The Poetry Kit

Poetry Competitions

Please Note

The information given here is for GUIDANCE ONLY.

While every effort is made to ensure that it is accurate, before entering any listed competition you should

obtain full rules and an entry form from the organisers. Information is provided by the organisers of the competitions

and we cannot accept any liability for its accuracy.

TO GET COMPETITION INFORMATION MONTHLT BY EMAIL

22nd January 2019	1st £100 entry £3.50	POETRY KIT WINTER COMPETITION 2019 This year's competition is for poetry on any subject. 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. Enter by midnight on 22st January 2019 1st prize is £100. Entry fees are as follows; 1 poem £3.50 3 Poems £8.00 5 poems £10 Competition Judge; JIM BENNETT FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ENTER ONLINE SEE http://www.poetrykit.org/PKcomp.htm Please note; Poems that have been submitted as part of a course with Poetry Kit, submitted to LUNCH Magazine or posted to PK List are not eligible for entry.
13th January 2019	1st £200 entry £4	Shepton Snowdrop Festival Poetry Competition Judge: David Morley Three age categories: Up to 11, 12 -17, 18 and Over Prize for each category £50, £70, £200 Entry fees: free to Under 18s, £4 per entry 18 and Over Line Limit: 30 lines Theme: Snowdrops and landscape as specified by judge Entries via: Submit.con Website: www.sheptonsnowdropfestival.org.uk E-mail: yourpoems@sheptonsnowdropfestival.org.uk
20th January 2019	!st £100 entry £4	Poems for Home A competition for original poetry on the theme of Home Guest Judges: Michael Harrison and John Hegley Entry fee: £4 per poem. Deadline Sunday 20 January 2019 1s £100 2nd £75 3rd £50 100% of your entry fee will go directly to Shelter. There is no place like home. From Robert Browning’s ‘Home Thoughts, from Abroad’ to Eartha Kitt, the theme of home has inspired countless musicians, poets and writers through the ages. What or where is home for you? Does it have a cat, a dog, running water? Is it an ‘old fashioned house and with an old fashioned fence and an old fashioned millionaire’? What about those searching for place to feel at home? You can interpret this theme as widely as you would like, as long as it is good enough to write home about… 100% of your entry fee will go directly to Shelter. Across Scotland and England 6 million households are denied the right to a safe home, or threatened with losing it. 4,750 people sleep on the streets every night. Shelter provide crucial support, advice and legal services to ameliorate this appalling situation. See https://poetryofhome.wordpress.com/
22nd January 2019	1st £100 entry £3.50	POETRY KIT WINTER COMPETITION 2019 This year's competition is for poetry on any subject. 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. Enter by midnight on 22st January 2019 1st prize is £100. Entry fees are as follows; 1 poem £3.50 3 Poems £8.00 5 poems £10 Competition Judge; JIM BENNETT FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ENTER ONLINE SEE http://www.poetrykit.org/PKcomp.htm Please note; Poems that have been submitted as part of a course with Poetry Kit, submitted to LUNCH Magazine or posted to PK List are not eligible for entry.
28th January 2019	1st £150 entry £3	Edward Thomas Fellowship Poetry Competition 2019 Poems are invited on any subject and style and of any length. Closing date January 28^th 2019. The judge will be the prize-winning poet Jane Draycott. Prizes:1^st prize £150, two further £50 prizes. Fees; £3 per poem, £10 for four. Postal entries welcome, cheques payable to Edward Thomas Fellowship, sent with your details and the anonymised poem(s) to Margaret Keeping,66 Fairacres Road, Oxford, OX4 1TG. OR: Word document emailed to margthompson01@gmail.com + fee to the Fellowship’s account, 40-08-21, 11250205 with your initial and surname as Reference, Competition as description.
