The Chesham Literary Festival Poetry Competition is open to adults and children, with three prizes across three categories: best poem, best poem by a Chesham resident, and best poem by a local primary school pupil aged 11 and under.

This year’s judges are Councillor Parveiz Aslam MBE, Ben Batten, Jon Bickley, and Syirona Dolcey.

The Best Poem prizewinner will receive a cash prize, while the other winners will receive vouchers.

Poems may be of any length and in any form, but must be written in English, and written in 2023.

Any number of poems may be entered per person.

See  Chesham Literary Festival | Chesham | Facebook

The annual Wirral Poetry Festival Open Competition is now open, with extra cash prizes available to poets from Wirral.

This year’s judges are poets David J Costello and Pauline Rowe.

Poems must be written in English and be no more than 40 lines.

There are five cash prizes with a top prize of £250, as well as three additional prizes for Wirral poets.

See Competition Archives - Wirral Poetry Festival

Annual prize (now in its 37th year) run by respected independent publisher.

Prizes
First: 250 guineas
Second: 75 guineas
Third: 50 guineas

Judge
Helena Nelson

See  Frogmore Poetry Prize 2023 – submission guidelines – The Frogmore Press

The 6th Lord Whisky Animal Sanctuary is open for submissions for their poetry competition. Participants are welcome to submit work on any theme, but there is a special prize for a poem or poems on rescue animals or sanctuary work.

The first place winner will receive a prize of £200. The second and third prizes' will depend on the total entry fees received. 50% of the entry fees will go to the Sanctuary, and 50% will go to the prize fund.

There is also a prize fund for a poem on a rescue animal of £50.

Judge: Tina Cole

See  Recent news and events in Canterbury (lordwhisky.co.uk)

Regular competition run by by Crewe District Writers' Circle. Open to poems on any theme (40 lines max).

Prizes
First: £100
Second: £50
Third: £25

Judge  Paul Francis

See  Poetry Competition 2021 (webstarts.com)

The Kipling Society is accepting poetry submissions for The John McGivering Writing Prize 2023 on the theme of War. The competition is open to poems of up to 30 lines about any aspect of war. The poems should be also connected, whether directly or obliquely, with the writings and/or life of Kipling.

Entries should be unpublished, and should consist of a maximum of 30 lines excluding the title. There is no minimum length.

There are three prizes of £50 (3rd), £100 (2nd), and £350 (1st).

The Kipling Society is also offering a Competition for Younger Poets aged between 12 and 17 years, for poems about War. For this Younger Poets’ Competition , the Kipling Society offers a prize of £75 and £25 for the runner-up. For entrants for younger participants, confirmation of their age by a parent, guardian, or teacher is required.

Judges: Jan Montefiore, Mary Hamer, Sarah LeFanu

See The John McGivering Writing Prize 2023 – The Kipling Society

The Plaza Poetry Prize is now open for submissions of poetry for their latest competition.

Entrants are welcome to submit poems on any subject and must be a maximum of 40 lines.

There are prizes of £1,000 (1st), £300 (2nd), and £100 (3rd). Ten shortlisted poets will be included in the Plaza Prizes anthology, which will be launched at our inaugural awards ceremony in 2023

Judge: Pascale Petit

See  Poetry (40 lines max) - The Plaza Prizes

The Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition 2023 is open to all poets over the age of 18.

All entries will be judged anonymously by this year’s panel: Luigi Marchini, Greta Ross (Poet of the Year 2022) and Clifford Liles.

From the entries received, 35 poems will be longlisted and published in an anthology. A shortlist of 15 poems will be selected and all shortlisted poets will be invited to read their work during an online awards evening on National Poetry Day, 5 October 2023, where the winners will be announced.

First prize: £200
Second prize: £100
Third prize: £50

See Poet of the Year Competition 2023 - Canterbury Festival

Open to previously unpublished poems, written in English and consisting of no more than 50 lines.

Prizes:
First: £500
Second: £250
Third: £100

There will also be prizes for runners-up.

Judge Mick Evans

See Entry Form - Welsh Poetry Competition

Open to poems on any theme (35 lines max). Entrants may submit any number of poems. There is a special prize for the best entry by a local writer.

