Poetry Competitions

Poetry Kit Newsletter

Distributed by e-mail on the 1st of every month, provides competition details and deadlines. For our free monthly newsletter go here.

Words by the Water/Mirehouse Poetry Competition  - Theme: There is no joy but calm - Tennyson.

Entry Fee: £4.00

Contact:

Mirehouse Poetry Competition, Droridge Farm, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6JG

Cheques payable to Words by the Water

Ward Wood Publishing is proud to announce the

2012 Lumen/Camden Poetry Competition

judged by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy

All proceeds to the London Homeless Cold Weather Shelters

This is your chance to have your poetry published in a 20-page pamphlet while also supporting the homeless. The competition will be judged by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Entry Rules:

• The winner will have a collection of their poems published in a 20 page chapbook and will receive 50 copies of their collection delivered free within the UK and will be invited to read from their work at the Camden and Lumen Open Mic Events and Friday Night Writers in London.
• The competition will be judged by The Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy
• The winner will be selected on the basis of just one poem.
• Maximum length of each entry is 40 lines
• All entries must be previously unpublished work
• The entry fee is £2.50 per poem or £10 for six
• Everyone is eligible to enter
• All profits from both the competition and pamphlet sales will go to the London Homeless Cold Weather Shelters
• The closing date is February 14th 2012
• The Pamphlet will be published by Ward Wood Publishing
• International entrants, without a UK bank account should use pay pal (see below)

Payments:

By Post:

Send your poems and a cheque (payable to Cold Weather Shelter) to Ruth O’Callaghan, 49 Ripley Gardens, Mortlake London, SW14 8HF.

In Person:

Take your entry to one of the Camden and Lumen open mic events and hand it to Ruth, who will pass it on to Carol Ann Duffy

Online: Go to the Competitions page on www.wardwoodpublishing.co.uk

The W.B. Yeats Poetry Award

These are complete guidelines. No entry form required.  First prize $250, second $100, honorable mentions. Unpublished poems in English up to 60 lines on any subject, each (judged separately) typed on an 8½ x 11-inch sheet without author’s name; attach 3×5-inch card(s) with name, address, telephone, e-mail. Entry fee: $8 for first poem and $7 each additional. Send with payment in U.S. dollars to WB Yeats Society of NY, c/o National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, NY, NY 10003-1796. Include SASE to receive a copy of the judge's report, posted on our Web site mid March.  Winners and honorable mentions receive Yeats Society membership and are honored at a ceremony in New York. Authors retain rights, but permit the Society to publish or broadcast winning entries. Deadline for the 2012 competition is February 15, 2012.  Awards will be presented in April.  This year's judge is Bill Zavatsky. Previous judges include Marie Ponsot, Eamon Greenan, Grace Shulman, Alice Quinn, Harvey Shapiro, and Samuel Menashe.

Norwich Writers' Circle 41st Annual Open Poetry Competition

Entry Fee: £3.00

All entry cheques and postal orders must be made payable to: Norwich Writers' Circle, Account Payee Only.

(IRC accepted from outside the UK)

Please send all entries to: Open Poetry Competition Secretary, 1 Stannard Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR4 7JD

http://www.norwichwriters.org.uk/poetry/rules.htm

STRAID COLLECTION AWARDS

28th February 2012 - Closing Date

1^st Prize x 3: Publication of up to three full Collections

All entrants receive a Templar Short Collection
Collections launched at readings at the Derwent Poetry Festival November 2012

Results: May 2012

Fee: £22 (£25 online submissions);

Length: 36 or more pages (40 lines per page)

Judge: Alex McMillen.

No translations.

Online entry, emailed as attachment to straidaward@templarpoetry.co.uk

Or
SEND TO: Straid Collection Awards, PO BOX 7082, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 9AF

Grace Dieu Writers' Circle Poetry Competition 2012

Entry Fee: £4 for one poem or £12 for 4, £3 for each additional entry over four

Full details and entry forms can be found on our website at www.gracedieuwriterscircle.co.uk

Alternatively to receive a competition leaflet, please send a SAE to:

The Competition Organiser, 23 Henson Way, Sharnford, Leicestershire, LE10 3PN

The STAFFORD POETRY COMPETITION 2012

First prize £1000

Five runner-up prizes of £50

The competition is open to anyone, of any age, wherever they live. Entries must be in English. There is an entry fee of £4.00 for the first poem submitted, and £3.00 per poem for any further poems.