31st January 2019	1st £1000 entry £5	The Kent and Sussex Poetry Society Open Competition 2019 1st prize: £1,000 2nd prize: £300 3rd prize: £100 Plus 4 x £50 The competition is open to anyone aged 16 and over. Poems should be in English, unpublished, not accepted for publication, and must be your original work. Poems may be on any subject and in any form or style. They must be typed and not longer than 40 lines. Each poem must be typed on a separate sheet of A4 paper. All poems are judged anonymously and should not bear your name, nor any other form of identification. On a separate sheet of A4 paper you should give a: your name and address, b: a list of poems submitted, and c: where you heard about the competition. For more information see https://kentandsussexpoetry.com/the-kent-sussex-poetry-society-open-competition/
31st January 2019	1st £500 entry £4,50	Teignmouth Poetry Festival 2019 Competition The Teignmouth Poetry Festival 2019 Competition opens 1 November 2018. Poems on any subject, not exceeding 35 lines, will be judged by John Greening. 1st prize: £500 2nd prize: £250 3rd prize: £100 Extra prizes of £100, £50, £25 for poets within local postcodes - Judge for this local competition is Julie-Ann Rowell Shortlisted poets will be invited to read at Teignmouth Poetry Festival on 23 March 2019, and winning poems will be published on the website. See http://www.poetryteignmouth.com/competition-2019.html
31st January 2019	1st £200 entry £5	Prole Laureate Poetry Competition 2019 An open competition regarding style, content and length. Prole want poetry that epitomises their editorial values: to make writing engaging, accessible, entertaining and challenging. Quality is all. All work must be the original work of the writer and be unpublished. 1st prize: £200, publication in Prole 28 and online 2 x runner up prizes of £50, publication in Prole 28 and online See http://prolebooks.co.uk/poetry%20competition.html
31st January 2019	1st Publication plus cash prize. entry £5	St Petrocs Poetry Competition St Petrocs is running a poetry competition as part of its campaign to end street homelessness in Cornwall. Winning entries will be published in a poetry collection in Spring 2019 and there are also cash prizes. The theme of the competition is Homeless and any interpretations of the theme are invited. £5 for one poem \| £4 each for two poems \| £3 each for three poems \| Free for under-19s and St Petrocs clients For more information see https://itstimetoact.co.uk/poetry-competition/
31st January 2019	1st Publication entry £15	GEOFF STEVENS MEMORIAL POETRY PRIZE 2018 Two winners will have a poetry collection up to 52 pages published by Indigo Dreams and receive 20 copies. Submission: Selection of 15 poems to 36 lines inc breaks Entry Fee: £15 per block of poems. Closing Date: 31st January 2019. All postal entries must be accompanied by cheque to correct amount made payable to ‘IDP’ Email submissions via PayPal See full submission rules at https://www.indigodreams.co.uk/geoff-stevens/4594095381 Postal submissions to Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize 2018, 24 Forest Houses, Halwill, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5UU
28th February 2019	1st £150 entry £5	Slipstream Poets Open Poetry Competition Calling for entries on any subject, of up to 60 lines Adjudicator: Mandy Pannett 1st prize: £150 2nd prize: £100 3rd prize: £50 There is an additional prize of £25 plus the award of the Jim Johnston Chanctonbury Cup for the Best West Sussex entry. See http://www.slipstream-poets.co.uk/competition/
4th March 2019	1st £1000 entry £10	The Brotherton Poetry Prize 2019 Deadline: Mon 4 Mar 2019 A new poetry prize from the University of Leeds Poetry Centre, aimed at nurturing previously unpublished poets, is launched today (28 November). It is open to anyone in the world over the age of 18 who hasn't yet published a full collection of poems. Entries to the competition should include no more than 200 lines of poetry in up to five individual poems. Prizes: The winner will receive £1,000 and the opportunity to develop their creative practice with the University of Leeds Poetry Centre. Four runners-up will each receive £200. The poems of the five shortlisted poets will be published as an anthology by respected publisher Carcanet Press, and all five will be invited to take part in a series of readings and events at the University of Leeds and other Yorkshire venues. Entry fee: £10 Judging panel: Leeds’ Professor of Poetry Simon Armitage; writer, broadcaster and former University Chancellor Melvyn Bragg; poets and University cultural fellows Dr Vahni Capildeo and Malika Booker; Poetry Centre Director Professor John Whale and University Librarian Stella Butler. See https://library.leeds.ac.uk/brotherton-prize
