The Poetry Kit |
Competitions |
Short story and other competitions
How to Enter Them - Beware of scams.
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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.
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*** POETRY KIT ON-LINE POETRY COURSES - POETRY KIT BOOKSHOP ** |
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| 7th July 2009 |
1st £100 entry £3 |
Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition For poems up to 40 lines on any subject. Entry Fees: £3.00 per poem or £12.00 for 5 poems First Prize: £100.00 Second Prize: £60.00 Third Prize: £40.00 First Publication: The top three poems will receive first publication in the July issue (Vol.2 No.4) of Sentinel Literary Quarterly (SLQ). Competition Pamphlet: A pamphlet fed by the competition titled Champion Poems: Top poems from the Sentinel Literary Quarterly Competition #1 (Andy Willoughby and Bob Beagrie eds.) All included poets will receive 1 Free contributor's copy each. Judges: ANDY WILLOUGHBY and BOB BEAGRIE Contact: Website: http://www.sentinelpoetry.org.uk/slq2.3/poetry_competition.htm |
| 7th July 2009 |
1st £200
entry £3.50 |
Mere Literary Festival Open Poetry Competition First prize: £200 plus local prize. For poems of up to 40 lines. Judge: Louis Bernières. Junior sections: under 11s, 12-16s. Entry Fee: £3.50, £1 for juniors For details write to Mrs Adrienne Howell, "Lawrence's", Old Hollow, Mere, Wiltshire BA12 6EG or see website - www.merelitfest.co.uk |
| 30th July 2009 |
1st £500 entry £3
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Essex Poetry Festival 9th Open Poetry Competition For poems of up to 40 lines. Adjudicator: Jo Bell. First prize £500. Entry Fee: £3 per poem or £10 for 5 poems For details write to - Essex Poetry Festival Competition, 15 Seeleys, Old Harlow, Essex CM17 0AD Or see website: www.essex-poetry-festival.co.uk/compb.html |
| 31st July 2009 |
1st £200
entry £3 |
LEAF BOOKS POETRY COMPETITION Leaf Books invites you to submit poems (max 35 lines) on any subject. All selected entries will be published in an anthology. . ENTRY FEE: £3 per single submission; £10 for four submissions. PRIZES: Winner receives £200 plus a copy of the anthology plus complete collection of pocket-sized Leaf Books. Runner up receives complete collection of pocket-sized Leaf Books and a copy of the anthology. Enter online or by post: please see the competitions page on our website for entry form, paypal options etc: http://www.leafbooks.co.uk/New/For%20Writers/CurrentCompetitions.html |
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31st July 2009 |
Prize fund $6,000
entry ??? |
Ipswich International Poetry Competition (Australia) An annual poetry writing competition giving poets of all ages the opportunity to compete for over $6,000 in prizes. Widely promoted to schools, libraries and the general community, this competition attracts local, interstate and global entries. For details see website http://www.ipswichpoetryfeast.com.au/competition.htm
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| 31st July 2009 |
First Prize: $250, 2nd: $125, 3rd:
$50.00
entry ??? |
The Dream Quest One Poetry Contest is open to anyone that loves to arrange words into the beautiful art of expressing one's innermost thoughts and feeling. Write a poem, 30 lines or fewer on any subject. Must be neatly handprinted or typed. Multiple entries are accepted. All works must be original. Prizes: $250.00, $125.00, $50.00. Entry fee is $5(USD) per poem. Postmark deadline: July 31, 2009. Send your name, address, phone#, email address with brief biographical info (Tell us a little about yourself), on the coversheet. Include a self addressed stamped envelope. Make fee(s) payable to: DREAMQUESTONE.COM. Mail entri(es)/fee(s) to: Dream Quest One Poetry Contest, P.O. Box 3141, Chicago, IL 60654. Visit http://www.dreamquestone.com/rules.html for details and to enter online! And remember, it's okay to dream... |