In Olympic Year 2012 we are celebrating the inspiration of Ancient Greece, and the role of Shugborough Hall, Stafford, in the 18^th century Greek Revival.  We are offering an extra prize of £100 for the best poem with either of these titles -  “Arcadia” or “Olympics”. (For more information visit www.heardmusic.co.uk)

The competition will be judged by Michael Hulse. (http://literature.britishcouncil.org/michael-hulse)

The Stafford Poetry Competition is an open competition organised by Staffordshire Libraries and supported by Stafford District Arts Council.

RULES

1) Poems should be no more than 40 lines. Entries must be the original work of the entrant and must be previously unpublished in any form (print, electronic or other media).

2) All entries must be received no later than 28^th February  2012.

3) Entries must be in English, typed in a plain font with no illustrations or decoration, on plain white A4 paper. The author’s name or address must not appear on the poem itself but on a cover sheet.

4) Copyright in all entries is retained by the writer. By entering the competition the authors give permission to Staffordshire Libraries and Stafford District Arts Council to reproduce their work, with the author’s name, in displays, promotional material and on their web pages.

5) The competition organisers will not publish any details of addresses of entrants but may refer to their town or county of origin.

6) The judges’ decision is final. We hope to announce the winners on May 1^st.

7) The organisers will acknowledge receipt of entries only if entrants include a stamped addressed envelope.

8) Winners will be notified by the organisers and details of winners will be published in the local press and on www.staffordshire.gov.uk

9) Other entrants will not be notified directly and poems will not be returned.

10) Entry to the competition is regarded as acceptance of all of the above rules.

11) Entries should be posted to: Stafford Poetry Competition, Shire Hall Library, Market Street, Stafford ST16 2LQ.

They must be accompanied by

a) a cover sheet giving the name and address of the entrant and the title(s) of

    the poem(s) entered, and

b) a cheque payable to “Staffordshire County Council” for £4.00 (plus £3.00

    each for any extra poems) or postal order.

1st  £300

Entry fee: £3 for each poem or £10 for 4 poems.

Battered Moons Poetry Competition for UK residents. Adjudicators: Michael Symmons Roberts (finals) and Cristina Newton (preliminary). The 3 winners and 4 commended poets will be invited to read their poems at the Swindon Festival of Literature on Friday 11^th  May 2011, when Michael Symmons Roberts will hand out prizes and read his work. Winning and commended poems will appear in the Battered Moons Poetry Pamphlet and websited. For poems up to 40 lines. Supported by the Swindon Festival of Literature and Artswords.

Website:  http://www.batteredmoons.com

Thynks Poetry Pamphlets Competition on the theme of 'Memories'
For small poetry collections of up to 25 pages and up to 40 lines per page.

The winner will have their collection published and they and two runners up will receive £25 plus publication in the Bards at Blidworth and Beyond 2012 Anthology.

Entry Fee: £10

Contact: The Competitions Secretary, 18 Hillside Road, Blidworth, Nottinghamshire, NG21 0TR

Website:- http://www.thynkspublications.co.uk/competitions

Email: thynkspublications@yahoo.co.uk

1st  £130 plus publication in Prole

The second Prole Laureate poetry competition.

The competition will be judged by Andrew McMillan.

As well as the winner, there will be two runners up, each winning £25 and possible publication.

Winners announced in our April 2012 issue of Prole and on our website, April 30^th 2012.

The Poetry Box International Horror, Gothic-Horror & Dark Poetry Silver Trophy Cup Competition 2012

To celebrate the launch of a new UK-based Horror, Gothic-Horror and Dark Poetry Monthly Magazine - 'The Poetry Box Horror & Dark Poetry ScrapBook' - edited, compiled and published by the founder of The Poetry Box Studio in Hampshire, LK Barley Robinson - The Poetry Box International Horror, Gothic-Horror & Dark Poetry Competition 2012 is a new competition in these unusual poetry genres and the Winners and Finalists Entries, and a number of Commended Entries, will be published in the inaugural Issue - Publication Date: 1 April 2012.  Prizes: First Prize Winner - The Poetry Box Horror & Dark Poetry Silver Trophy Cup and Award-Winning Certificate. The 2nd and 3rd Place Finalists will receive Award-Winning Certificates and Prize Cheques of £25.00 each.  The 4th and 5th Place Finalists will receive Award-Winning Certificates and Prize Cheques of £20.00 each and Highly Commended Entries will receive Highly Commended Certificates.  All Winning Entrants will receive a copy of the inaugural First Edition Issue of 'The Poetry Box Horror & Dark Poetry ScrapBook Magazine' - which will include their published Winning Entry/s.