Prizes
First: £1,000

Second: £500
Third: £250
Local: £100
Shortlisted poets will be invited to read at the prizegiving and will be included in the Wells Poetry Booklet

Judge William Sieghart

See  2023 Open Poetry Competition - Wells Festival of Literature

Open to writers over the age of 16 from any part of the world. This year's theme is Chance. A limited number of free entries are available to writers who might not otherwise be able to take part.

Prizes
First: £500
Runners-up: £50
There are also 10 Highly Commended prizes

Judge  Glyn Maxwell

See AUB International Poetry Prize… – AUB – Arts University Bournemouth

Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists are now open to submissions for their inaugural poetry competition.

Entrants are welcome to submit poems on any subject. Poems must be previously unpublished, be under 40 lines, and written in the English language.

There are three prizes of £300 (1st), £100 (2nd), and £50 (3rd).

Judge: Steve Pottinger

See PPP Poetry Competition 2023 – Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists

The Alzheimer's Society is now open for poetry submissions for their latest competition highlighting work by or about people affected by dementia.

Participants both amateur and experienced are welcome to send a submission of up to three previously unpublished poems, each can be up to 40 lines long. Poets aged 18 and above can enter the adult category, while poets under 18 can enter the youth category.

Winning entries will be published in the October/November issue of Dementia Together, the magazine of Alzheimer's Society.

See Enter our 2023 poetry competition | Alzheimer's Society (alzheimers.org.uk)

Open to previously unpublished poems (40 lines max) by writers aged 16 or over, from anywhere in the world. £1 from each entry will be donated to the First Story creative writing charity.

Prizes
First: £1,000
Second: £300
Third: £200

Judge Andy Craven-Griffiths

See  New Writers Poetry Competition 2023 - NewWriters.org.uk

The Stephen Spender Trust is now open for submissions for their latest poetry competition, Ukrainian Spotlight. Participants are invited to translate one or more poems from the specially curated selection in the Ukrainian Spotlight booklet, and to submit either a short written commentary or any one of the commentary alternatives listed on the Ukrainian Spotlight page.

Participants must be aged 18 or under, and be either UK or Ireland residents or pupils at British Schools overseas.

Entries can be submitted individually by young people (or a parent or guardian), or by teachers submitting on behalf of their students. The competition is free to enter, with three categories at KS1-2, KS3-4 and KS5.

The winning translations will be chosen by poet and translator Nina Murray, with prizes of £50 for the three winners in the KS1-2 category and £100 for the winners in the KS3-4 and KS5 categories.

See Ukrainian Spotlight – Stephen Spender Trust (stephen-spender.org)

Open to poems on the theme of Home - however you wish to interpret that - by young people living or studying in Hampshire. There are three age categories: 4–7 years, 8–11 years & 12–16 years. Maximum length 14 lines.

Prizes (in each category)
First: £50 National Book Token
Second: £25 National Book Token
Third: £10 National Book Token

The winner of each category also receives the equivalent amount in book tokens (from independent bookshop PG Wells) for their school to spend on poetry books.

See Hampshire Young Poets 2023 | Hampshire Cultural Trust (hampshireculture.org.uk)

The Winchester Poetry Prize 2023 is now open for poetry submissions.

Participants are welcome to submit poems on any subject, theme, or style, and must be under 40 lines (excluding title). Poems must also be previously unpublished and be written in English.

There are three prizes of £1,000 (1st), £500, (2nd), and £250 (3rd). Winning and commended poems will be announced live at Winchester Poetry Festival in October and published in a competition anthology that will be available on the day.

A prize is also available for the best poem written by a Hampshire-based poet. Generously sponsored by Warren & Son. The competition is sponsored by Paris Smith.

​Judge: Zaffar Kunial

See  Winchester Poetry Prize how to enter First prize £1000 (winchesterpoetryfestival.org)

Open to poems of up to 40 lines and short stories of up to 3,000 words. There are special prizes for writers aged 17–25, and for those with a Bedford postcode.

Prizes (in each category)
First: £1,500
Second: £300
Third: £200
Cygnature Prize (17–25s): £200
Bedford Prize: £100

Judges
Kirsten Norrie aka MacGillivray (poetry)
Tim Jarvis (stories)

See The Bedford Competition Home Page (bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk)