The William Soutar Writing Prize is run by Perth and Kinross libraries. Now in its fourteenth year, this annual competition alternates between poetry and short stories. The competition in 2015 is for poems. Entry to this Scottish-based competition is free, and open to anyone in the world over the age of 16yrs. Individuals are limited to two poems only. Entries may be in English or Scots. First prize is an Arvon Writing Course. Second Prize: £100 Book Token. Local Prize:£50 Book Token to be awarded for the best work from a resident of Perth and Kinross in Scotland. Deadline: 23 June 2015. More details and full rules here: http://www.pkc.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=29920&p=0 (I am having trouble with this link, which seems to change to a more generic council website link as I paste it in. The best thing seems to be to click on the link, and then, if the Prize doesn’t show up, do a search on the website.)
poets
Rattle mag ongoing submissions calls
Lovely print and digital mag, ‘Rattle’ is worth checking out: http://www.rattle.com/poetry/ There’s a weekly challenge of writing a piece in response to a news story; a monthly ‘ekphrastic’ challenge (writing a poem in response to a piece of art – in this case, a specific image, posted on the magazine’s website); and there are also the usual submissions call-outs. Feminist poets are invited to send by October 15th 2015 for the Spring 2016 issue: http://www.rattle.com/poetry/submissions/guidelines/ There’s also a pay-to-enter poetry competition, with a large cash prize.
Poems on Wading Birds
Lovely new independent press, Dunlin Press, is looking for previously unpublished writings about UK wading birds. Deadline is 15 July 2015. More information on the website: http://dunlinpress.com/submissions/
Sky Academy Arts Scholarships for ages 18 to 30
If you can overlook the fact this is Sky (sorry – getting political now!), then this could be a fantastic opportunity to gain £30,000(!), plus mentoring as a poet/creative writer. There are 5 of these bursaries on offer, across various disciplines (please see the link below). I love the Ideas Tap arts website, and encourage everyone to join – it is free, and gives you access to opportunities and networking. The following is copied from the website: ‘To apply, you must be an IdeasTap member aged 18-30 on the closing date (26 Feb 2015) and either be a citizen of the UK or ROI or have been resident in the UK or ROI for the last five years. Either way, you must currently be living in the UK or Ireland and be able to remain living in the UK or ROI for the duration of the scholarship to be eligible to apply.’
The deadline is 26 February 2015, but they encourage earlier submission.
http://www.ideastap.com/Opportunities/Brief/Sky-Academy-Arts-Scholarships-260215#Overview
Submit to Popshot Magazine the Outsider issue
This is a beautiful, illustrated magazine/journal. The following information is copied and pasted from the newsletter: If you would like the opportunity to have your short fiction or poetry published and illustrated in the next issue of Popshot, find out the full submissions guidelines at the submit page on our website — and make sure that you send your work in long before the January 23rd deadline. Full details of how to submit can be found at http://www.popshotpopshot.com/submit
The Poet's Resource 