Rules:  The Poem/s Must Be Horror, Gothic-Horror or Dark-Themed. Length of Poem: 60 Lines Maximum per poem - One Poem Per A4 White Paper Page, Typed, Single Line Spacing.  Poet's Personal Details To Appear On The 2012 Competition Entry Form available via website - www.ThePoetryBox.co.uk.  Entry Fee is £5.00 per Poem, up to a maximum of 4 Poems per Entrant. All Entrants agree that their Poems may be selected for inclusion in The Horror & Dark Poetry ScrapBook Magazine for up to one year after the Competition Deadline (1 March 2013).  Further Details: www.ThePoetryBox.co.uk.  The Poetry Box Studio is Open To The Public Every Wednesday between 9.00am to 6.30pm with Live Poetry Readings Performed By a Programme of Visiting Poets Between 10.30am-11.15am in the Garden of the Studio.  On Display within The Poetry Box are Poetry Prints, Poetry Posters, new and secondhand Poetry Books and Gothic-Horror and Horror Props, Postcards and miscellanea. Address: The Poetry Box, 'Ramshackles' 2 Downview, Nyewood, Petersfield, Hampshire GU31 5JA, Tel: 01730 821030, Email:FairyTaleRhymes@aol.com

BARE HANDS INTERNATIONAL POETRY & PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2012

We’ve launched a competition. Not just any competition. Let me tell you why

Promoting your work is not an easy feat. You can do things online but it’s nice to have something in print, something you can put on your wall, like a postcard…

So the idea is the winning poems and photographs of the competition will be turned into a beautiful postcard (we pride ourselves on our design) AND we will distribute these postcards to leading independent bookshops in Dublin, London, Edinburgh, Paris, Berlin, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Melbourne, Sydney, Toronto & Vancouver. We’re not kidding. They’ll be free so people can just pick them up!

There will be two winners in each category - two poems and two photographs - so two different postcards will be created. We will make 2000 of each. Your work will be sent all around the world. The winning entries will also be published on our website too.

The theme is BARE HANDS - MARCH 1st 2012

Entries are €4 for one entry. Multiple entries are accepted. 

To pay simply click the BUY NOW button on our site http://barehandspoetry.tumblr.com/

All competition entries should be emailed to barehandspoetry@gmail.com

Poetry entries - Poems must be unpublished and not be entered into any other competition. Poems should be no longer than 20 lines long (has to fit on the postcard!) Send your poem within the body of an email (no attachments please). Put your name at the end of the poem. Mark the subject field COMPETITION ENTRY POETRY. 

Photography entries - Photographs must not have appeared in any online or print journal. Put your name in the body of an email. Attach your entry as a jpeg and mark the subject field COMPETITION ENTRY PHOTOGRAPHY.

The winners will be announced at the end of March.  Postcards will be created and distributed in May!

1st £3000

Christopher Tower Poetry Competition 2012 Judges Christopher Reid, Don Paterson and Peter McDonald. Prizegiving will be at lunchtime on Thursday 19 April at Christ Church, Oxford.  Winning entrants will be notified by 30 March 2012.

First Prize £3,000 Second £1,000, Third £500 4 runner-up prizes of £250
Winning schools receive £150Winning poems will be published in a pamphlet and on the Tower Poetry website. For further details, rules & entry form visit http:// towerpoetry.org.uk/prize

Girton College Jane Martin Poetry Prize

Entry free, More information and entry details at: http://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/news/2012/

The Jane Martin Poetry Prize, Girton College, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0JG

Queen Mother Memorial Poetry Competition

Entry Fee: £3 or £10 for 4 poems

For more information goto website at http://sites.google.com/site/royalpoetrycompetition/competitiondetails

Email: kumbi.johnson@googlemail.com

Awel Aman Tawe Poetry Competition on Climate Change

 £3 per poem or 4 for £10 (adults); £1 per poem or 4 for £3 (children)

More details at: www.awelamantawe.co.uk

Cheques payable to Awel Aman Tawe.

