THE POETRY KIT 12th INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION 2025

Our competition this year is open to poems from around the world written in English and which can be on any subject or theme.  There are no style or length restrictions, but it should be stressed that a short poem is just as likely to be selected as a longer one.

1st prize is valued at £220  2nd prize is valued at £60

ENTER ONLINE  www.poetrykit.org/2-intcomp.htm

Passionfruit Review is now open for poetry submissions for their latest competition titled “Being in Bodies”.

Poets are encouraged to send up to three poems that engage with the experience of being in bodies. Broad interpretations of the theme are welcome. Poems must be previously unpublished and up to 40 lines each.

There will be cash prizes of £25 (3rd), £75 (2nd), and £600 (1st). Nine Commended Poets will receive a cash prize of £10 each. All prizewinning poems will also be published in a special issue of The Passionfruit Review. see Being In Bodies 2026 - The Passionfruit Review

Magna Poetry Competition  is open for entries in two categories

The Judge’s Prize – poems of 11 to 50 lines

The Editors’ Prize – poems of up to 10 lines

Deadline 31 January 2026 11.59pm GMT

First prize for the Judge’s and Editors’ Prize is £1000, second prize £300 and third prize £150.

The three prize-winning poems from each category will be published in Magma and there will also be five special mentions for each of the Judge’s Prize and Editors’ Prize categories. All winning and commended poems will be published online on the Magma website. Winning and commended poets will be invited to read their poems at a Magma Competition event in Spring 2026.

See Magma Poetry Competition - Magma Poetry

Cheshire Prize for Literature 2025/26

This year’s competition is open to anyone to enter in three age categories:

Primary (4-11): poetry or short story category

Secondary (11-18): poetry or short story category

Over 18: poetry, short story, flash fiction, children’s literature, scriptwriting

There is no theme, writers can write about anything that inspires them.

Prizes: All winners in the age 4-17 categories will each receive a book token. All winners in the over 18 categories will each receive a cash prize.

There are no runner-up prizes. No cash alternative is available for any prize in any of the age 4 to 17 categories.

To enter, you must be the author of the submitted entry and must have been born, live or have lived, study or have studied, work or have worked, in the historical or modern county of Cheshire. For the purposes of the Competition, Cheshire is deemed to include the Wirral, as well as Warrington and Halton.

see Cheshire Prize | University of Chester

Leeds Peace Poetry Competition 2025/26

Closing date: Sat 31 Jan 2026

The Leeds Peace Poetry Competition 2025/26 is now open for submissions of poetry on the theme of ‘Extinction’.

Adult and child individuals are invited to submit poems. Teachers are invited to send poems by pupils as individuals and in groups. Maximum of two entries per person, each no longer than forty lines, previously unpublished in print or online.

Prizes consist of publication on the website and certificates which are awarded in three categories: primary, secondary and adult. There are also school prizes for best set of entries in each of the two educational categories.

see  Leeds Peace Poetry - 2025/6 COMPETITION

The Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition 2026

Open for submissions. Judge: Mimi Khalvati

Poems must be written in the English language, previously unpublished, 40 lines or fewer in any style and subject.  There will be cash prizes of £1,000 (1st), £300 (2nd), £100 (3rd), and 4 x £50 (Commended). Prizewinning poems will be published in the annual Folio anthology.

see Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition, 2026 – The Kent & Sussex Poetry Society

The Latin Programme Poetry Prize VI

Closing date: Sun 1 Feb 2026

Open for poems (40 lines max) written in English, on the theme ‘All roads via Rome’. Entrants must be aged 18 or over. First Prize: £200 Judges Brighde Mullins & panel

see - Poetry Prize 2026 — The Latin Programme: Via Facilis

The Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is now open to submissions of poems up to 30 lines, based on the subject of either ‘dystopia’ or ‘utopia’. The theme of this year competition has been chosen to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man. Entrants can interpret the theme freely, but poems drifting too far from the theme will not be considered.

The competition will be judged by Rupert Christiansen, Will Kemp and Professor Deryn Rees-Jones.

The Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is open to all. Winners receive £1000. Two highly commended entrants will receive £500. All winning and highly commended poems will be published in The Keats-Shelley Review and on the Keats-Shelley website.

see Keats-Shelley Prizes 2025-26

The Arundel Literary Festival Poetry Competition 2026 is now open for poetry submissions.

Entrants are encouraged to submit original unpublished poems on any theme of a maximum 40 lines. All entrants to be residents of the UK (incl Channel Islands). Judge: Denise Bennett

Prizes include £200 (1st) and £100 (2nd). Winners invited to read at celebratory evening of Arundel Literary Festival in Arundel on Saturday, 21st of March 2026.

see  Literary Festival – The Victoria Institute

2026 Voice and Verse Competition

The CA (Classical Association) is working in collaboration with Sir John Soane’s Museum in London to open entries for the 2026 Voice and Verse Competition. Judges: Barney Norris and Helen DoreyEntrants of any age across the world are welcome to submit.

There is a cash prize of £2000 to be won between the winning poets as well as a chance to read their work in the Museum.

see  Verse and Voice Competition - The Classical Association | The Classical Association

The Friends of Greenwich Park invite young people aged 5-18 to write poems that celebrate the park we love. 

 Greenwich Park is home to the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory, ancient Anglo-Saxon and Roman remains, the historic Rose Garden, a flock of parakeets, and its iconic deer herd – lots to inspire you!