| 31st July 2009 |
1st £3000
Entry Free |
Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2009 (formerly the Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize) The Poetry Trust invites entries from publishers and individual poets for this annual Prize awarded to the author of the best first full collection published in printed book form (minimum 40 pages) in the UK and Republic of Ireland between 1 Aug 2008 and 31 July 2009. Judges: David Constantine, Mimi Khalvati and Michael Laskey (Chair). The winner receives £3,000 plus a fee-paying invitation to read at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2010 and a week of paid 'protected' writing time staying on the East Suffolk coast. To enter, send three bound or proof copies with a note of the publication date to Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, The Poetry Trust, The Cut, 9 New Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8BY There is no entry fee. Further information from info@thepoetrytrust.org or tel. 01986 835950 |
| 31st July 2009 |
1st £500
entry £4 |
Wells Festival of Literature Poetry and Short Story Competitions 2009
First prize £500. Poetry category is for poems of up to 40 lines on any subject, showing imagination, skill and originality. Short stories should be between 1800 and 2000 words. Entry Fee: £4 per poem or short story For details write to - Poetry Competition, 2 The Gardens, Sadler Street, Wells, Somerset BA5 2SF |
| 31st July 2009 |
1st $200 entry ?? |
Three Environmental Poetry Contests on Air Pollution, Water Pollution and Noise Pollution. One First Prize Winner in each category wins $ 200. Details at; http://poetryforenvironment.com/ |
| 31st July 2009 |
1st various entry free |
Foyle Young Poets of the Year 2009 Judges: Lemn Sissay and Selima Hill. For poets aged between 11 and 17 See website for details - www.poetrysociety.org.uk Email: fyp@poetrysociety.org.uk |
| 31st July 2009 |
First prize £1000; Second Prize £350; Third Prize
£150.
entry £3 |
McLellan Poetry Award 2009. Judge Robert
Crawford. For poems in Scots and English judged in one category.Winners will be
invited to read their poems at The McLellan Festival 14th-21st September 2009,
on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. For further details, rules and online entry
please visit
www.mclellanawards.co.uk Entry Fees: single entry £5; group of four entries £15. |
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31st July 2009 |
1st £25
Free to enter |
Great Trees Poetry Competition Prizes |
| 1st August 2009 |
1st £250
entry £3 |
Havant Literary Festival Poetry Competition Poems up to 40 lines on the theme of 'Water'. Judge: Anne Stewart. Entry Fee: £3 per poem. Prizes: £250, £100, £50 For details contact - Havant Literary Festival Poetry Competition, The Nineveh Gallery, 11 The Pallant, Havant, Hampshire PO9 1BE - hlf2008havant@googlemail.com Or saee website - www.havantlitfest.hampshire.org.uk |
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31st August 2009 |
1st £500
entry £10 |
2009 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition. We’re really keen to showcase an eclectic range of new art and writing so could you include these details in your Competitions?
Call for Entries: Artwork, Fiction and Poetry
For full guidelines and to enter the competition please visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/submission_guide.htm
If you would like to download a poster for display please click here.
The 2008 Competition was a successful springboard for artists’ careers around the globe, with winners and finalists securing further exhibitions, commissions and publications. All of 2009’s winners and finalists will be published in the Aesthetica Annual, available nationwide through Borders Stores from December 2009. It’s a great opportunity to bring your work to a wider audience.
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31st August 2009 |
1st £100 plus Pamphlet published
entry £10 |
tall-lighthouse
poetry
competition
(closing date 31 August 2009)
the winner will have a pamphlet of twenty poems published by
tall-lighthouse in the first quarter of 2010
to celebrate ten years of
tall-lighthouse
press
they are holding a one-off competition – an
exciting and unique opportunity to be published by
tall-lighthouse a dynamic, independent poetry press - in
addition the
winner will receive a cheque for £100 & four runners-up will have three
of their poems published in the next
tall-lighthouse
anthology
to enter
poets can submit up to ten poems for a fee of £10 –
please |
| 31st August 2009 |
Prize fund of £500
entry £3 |
Salopian Poetry Society's Open Poetry Competition For poems of up to 40 lines. Judge: Hilary Llewellyn-Williams. Prizes to the value of £500. Entry Fee: £3 per poem or four poems for £10 For entry details contact - Roger Hoult, 5 Squires Close, Madeley, Telford, Shropshire TF7 5RU or see website - www.thesalopianpoetrysociety.webeden.co.uk |
| 31st August 2009 |
First prize: £50 Second prize: £25 And the top five poems will all be published in the Anxious Times magazine, and on the Anxiety UK website entry - £4 |
Anxiety poetry competition - Sheila Cameron, published poet and children’s author, is judging a poetry competition to raise money for Anxiety UK, Britain’s leading anxiety disorders charity.
Poems on the theme of ‘anxiety’. This can be interpreted very broadly by entrants, from describing feelings of anxiety to causes of anxiety, as well as relief from anxiety. Entrants are invited to interpret the theme as widely as they like. Many anxiety sufferers find a creative outlet is an excellent way of alleviating anxiety, and we hope that many people will enter this competition even if they have never tried writing or sharing poetry before, as well as those more experienced poets.
Please send your
poems to: Anxiety poetry competition, c/o Sheila Cameron, 124 Hangleton
Valley Drive, Hove, East Sussex BN3 8EJEntrance fee: one poem for £4 and
four poems for £10. Each poem can be a maximum of 40 lines long. Enclose
your entrance fee in the form of a cheque made payable to ‘Anxiety UK’ |
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31st August 2009 |
Prize value £1000
entry see website |
John Betjeman Young People’s Poetry Competition sponsored by Shell is open to 11-14 year olds in the British Isles and Republic of Ireland.
The first prize winner, runner-up and highly commended will also each win three Eurostar standard class return tickets to either Paris or Brussels.
Entrants are invited to send one poem about any aspect of their local surroundings or any aspect thereof, whether it be a house, a street, a garden, a park, a city or a wider landscape. The spirit behind the competition is to encourage young people to understand and appreciate the importance of place.
The prize giving will take place in October 2009 at St. Pancras International Station.
Completed entry forms which are available on request need to be received by 31st August 2009.
For the full list of rules, entry form or for further information about the prize please visit www.johnbetjeman.com or email justinagowers@yahoo.co.uk
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1st September 2009 |
1st publication
entry free
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The Raise Your Banners Poetry Competition “ Living in 21st Century Yorkshire”.
The Raise Your Banners Political Song Festival and Book Fair takes place from 6/11-8/11 at St Peter’s House, Forster Square Bradford. The Festival includes a political poetry competition with the theme “ Living in 21st Century Yorkshire”. Poems can be up to 50 lines, must be original and unpublished, in English and on the above theme. Entry is free and two copies should be sent to: Raise Your Banners Poetry Competition c/o Bradford Resource Centre 17-21 Chapel Street Bradford,BD1 5DT Entries can also be emailed as attachments to raiseyourbanners@gmail.com with poetry competition in the subject box. Full details of name, address, email, telephone contact, and title of poem should be included on a separate page. No identification of the author should appear on the poem. There is no entry form. Entries should be received by 1/9/09 and winners and runners-up will be notified by post by 1/10/09
Winning entries will be displayed during the course of the Festival, will be published in the festival programme and, subject to demand, published in an anthology. Winning entrants will also be asked to read during the course of the Festival.
A copy of the rules and further details is attached and can also be found at the website www.raiseyourbanners.org |
| 7th September 2009 |
1st £300
entry £5 |
Chroma International Queer Writing Competition |
| 7th September 2009 | 1st £300 |
Nottingham Open Poetry Competition
Deadline: 7th September 2009
Prizes: First prize £300; Second Prize £150;
Third Prize £75 plus 10 merit prizes of one-yaer subscription to Poetry
Nottingham.