Awel Aman Tawe Poetry Competition, 76-78 Heol Gwilym, Cwmllynfell, Swansea, SA9 2GN

You can also enter online and pay via paypal on the website.

Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition

Entry fee: £3 for the first poem, then £2.50 for each poem thereafter

Line Length: Up to 30 lines 

Prizes will be awarded as follows:

First: £150 plus publication

Second: £100

Third: £50

Website: http://www.flash500.com/index_files/humourverse.html

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest

Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad

20th year. Seeks short stories, essays and other works of prose, up to 5,000 words. Accepts fiction and nonfiction. Entries may be previously published. Submit online or by mail. Winning entries will be published online.

First Prize $3,000, Second $1,000, Third $400, Fourth $250, 6 Most Highly Commended Awards of $150 each

Entry fee $15

See guidelines and read past winning entries at http://www.winningwriters.com/tomstory

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Final judge: Jendi Reiter

11th year. Submit one humor poem online, any length. Entries may be previously published. Winning entries will be published online.

First Prize $1,500, Second $800, Third $400, 12 Honorable Mention awards of $75 each

No fee

See guidelines and read past winning entries at http://www.winningwriters.com/wergle 

Peggy Zuleika Lynch Competition

Adults and Children, Submit your poem now:
1. 32 line limit, in the subject line of your e-mail submission put contest
2. by e-mail, add contact info ten lines below poem to forrestpoetry@live.com
3. or by snail mail to: 301 N. 19th, Lamesa, TX 1st Place Adult. 18 and over, $75, 1st Place Children, under 12, $75.00, 1st Place young people 14 - 17, $75.00
THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE!

Be sure to include your name, e-mail and snail address, and your age. We are open for submissions at this time. This is an open form contest. Anyone is eligible to enter the contest, there is no fee.

Buxton Poetry Competition 2011 

Theme this year is 'Welcome to Britain'. Judges are Ann and Peter Sansom. Prizes: Open - £300, £200, £100 plus other prizes. Children and Young People - booktokens. Categories: Open (ages 19 and over), Youth (ages 12 - 18), Children's (11 and unders).

Entry Fee: £5 per poem in the Open Category, Childrens and Youth - FREE

All entries must be sent by post with a completed entry form to the address on the form.

For more information and to download an entryform please visit www.derby.ac.uk/buxtonpoetrycompetition.

13th April 2012

1st £100

entry £2

Poetry-next-the-Sea Open Poetry Competition 2012

Adjudicator: Graham High

The competition is open to anyone over the age of 16.

You may enter up to three unpublished poems .

Entry:

1 Poem = £2

2 Poems = £4

3 Poems = £5

Winners and commended poets have the opportunity to read their work at our Competition winners’ event on Sunday 13^th May 2012.

1st Prize: £100

2nd Prize: £75

3rd Prize: £50

For full conditions of entry plus entry form go to www.poetry-next-the-sea.com

 or for other festival queries contact lizndave@lradley.fslife.co.uk

Poetry on the Lake 12^th International Competition.

First Prize €400, 2 x €200, 3 x €100, other prizes.

3 categories. Adjudicators: Gillian Clarke (open),Carole Baldock (Formal), Christopher North (Short). Suggested (not obligatory)theme:’ Beastly’. Awards and readings at Celebration end of September.

Full details http://www.poetryonthelake.org/page2.php

Grey Hen Poetry Competition 2012 is for women over 60.  Poems up to 40 lines on any theme.  Judges: Katherine Gallagher and Angela Kirby.  Prizes: £100, £75, £25.   Entry Fee £3.00 per poem, £10 for 4.  Rules and entry form (essential) from www.greyhenpress.com  or write for further details to Grey Hen Press, PO Box 450, Keighley, W Yorks BD22 9BG  Closing date 30^th April.

Ver Poets Open Competition 2012 Adjudicator: Mimi Khalvati

Closing Date: April 30th 2012

Prizes: 1st- £600

           2nd - £300

           3rd - £100

Entry Fee: £4 per poem, 3 for £10, £2 per poem thereafter

Poems on any theme of up to thirty lines. Two copies of each.