13th March 2019	1st £600 entry £"4	Poets & Players Poetry Competition Enter the 7th Poets & Players poetry competition. Entry £4 per poem \| £10 for 3 poems 1st: £600 2nd: £200 3rd: £100 Judge: Kei Miller. see https://poetsandplayers.co/2019/01/01/competition-2019/
22nd March 2019	1st £200 entry £4	Wirral Festival of Firsts / Wirral Poetry Festival This year’s open poetry competition will be adjudicated by Anna Saunders, Director of the Cheltenham Poetry Festival. Poems should be no longer than 40 lines. Four prizes will be awarded: 1st prize £200; Two Runners Up £50 each; Special Wirral prize £50 for a poet living or working in Wirral. Entry: £4 per poem or £10 for 3 poems Enter online and full details at www.wirralpoetryfestival.org.uk or by post. The closing date for the receipt of poetry competition entries is 23.59 hours on Friday 22^nd March 2019. Winners will be notified by 19^th April 2019, and invited to attend a prize-giving event during our First ever Wirral Poetry Festival Weekend 11^th- 12^th May 2019
31st March 2019	1st €500 entry £5	19^th Poetry on the Lake International Competition 1^st - €500 Entry fees: from £5 (see website for early birds reduced fees) or free Deadline: 31^st March 2019 3 categories: Silver Wyvern Open – Formal verse – theme ‘Spirit’ (interpret as wished. Max. lines all categories 42 Postal & Online entries. See: http://old.poetryonthelake.org/
29th March 2019	1st £250 entry £4	The South Downs Poetry Festival 2019, in alliance with Binsted Arts, is holding a poetry competition - the winner will be awarded The Binsted Prize. Adjudicator: James Simpson. Prize-giving will be on Friday 7 June in the magical small twelfth century church at Binsted, near Arundel, West Sussex where winners & runners-up will be invited to read their winning poems. First Prize £250, Second £150, Third £50. Poems may be on any theme. Winning poems will be published on the South Downs Poetry Festival and the Binsted Arts Festival websites and a small anthology of the best poems submitted is planned. Further details, rules & entry form are available on http://www.binsted.org/poetry-comp-19 , and via www.sdpf.org.uk
31st March 2019	1st prize £100 Entry fee £4	THE FEDERATION OF WRITERS SCOTLAND VERNAL EQUINOX COMPETITION 2019 Four categories, poetry (any number of poems, no more than 40 lines each), short stories (any number of stories between 1,500 and 2000 words each), flash fiction (any number of stories up to 500 words) and Gaelic (any number of poems and/or flash fiction, line/word limits as above). Prizes in each category: 1^st prize £100, 2^nd prize £25, 3^rd prize £10 Entry fee £4 per first entry of poem, flash fiction, or Gaelic, £3 each subsequent entry, £5 per short story For full rules and how to enter go to https://federationofwritersscotland.wordpress.com/tag/competitions/ or email accclarke6@btopenworld.com
31st March 2019	1st E1000 entry E14	Fish Poetry Prize: US poet laureate Billy Collins will select the ten poems for inclusion in the 2019 Fish Anthology. 2^nd prize is a week in residence at Anam Cara Writers’ Retreat in West Cork. 3^rd prize is €200. Entry is €14. Full details and online entry www.fishpublsihing.com