To learn more about the past and present of Greenwich Park, check out the Royal Parks and Friends of Greenwich Park webpages and spend some time in the park!

· You may submit 1 or 2 poems.

· The deadline to submit your poems is 23:59, Saturday 28 February 2026.

· Winners in each age category will receive book tokens, will be invited to read their poems at a Greenwich Park event, and will have their poems shared with the Greenwich Park community

More information here: https://www.friendsofgreenwichpark.org.uk/Greenwich-Park-Poetry-Competition/ 

The Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize

Open to submissions of poems up to 30 lines, based on the subject of either ‘dystopia’ or ‘utopia’. The theme of this year competition has been chosen to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man. Entrants can interpret the theme freely, but poems drifting too far from the theme will not be considered.

The competition will be judged by Rupert Christiansen, Will Kemp and Professor Deryn Rees-Jones.

The Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is open to all. Winners receive £1000. Two highly commended entrants will receive £500. All winning and highly commended poems will be published in The Keats-Shelley Review and on the Keats-Shelley website.

See Keats-Shelley Prizes 2025-26

Arundel Literary Festival Poetry Competition

Adjudicator: Denise Bennett

Open to poets of all ages over 16, resident in the UK (incl. the Channel Islands)

First Prize £200 Second Prize £100

Poems may be on any theme.  Maximum 40 lines.

Prize-winners will be invited to read their poems in Arundel during the celebratory evening of the Literary Festival on Saturday March 21 20256

Rules and further details on how to enter are available on https://www.thevictoriainstitute.com/literary-festival/

Words for Ada is a poetry competition looking for submissions on the theme of change, protest, and freedom in honour of the Crewe-based suffragist Aa Nield Chew.

Entrants may submit previously unpublished poems of no more than 20 lines each. There will be a separate category for under and over 18 years of age. The competition is free for those under 18 years old. Judge: Kate Blakemore, Hazel Reeves and Jules Gibb

see Writing Competition - A Statue For Ada

South Downs Poetry Festival – The Binsted Prize

Adjudicator: Joanna Linley. 

Entry: e-mail only

Prize-giving will be on Saturday 23rd May in Chichester.  

First Prize £250 Second £150, Third £50. Winners and highly commended published in the Binsted Prize Anthology. 

For further details, rules & entry form visit   http://www.sdpf.org.uk/competition/

Dithering Chaps is now open for submissions for their poetry chapbook competition.

Entrants are invited to submit a ten-page sample of poems alongside a 200-word treatment explaining the vision behind their collection manuscript (roughly 30-60 pages in total).

The shortlist will be announced by mid-April 2026, and the winning poet will be chosen by the end of that month.

Poets who have not had a previous poetry collection published will also automatically be considered for a separate publication slot.

see  Submissions Window — Dithering Chaps

 Nature and Place Poetry competition 2026.

The RSPB and The Rialto are additionally working with BirdLife International, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the University of Leeds Poetry Centre. r entries close at midnight on 1^st April 2026.

 As well as offering poets the chance to win considerable cash prizes and publication of their poems, the competition supports conservation and poetry. We are working in partnership with leading independent UK poetry magazine, The Rialto, as we feel the magazine will be the perfect place to showcase the winning entries.

Prizes  1st PRIZE £1000  2nd PRIZE £500  3rd PRIZE £250

Our judge is celebrated poet, Mona Arshi.

The entry fee is £7 for the first poem and £4 for each subsequent poem.

Full details and the facility to enter online can be found on The Rialto website:

  https://www.therialto.co.uk/pages/nature-poetry-competition/

The Artemesia Arts international poetry competition 2026

Entrants from anywhere in the world are welcome, writing on any subject or theme, in any style or form. Maximum line length 40 lines. First prize £200 Two runners-up receive £80 A number of highly commended poems will also be selected. Judge: Malika Booker FRSL

Fifty poems will be shortlisted and named on their website.

The winners, highly commended and a further 25 poems will be chosen for inclusion in an anthology to be published by Mosaïque Press. All winners and commended poets will be invited to read at a selected poetry weekend retreat in South West France. They are looking for poems that please the eye, delight the ear and make heart beat faster.

see Poetry Competition 2026 – Artemesia Arts

Charm Poetry Competition

Closing date: Sun 26 Apr 2026

A competition for the lighter side of poetry. Upon noticing that prize-winning poems are usually on serious subjects, that free-form poems are more common than traditional structures, and that rhyme is rare, Charm Poetry would like to change some of that. They are looking for poems that entertain them and brighten their day. They like warmth, wit and whimsy. They believe it is possible to write a good poem that conforms to these guidelines, and they would like entrants to prove them right. Judge: Vanessa Lampert

First prize – £100 Second prize – £50 Third prize – £25

see  Charm Poetry Competition: Charm Poetry Competition details

The Frogmore Poetry Prize

Open for Poems must be in English, unpublished and not currently submitted elsewhere or accepted for future publication. They must not previously have been awarded a prize in any other competition. Poems should be typed and no longer than forty lines. Judge: Mike Barlow

The winner of the Frogmore Poetry Prize (founded 1987) will receive two hundred and fifty guineas and a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers. The first and second runners-up will receive seventy-five and fifty guineas respectively and a year’s subscription to The Frogmore Papers. Shortlisted poets will receive copies of selected Frogmore Press publications.

see Frogmore Poetry Prize 2026 – submission guidelines – The Frogmore Press