Full details and entry form at www.verpoets.org.uk/competitions

or SAE to Competitions Secretary, 181 Sandridge Road, St Albans AL1 4AH

Poetic Republic Poetry Prize 2012

1^st Prize (Single poem) £2,000

1^st Prize (Portfolio)      £1,000

Peer review online poetry competition judged by the entrants themselves.

The event will culminate with a collaborative eBook publication featuring the best poems and comments as chosen by the participants.

Any subject or style: Poetry or Prose Poetry, Maximum 42 lines, Entry fee £7.

To find out more and to enter online please visit: www.poeticrepublic.com

Closing date: 30^th April 2012

Mayor of Enfield's Poetry Competition

Entry Fee: £3 per poem for first 3 poems £10 for 4

The Mayor's Poetry Competition, Enfield Council, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield EN1 3XA

Email: poetry@chela.co.uk
See www.enfield.gov.uk/poetrycompetition2010 for more details

The Rialto/RSPB Nature Poetry Competition

Entry £6 for first poem. £3 per poem thereafter.

Online entry at: http://www.therialto.co.uk/

Entry form available at various outlets, bookshops or from the RSPB

SOUTHPORT WRITERS’ CIRCLE INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION 2012

ADJUICATOR: Alison Chisholm

First Prize: £200, Second Prize: £100, Third Prize: £50 (In addition: £25 Humour Prize: £25 Local Prize

RULES: Please read carefully

1. Poems should bear no identification of the poet. Local entrants

    (Liverpool and Preston Postcodes) should mark poems

    with an ‘L’. Please enclose a separate sheet of A4 paper

    with your full contact details and list of titles

    submitted.

2. All entries must be typed on A4 paper, in English, and

    must be the original, unpublished work of the entrant.

3. Each entry should be accompanied by the appropriate fee

     of £3 per poem or four poems for £10. Cheques/Postal orders should be in

    sterling and payable to SOUTHPORT WRITERS’

    CIRCLE.

4.  A maximum of 40 lines per poem is allowed.

5.  The closing date for entries will be 30th April 2012.

6.  Please keep a copy of your poem(s) as manuscripts

     cannot be returned.

7.  The adjudicator’s decisions are final and no

      correspondence will be entered into. Entrants who

      enclose an S.A.E will receive a copy of the adjudicator’s

      report.

No application form is required. Envelopes should be marked ‘POETRY COMPETITION’ and sent to:- Southport Writers’ Circle, 18 Ditchfield, Formby, Merseyside, L37 4EQ please DO NOT send entries by recorded delivery.

We now also accept entries online please visit www.swconline.co.uk

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2012

Entry Fee £3, £10 for 4, £2.50 thereafter in the same submission. 

The Competition Secretary, Ware Poets Competition 2012, Clothall End House, California, Baldock, SG7 6NU

Cheques payable to Ware Poets Competition

Poetic Republic Poetry Prize

Entry Fee: £7

To find out more and to enter visit: www.poeticrepublic.com

East Grinstead Town Council Jubilee Literary Competition

Entry £3 each submission, £10 for four.

Entries to: East Grinstead Town Council Jubilee Literary Competition at East Court, East Grinstead, RH19 3LT.

See www.eastgrinstead.gov.uk

Northampton Literature Group’s 14^th Annual Open Poetry Competition 2012

£1260 Prize Fund

Free Verse (Category A) Rhyming Poetry (Category B)

 1^st Prize £250, 2^nd Prize £150, 3^rd Prize £50

plus three Highly Commended £10 each

Judge is acclaimed Poet John Whitworth
who has published nine books of poems (one of them for children)

and one book on how to write poetry!

Humorous Poetry (Category C)

1^st Prize £150, 2^nd Prize £100, 3^rd Prize £50

Judge is Award-Winning Northamptonshire Poet Jayne Osborn

Entry fee for all three categories is £3.00 per poem or 4 £10

Entry forms, rules, enter online - see our Northampton Literature Group website

.  www.northamptonliteraturegroup.org.uk

or send s.a.e. to Pat Archer NLG 7 Cattle Hill, Great Billing, Northampton NN3 9DU

Closing date for entries Saturday May 12^th 2012

Mary Charman-Smith Poetry Competition

For poems up to 45 lines on any subject. In any form or in free verse. Prizes: £100 first prize and the runner up will receive £25. Judge: Mary Charman-Smith. Enter online or by post. Entry fee: £4 for one poem, £9 for three poems. http://www.marycharmansmith.co.uk/competition.html

ARTISTS EMBASSY INTERNATIONAL’S NINETEENTH ANNUAL DANCING POETRY CONTEST

THE FROGMORE POETRY PRIZE 2012 sponsored by the Frogmore Press

 www.frogmorepress.co.uk

The winner of the Frogmore Poetry Prize for 2012 will win two hundred 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.

