Creativity is known to help people express themselves during the darkest days of their mental illness and throughout their recovery. It helps support self-understanding of mental health conditions.

There are five different categories you can enter:

Darkest days: poems from before the dawn of hope
Good days and bad days: poems from the road to recovery
Being well: poems about more peaceful times
Illustrated poem: poems with illustration
Spoken word poem: poems spoken

You can write, record or film your poem. Your poem should be a maximum of 25 lines and only one entry per person.

For more details https://www.advocacyproject.org.uk/poetry/

A Dempsey & Windle competition leading up to National Poetry Day.

Three book prizes to the value of £30 for the best three poems submitted.

The 20 best poems will be published in an anthology and a copy given to each of the contributors.

Topic for poems: Free choice of subject, or use the national theme: Truth. 

Three winners will be announced on 3 October at the Cranleigh Arts Centre.

Are you someone who enjoys writing poetry? Or perhaps you have a friend or relative who is a talented poet? This could be the competition for you.

As well as having your poem published on the Voices blog and shared on social media, you will also have the opportunity to win a prize of £100 of book tokens, whilst each runner up will receive book tokens for the sum of £50.

For more information see  https://voices.poetry.blog/

Do you remember closing your eyes to go to sleep only for your overactive imagination to take over and turn every shadow into a monster, ever squeak of a floorboard into the footsteps of some strange and scary animal, every breath tasting of magic and mystery and no matter how tightly you squeezed  your eyes shut, you knew not to open them. Something was watching you.

Hedgehog Press want you to remember that feeling and write them a poem that describes the monster that kept you hidden beneath the bedclothes with the best of the entries to be published in their own supernatural Bestiary of the Night.

The winner will:

Receive £100 in Prize Money

Receive 250 copies of their poem beautifully printed in Artcard form

See their poem beautifully reproduced in a great new anthology, to be published by the Hedgehog Poetry Press

All of the shortlisted poets will be invited to have their poem included in the anthology too and everybody who has their work featured will receive copies of the finished work.

The competition will be judged by Mark Davidson, Editor of The Hedgehog Poetry Press

for further details see https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk/product/postcards-bestiary-of-the-night-competition/

In the beginning was The Word… Lichfield Cathedral is inviting new poems inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing on the theme “light in our darkness” for its first poetry festival this autumn.

The poems will be displayed in the cathedral as part of this five-day event with winning poems announced at special prize giving evening. Prizes are £100, £50 and £25.

Judges include Michael Symmons Roberts. 

for further details see https://www.lichfield-cathedral.org/journeys/the-word-poetry-competition

This poetry prize remembers Cambridge graduate, Olga Kenyon, (Aryamati), who had a rich career involving teaching, lecturing and writing. She was a well respected non-fiction author, documenting and researching the history of women's writing and had eight books published. As a keen poet she won the North West Libraries poetry award in 2016 and her poem about Alderley Edge was displayed on the city's trams.

​Poems should be themed around 'Change' in line with this year's National Poetry Day and respond to the Aryamati Prize brief of poets who write for social change and peace. The prize represents that which Aryamati held dear: reading widely, writing to her loved ones from across the globe by postcard and seeking critical feedback on her work, constantly aiming to improve her craft.

for further details see https://www.flyonthewallpoetry.co.uk/the-aryamati-poetry-prize

Brighton & Hove Arts Council have announces the opening of the 2019 Poetry Competition in partnership with the University of Brighton. All poems will be judged by Dr Jess Moriarty MA – who is course leader of creative writing at the University of Brighton.

First prize – £1,000

Runner up – £250

Second runner up – Work, Write, Live creative writing course (University of Brighton)

First prize – student competition – £150

Four highly commended prizes – £25

Winners will be notified in early November and will be invited to read their work on stage at the BHAC Poetry Festival on 24 November where they will discover the exact nature of their prize.

for more information https://www.bh-arts.org.uk/bhac-2019-poetry-competition/

The Poetry Society's National Poetry Competition is one of the world's biggest and most prestigious poetry contests. There's a first prize of £5,000 plus nine additional cash prizes.

Winning poems are published on the Poetry Society's website and in an anthology where it will reach an audience of poetry fans across the world.

All entries are ready anonymously by the judges, who this year are Mona Arshi, Maurice Riordan and Helen Mort. 

For more information https://npc.poetrysociety.org.uk/

Poems must be no more than 40 lines. Written in English. Typed, on single-sided sheets and in a readable, 12 point font. Poems must not have been published, self-published, published on a website, broadcast, been placed first, second or third, or been awarded a prize in any other competition. Multiple page poems, sent by post, must be numbered and the complete set held together with a paperclip. The title of the poem must appear at the top of each page. Nothing must appear on any page which would identify the entrant.

For more information https://bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk/BWC/php/homepage.php   

Wales Poetry Award is a national competition to discover the very best international contemporary poetry.

After 55 years of publishing contemporary poetry in 212 issues (and counting) of its magazine, Poetry Wales launches Wales Poetry Award, a national competition to discover the very best international contemporary poetry.  Wales Poetry Award is open to single poem entries from new and established poets from Wales and beyond, with 3 awards and 10 highly commended prizes to be won.

Winning poems will be published in upcoming issues of Poetry Wales and shortlisted poets will be invited to attend an awards reception in February 2020 where our award winners will be announced and receive their prizes.

for further details see https://poetrywales.co.uk/award/

The Littoral Press is holding an annual competition for a full collection of nature, spiritual, environment poetry.

60 copies of the winning collection will be published by the Littoral Press.

For more information  https://littoralpressuk.jimdofree.com/home-1/poetry-competition/

The East Riding Festival of Words 2019 Poetry competition is now open for entries. This year's theme is 'My Mind, My Thoughts'.

Entries will be judged by a panel of published Yorkshire poets, led by James Nash. Poems are submitted anonymously, so each entry is judged on its own merits. Winners will be invited to read their poems at the special event, Poet Fest, in Bridlington in January 2020.

Larkin prize: £500 Second prize: £200  Third Prize: £100

Young Poets Prize
If you can say the words, you can write the words. Express yourself through poetry - whatever shape or form - and you could win £50! The competition is open to all school aged children, with one prize for primary and one for secondary.  Primary school prize: £50  Secondary school prize: £75

You only need to open one of the ‘Best Poets of the – choose your favourite – Century’ books to realise that women poets have never received their share of recognition. The Hedgehog Press are aiming to put that right with an anthology of poetry inspired by the often disregarded greats.

So whether it is the work of Plath or Dickinson that inspires you, or if you have read wider and love Judith Sargent Murray, Wislawa Szymborska or Pauli Murray, this is your opportunity to pay tribute to them.

Hedgehog Press ask that you write and dedicate a poem to a female writer who you feel should be better respected. This can be written ‘in the style of’ or just draw influence from a favourite poem of theirs – you could even choose to see today’s world through your heroine’s eyes, as it were – it is entirely up to you to decide.

Include the poet’s name as either the poem title or a dedication.

The winner will:

Receive £100 in Prize Money

Receive 250 copies of their poem beautifully printed in Artcard form

Seeing their poem beautifully reproduced in a great new Anthology, to be published by the Hedgehog Poetry Press

All shortlisted poets will be invited to have their poem included in the anthology too and of course everybody who has their work featured will receive copies of the finished work.

The competition will be judged by Mark Davidson, Editor of The Hedgehog Poetry Press

for more information see https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk/tell-the-hog/