ‘Writing Magazine’ and ‘Springboard’, as well as regularly adjudicating competitions.
Poems of up to 40 lines in any style are acceptable.
Wonderful prizes of £150, £100 and £50 will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, while entry fees are £3 for the first, and £2 for each subsequent entry.
Entry forms and full details of the competition can be obtained by sending a sae to The Competition Co-ordinator, OWLS, 14 Tower Hill, Ormskirk, L39 2EF, and by emailing dee_mcbuc@yahoo.co.uk or ikargar@tiscali.co.uk
For further details of Ormskirk
Writers, please contact Judy Ingham on 01695 423141.
Closing date: Sept 30 2008
Mostly Life (a sister site of Leaf Books: www.mostlylife.com ) invites you to submit humorous material in any publishable medium imaginable: writing (fiction or non-fiction, including comic verse), videos (live-action or animated), audio files, cartoon strips, still pictures, games and anything else that comes to mind. All original, previously-unpublished and non-offensive material will be considered. Video/audio material should ideally be no longer than five or six minutes - remember that it has to quickly capture and then maintain its audience's attention. Similarly, writing should ideally not go beyond a couple of pages.
Entry fee: £3 per entry, £10 for four entries.
One winning entry will receive £200 and publication on the Mostly Life website. Other selected entries may also be published if they sufficiently tickle the judges' fancy. The winner or winners will be announced on the Leaf and the Mostly Life website.
All copyright remains with the authors.
Enter online - and pay via Paypal or credit card. Note, the payments go to the mothership at Leaf Books.
Or enter by post: Mostly Life, c/o Leaf Books, GTi Suite, Valleys Innovation Centre, Navigation Park, Abercynon CF45 4SN.
The competition will be judged by the Mostly Life team.
Knaphill Village - On-Line Open Poetry
Competition
Closing date:
30 September 2008
£150 First Prize
(Runners-Up Prizes - Subject to entry levels)
All shortlisted poems will be published on our website.
All Proceeds go directly to: Action Medical Research
- The competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over.
-
Poems should be in English, unpublished, not accepted for publication, and must be your own original work.
-
Poems may be on any subject and in any form or style.
-
All poems must be submitted electronically and should be embedded in the main body of your email.
-
The entry fee is £5:00 for up to ten poems submitted.
-
Payment should be made directly to:
Action Medical Research - Peru Expedition - Here >>> -
Once you have made your payment please submit your entry to: knaphillvillage@aol.com
You must ensure that your name appears with your poetry and is the same as that submitted with your entry fee. -
The winners will be notified on our website www.theknaphillian.com - No person may win more than one prize.
-
The adjudicator’s decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into.
-
The closing date for entries is : 30 September 2008.
* Competition Launched 17 June 2008
Cannon Poets'
Rules: A poem between 20 and 40 lines
Theme: Play
For full details and an entry form see: www.cannonpoets.co.uk
Leaf Books invites you to submit poetry of any length and on any subject.
Enter online or by post.
£3 per single submission;
£10 for four submissions.
Winner receives £200.
Runner-up receives ten free pocket-sized Leaf Books.
All selected entries will be published in a competition anthology.
Download an entry form or enter online at our website: www.leafbooks.co.uk
Email contact@leafbooks.co.uk for any further queries.
2008 VINCENT McTIGUE COMIC VERSE COMPETITION
Closing date: November 11th 2008
1st prize £100 2nd £50 3rd £25
Plus publication on our web site
More on our web
site:
Email: mrsmonday@hotmail.com or jg220@tiscali.co.uk
Petra Kenney Poetry Competition
Closing date 1 December
First prize £1000
More info:
www.petrapoetrycompetition.co.uk/
These items have been sent to us to add to our website.
NAWG takes no responsibility for what you may find.
Please let us know if you find a link useful or not.
Links reported as disreputable will be removed.