Conditions of Entry

1     Poems must be in English, unpublished, and not accepted for future publication.

2     Poems should be typed and no longer than forty lines.

3     Any number of poems may be entered on payment of the appropriate fee of £3 per poem.   Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to The Frogmore Press.

4     The following methods of payment are acceptable: cheque drawn on UK bank; British postal order; sterling.  

5     Each poem should be on a separate sheet, which should not include the name of the author.

6     The author’s name and address should be provided on an accompanying sheet of paper.

7     The winner, runners-up and shortlisted poets will be notified by post. All shortlisted poems will appear in number 80 of The Frogmore Papers (September 2012), which will be available at £5.00 from the address below, and on the Frogmore Press website.          

8     To receive a copy of the results, please enclose an s.a.e. marked ‘Results’.

9     Poems cannot be returned.

10   Closing date for submissions: 31 May 2012.

11   Copyright of all poems submitted will remain with the authors but the Frogmore Press reserves the right to publish all shortlisted poems.

12   The adjudicator’s decision will be final and no correspondence can be entered into.

13   Entries should be sent to: The Frogmore Press, 21 Mildmay Road, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1PJ.

14   The submission of poems for the Prize will be taken as indicating acceptance of the above conditions.

Sports Poetry & Prose Contest

Final judge: Jendi Reiter

2 First Prizes of $1,500 each, 2 Second Prizes of $500 each, 10 Honorable Mention awards of $100 each

Entry fee $15

New contest! Submit an entry of 1-2 poems or one work of prose on a sports-related theme, up to 6,000 words in all. In the prose category, fiction and nonfiction compete together. Entries must be original and unpublished. Winning entries will be published online. See guidelines and submit online at http://www.winningwriters.com/sports

Thynks Poetry Pamphlets Competition on the theme of 'New Beginnings'
For small poetry collections of up to 25 pages and up to 40 lines per page.

The winner will have their collection published and they and two runners up will receive £25 plus publication in the Bards at Blidworth and Beyond 2012 Anthology100.
Entry Fee: £10

Contact: The Competitions Secretary, 18 Hillside Road, Blidworth, Nottinghamshire, NG21 0TR

Website:- http://www.thynkspublications.co.uk/competitions

Email: thynkspublications@yahoo.co.uk

Wirral Festival of Firsts Open Poetry Competition 2012
This year we have THREE categories!

 1. Open Poetry Competition

A poem on any subject, no more than 40 lines.

 First Prize: £100. Two runners up: £50 each

 2. Humorous Poetry Competition

A humorous or comic poem, no more than 40 lines

First Prize: £100. Two runners up: £50 each

 3. Under 16’s Poetry Competition

A poem on any subject, no more than 40 lines,

by anyone aged 16 years or under, on 31 August 2011.

First Prize: £50 in book vouchers.

Four runners up: £25 in book vouchers each.

Submission guidelines

·         Please type poems on 1 side of A4 paper,1 poem per page.

·         Please send a separate sheet listing your contact details  and the title(s) of your poem(s).

·         No on-line or email entries possible.

·         Remember to include your entry fee:  £3 per poem, £5 for two poems (free for under 16’s).

·         Make cheques  or Postal Orders payable to  “Festival of  Firsts”.

·         Post all entries to:  FOF Poetry, 71 Alderley Road,  Hoylake, CH47 2AU

Please check our website for all the competition rules and more information about the Festival of Firsts 2012.

http://www.festivaloffirsts.co.uk/festival_of_firsts_poetry_competition.html

The Times Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry in Translation

Entry £5 (Anyone eighteen or under on 1 June 2012 is exempt from this charge)

The Times Stephen Spender Prize, The Stephen Spender Trust, 3 Old Wish Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN21 4JX

For further details or to enter online goto http://www.stephen-spender.org/

Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition 2012 

Judges: Don Paterson and Gillian K. Ferguson. Prize-giving will be in August at the Edinburgh Book Festival.  Winners & runners-up will be invited to read their winning poems at the festival.  Winning poems will be published on the competition website. For further details, rules & entry form visit

http://www.edwinmorganpoetrycompetition.co.uk/

Keats-Shelley Prize 2012

entry £5 per poem.