Sole Adjudicator: Penelope Shuttle
Public Adjudication: 28th November 2009. 2.45pm
Mechanics Institute, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham.
Full details see
www.nottinghampoetrysociety.co.uk
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| 11th September 2009 |
1st various
entry free |
Poetry Society Stanza Competition Theme: 'Villains'. Exclusive to Poetry Society members who are also members of a Poetry Society Stanza. For poems of up to 30 lines. First prize: a free Poetry Prescription (your poetry appraised by an expert) or 1 year's free Poetry Society membership (or equivalent); plus publication in Poetry News, the Poetry Society's membership magazine, and on the Poetry Society website. Entry Fee: £0 For details contact - Contact: Membership Manager, The Poetry Society, 22 Betterton Street, London WC2H 9BX - www.poetrysociety.org.uk |
| 30th September 2009 |
1st $2000 entry $7 |
TOM HOWARD/JOHN H. REID POETRY CONTEST Postmark deadline: September 30, 2009 7th year. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $5,350. Top prize $2,000. Submit poems in any style or genre. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Winning entries published online. Entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines, payable to Winning Writers. Judges: J.H. Reid, D.C. Konrad. Submit online or mail to Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060. Winning Writers is proud to be one of "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2005-2008). More information: www.winningwriters.com/tompoetry |
| 30th September 2009 |
First Prize: £1000.00 Second Prize: £500.00 Third Prize: £250.00
Entry £7
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The Basil Bunting Poetry Award 2009 - This award has been launched to acknowledge and celebrate the life and work of Basil Bunting. He was a leading British modernist poet whose poems have established their place amongst the twentieth century’s best poetry. Bunting’s precise and measured speech in his best known long poem Briggflatts led the critic Cyril Connolly to describe it as ‘the finest long poem to have been published in English since T S Eliot’s Four Quartets'. Entrents must be over 18, poems not exceeding 42 lines must be unpublished. For full details - www.basilbuntingaward.co.uk Neil Astley, the editor of Bloodaxe Books, Basil Bunting's publishers, will read the work of the award winners |
| 1st October 2009 |
??? fee £6 |
Biennial British Haiku Society Haibun Anthology 2009 For haibun inn English between 100 and 2000 words long. Assessors: Jo Pacsoo and Lynne Rees. Entry Fee: £6 plus £3 for each additional haibun Contact: Andrew Shimield, Haibun Anthology, 18 Deepwell Close, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 5EN |
| 9th October 2009 | £1000 in prizes for poems, stories, lyrics, essays, mini dramas - all forms of writing. |
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| 9th October 2009 |
1st £1000
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third annual troubadour poetry prize 2009 judged by maura dooley & jamie mckendrick, with both judges reading all poems prizes: 1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250 & 20 prizes of £20 each plus... a spring 2010 coffee-house poetry season ticket and... a prizewinners' coffee-house poetry reading with maura dooley & jamie mckendrick on monday 30th november 2009 for all winning poets submissions by friday 9th october 2009 By E-mail: no entry form required; poems must be submitted in body of e-mail (no attachments) to CoffPoetry@aol.com; entries should be preceded by Name, Address, Phone, Titles and Number of Poems EITHER £5/€6/$8 OR £4/€5/$7; acknowledgement will be sent to entrant's e-mail address showing Entry Acknowledgment Reference; send payment by post quoting Entry Acknowledgement Reference; e-mail entries will be included only when payment received. all postal entries, and postal payments for e-mail entries, to arrive at Troubadour Poetry Prize, Coffee-House Poetry, PO Box 16210, LONDON, W4 1ZP postmarked on or before Friday 9th October 2009. Prizewinners will be notified by Friday 20th November 2009. Prizegiving will be on Monday 30th November 2009 at Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour. |
| 17rth October 2009 |
prize fund up to $25,000
entry ??? |
Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Annual Poetry Prizes, 2009 Prizes ranging from $1,000 up to as much as $25,000 will be awarded for the finest lyric poems celebrating the human spirit. The contest is open to all writers, published or unpublished, who will be under the age of 40 on November 6, 2009. Entries must be postmarked on or before the third Saturday in October (October 17, 2009). Only previously unpublished poems are eligible for prizes. Names of prize winners will be published on our website on February 5, 2010, together with a selection of the winning poems. Please visit our website www.DorothyPrizes.org for further information and to read poems by previous winners. |
| 31st October 2009 |
1st £300 entry £3 |
Ragged Raven Press Twelfth Poetry Competition for poems of any length and on any subject. First prize £300, four runners-up prizes of £50. Selected entries published in anthology. Entry fee: £3 per poem, £10 for 4 poems. Entry form/details from www.raggedraven.co.uk or send sae to 1 Lodge Farm, Snitterfield, Stratford-on-Avon, Warks CV37 0LR. |
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31st October 2009 |
Publication of collection
entry $20 |
THE HOLLIS SUMMERS POETRY PRIZE - http://ohioswallow.dynalias.org/poetry_prize Named after the distinguished poet who taught for many years at Ohio University and made Athens, Ohio, the subject of many of his poems, this competition invites writers to submit unpublished collections of original poems. The competition is open to both those who have not published a book-length collection and those who have. Submission Period Manuscripts must be postmarked by October 31. Those postmarked later will be returned unread. Format Manuscripts of 60 to 95 pages should be typed on standard sized paper or be a clean photocopy. Do not send your only copy. Name, address, and phone number should appear on the title page. Acknowledgments should appear on a separate page. Individual collections must be the work of a single author. Translations are not accepted. Manuscripts should be submitted in final form; revisions or emendations to acknowledgments will not be considered during the contest. Multiple submissions to other publishers are acceptable provided we are informed if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere. The manuscript should be submitted in a plain 9 W 11=" manila folder. Please do not submit manuscripts bound in ring binders or plastic holders. Return of Manuscripts Because we cannot guarantee the return of the manuscripts, all entries become the property of Ohio University Press and those not chosen will be recycled. Do not include a self-addressed stamped envelope. All contestants will be notified following the final selection. Include a self-addressed stamped postcard if you wish acknowledgment of receipt. Entry Fee Submissions should include a check for $20 made out to Ohio University Press to help defray administrative costs. Judging The final judge for the competition will be named when the winner is announced in April. Individual criticism of manuscripts cannot be given. Prize The winning manuscript will be published by Ohio University Press the following year and will be awarded a cash prize of $1000. Send all materials to: Hollis Summers Poetry Prize Ohio University Press 19 Circle Drive The Ridges Athens, OH 45701
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31st October 2009 |
1st £5000
entry £? |
National Poetry Competition 2009 Judges - Daljit Nagra, Ruth Padel and Neil Rollinson Download an entry form at Or send a stamped addressed envelope to: Competition Organiser (PR) 22 Betterton Street London WC2H 9BX |
| 1st November 2009 |
publication entry £3 |
Rubies in the Darkness Annual Poetry Competition Competition judge is poet and editor of Rubies in the Darkness, Peter Geoffrey Paul Thompson. Publication in the magazine and book prizes for top three poems. Entry is £3 per poem, 2 poems for £5, 4 poems for £9, 6 poems for £10 For details and entry form - 41 Grantham Road, Manor Park, London E12 5LZ |
| 30th November 2009 |
1st £500
entry £4 |
Plough Prize - Judge: Alison
Brackenbury. Categories: Short poem (up to 10 lines), Open (up to 40 lines),
Poem for Children (suitable for 5-11yrs approx. - any length). Prizes: 1st £500,
2nd £200, 3rd £100 in Short and Open categories; £100 1st prize Children's Poem
category. Special prize for best entry by Devon resident (no additional entry
fee). Entry Fee: £4 per poem, four poems £14, thereafter £3.50. Visit the website for more inforemation - www.theploughprize.co.uk |
| 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. | ||