22nd April 2019	1st E500 entry E12	Hungry Hill Writing are delighted to announce our new Poets Meet Politics International Open Poetry Competition 2019 and that Christy Ducker has agreed to judge for us this year. We will be awarding a first prize of €500, second of €250 and third of €100. Entry is E12 and cam be up to 3 poems. hungryhillwriting.com/competitions We invite entries for poems on any theme related to politics. For more details on the prizes, our judge, entry requirements and other competition details, please click above The closing date for entries is April 22nd 2019.
30th April 2019	1st £100 entry £3	Grey Hen Poetry Competition 2019 is for women over 60. Poems up to 40 lines on any theme. Judges: Julia Deakin and Janet Loverseed. Prizes: £100, £75, £25. Download rules and entry form from website or send sae to Grey Hen Press, PO Box 269, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 9FE. Closing date: 30 April. Entry Fee £3.00 per poem, £10 for four. www.greyhenpress.com
30th April 2019	1st £600 entry £4	Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2019 Calling for poems of up to 50 lines. Judged by Maggie Butt. 1st prize: £600 2nd prize: £300 3rd prize: £150 plus the Ware Sonnet Prize: £150 There will be an informal prizegiving at Ware Arts Centre on Fri 5 Jul 2019. See http://www.poetrypf.co.uk/comps/ware19.pdf
30th April 2019	1st £100 entry £4	CULPEPPER’S REMEDY POETRY COMPETITION 2019 For poems of any length on any theme. Our competition will be judged by poet and editor, LUCY TURNBULL of OPTIMUM MAGAZINE. First prize is £100 Second £50 and all poems will be considered for our 2019 anthology. Entry fees 1 poem £4 2 poems £7 3 poems £10 5 poems £14 All entries must be received by midnight on 30th April 2019. For further details and to enter online see https://culpeppersremedy.wordpress.com/competition-2019/
30th April 2019	1st £150 entry £3	Southport Writers' Circle International Poetry Competition 2018 Closing date: 30th April 2019. Prizes: £150, £75, £25. Entry fee: £3 per poem or four poems for £10. Looking for: An unpublished, original story on any theme of up to 2000 words. Email: swcstorycomp@yahoo.co.uk Website: www.swconline.co.uk
30th April 2019	1st £600 entry £4	Ver Poets Open Competition This year's judge is Kathryn Maris. 1st prize: £600 2nd prize: £300 3rd prize: £100 30 poems are selected for the anthology. Send 2 copies of each poem entered with a completed entry form. A cheque payable to Ver Poets must be included. See https://verpoets.co.uk/poetry-competitions/
31st May 2019	1st 30% of receipts entry £2	Go Gothic Hosted by Tavistock Library and supported by Tavistock Heritage Trust as part of 'Tavistock's 1st Gothic and Neo-Gothic Celebration - Literature, Art, Architecture, Theatre, Film and Creative Fun.’ Theme: a poem in the gothic tradition incorporating folklore and myth. A cash prize will be offered to the overall winner, 30% of all entry receipts will form the prize fund. There will also be a second prize of 30% of all the entry fees awarded to a ‘Gothic’ poem based around Tavistock and incorporating its Gothic and Neo-Gothic Heritage. Additional runners-up prizes of books will also be awarded. The remaining 40% of the entry fees will be used for administration costs and for festival and library events. See http://www.myfanwycook.com/go-gothic-poetry-competition/

Ongoing Competitions
We have decided not to list the ongoing competitions section as in some cases we are unsure as to the legitimacy of the competition. In future we will only list competitions with a single closing date.

the Poetry kit

Poetry Competitions

Poems for Home

A competition for original poetry on the theme of Home

Guest Judges: Michael Harrison and John Hegley

Entry fee: £4 per poem. Deadline Sunday 20 January 2019

1s £100 2nd £75 3rd £50 100% of your entry fee will go directly to Shelter.

Teignmouth Poetry Festival 2019 Competition

Prole Laureate Poetry Competition 2019

St Petrocs Poetry Competition

Slipstream Poets Open Poetry Competition

Poets & Players Poetry Competition

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2019

Ver Poets Open Competition

Go Gothic

***the* Poetry *kit***

Entry fee: £4 per poem.
Deadline Sunday 20 January 2019

1s £100 2nd £75 3rd £50
100% of your entry fee will go directly to Shelter.