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

Rhyme and Reason Poetry Competition

Judge: Gerard Benson, City of Bradford’s Poet Laureate and founding editor of ‘Poems on the Underground’

All profits from entry fees and sales of the Rhyme & Reason diary go to Iain Rennie Hospice at Home http://www.irhh.org/sitehome/index.html - £50k+ donated to date.  To enter, please email your poem(s) to wallisjill@hotmail.com  including the title(s), name, address plus home and mobile telephone nos.  In addition, please send your entry form plus fee (see below) to Rhyme & Reason Poetry Competition 2012, 8 Lower Icknield Way, Aston Clinton, Bucks, HP22 5JS.  (NB: entries will only be considered once the entry fee has been received.)  We welcome entries from everyone of any age.  If you are under 18 please add your age to the entry form.   Deadline: 30 June 2012.

Each POEM on the theme of SEASONS should be no longer than 30 lines and should not have been previously published.  Only electronic submissions will be accepted and should be in Calibri font size 10.  There are three prizes in the Adult section (18+): 1^st £110; 2^nd £60; and 3^rd £30.  There are three book token prizes In the Youth section (up to 18 years): 1^st £30; 2^nd £20; and 3^rd £10.  Prize winners will be notified by the end of August 2012.  All winning entries will be published in the 2013 diary edition of ‘Rhyme & Reason’, which is launched in October 2012.  The judge’s decision is final.  We reserve the right to publish any unplaced entries, which may be altered, amended or corrected by the Editors.

Please cut out, complete and send by post with your entry fee (cheques only please), or download form at:

http://www.irhh.org/sitehome/fundraising/fundraisinggroups/rhyme_reason.html

Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse

Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad

9th year. Submit poems in traditional verse forms. Entries may be previously published.

First Prize $3,000, Second $1,000, Third $400, Fourth $250, 6 Most Highly Commended Awards of $150 each

Entry fee $8 for every 25 lines submitted

 Submit online or by mail. Winning entries will be published online. See guidelines and read past winning entries at http://www.winningwriters.com/margaret

The Sportswriter Competition 2012

Prizes:

First place: £250

Second place: £75

Third place: £25

(paid in British Pounds Sterling by bank transfer, cheque or through PayPal)

The entry fee is £3.00, of which £1.00 will be donated to our chosen charity, Cyclists Fighting Cancer ( http://cyclistsfc.org.uk/ ). The deadline for entries is midnight on the 1st July 2012, the day of the Euro 2012

The Sportswriter Competition 2012 is open to anyone aged 18 years or older.  

Entries may be submitted directly through the form on the website, http://www.sportswriter.org.uk/writing-competition , or by email, info@sportswriter.org.uk.

Entries may be up to 2000 words (or 40 lines for poems) and should relate to sport in some way. Winning entrants will receive the cash prizes and their work will be published on the website, www.sportswriter.org.uk .

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest

Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad

First Prize $3,000, Second $1,000, Third $400, Fourth $250, 6 Most Highly Commended Awards of $150 each, plus a $250 bonus prize for humorous verse

Entry fee $8 for every 25 lines submitted

10th year. Submit poems in any style or genre. Entries may be previously published. Submit online or by mail. Winning entries will be published online. See guidelines and read past winning entries at http://www.winningwriters.com/tompoetry

Sixth Annual Troubadour International Poetry Prize 

Judged by Jane Draycott & Bernard O'Donoghue (with both judges reading all poems submitted) 

Prizes: 1st £2,500, 2nd £500, 3rd £250

plus 20 prizes of £20 each

plus a Spring 2013 Coffee-House-Poetry season-ticket and  a prizewinners' Coffee-House Poetry reading with Jane Draycott & Bernard O'Donoghue on Mon 26th Nov 2012 for all prize-winning poets

Submissions: by Mon 15th Oct 2012

 Anne-Marie Fyfe (Organiser) coffee-house poetry at the troubadour

Further detaqils at - www.coffeehousepoetry.org