Better Than Starbucks journal (see separate post) is running its 3rd annual sonnet competition. Free to enter, with a $350 first prize. Deadline is 30 November 2020. Full details here.
Free-to-enter poetry competitions
Anglica Poetry Competition
Copied from website: “The poem should be metrical, and should be no longer than 100 lines, though extracts from longer work are permitted. There are no formal or thematic restraints, and so long as it is written in a discernible metre (or several!), we encourage you to follow your fancy, whether that lead you to the outlandish, the passionate, or even the dull.” There are links to the poetry of Milton and Shakespeare, plus lessons on poetry technique. Deadline is 1 December 2020. https://anglica.co.uk/poetry-competition/
Poetry Competition | University of Hertfordshire
Free-to-enter inaugural single poem prize. Open to residents of England and Wales, age 16 and over. Deadline 17 August 2018. Full details here.
Warrington-based Poets Wanted
Writers living within a 25-mile radius of the English town of Warrington are invited to enter the Stockton Heath Writers Group free competition. All entries must be unpublished and ‘family friendly’. Send up to three poems of up to 40 lines each. Deadline is midnight on 1 September 2016. There is also a Young Writer of the Year prize for writers under the age of 18. More information here.
Competition for Poetry by Ages 12 to 17
Guernsey International Poetry Competition 2016 has Ian McMillan as the judge. The competition is free for poets aged 12 to 17. (There is a charge for adults to enter.) Deadline for entries: 15 January 2016. Winners will be contacted by 15 March 2016. Winning entries will be displayed on one of the 33 buses in Guernsey.
More information (the page is still showing last year’s winners): http://guernseyliteraryfestival.com/images/pom-competition2016.pdf (If this link doesn’t work, click on the download link on the page: http://guernseyliteraryfestival.com/index.php/2015-04-07-09-46-01/poems-on-the-move)
TS Eliot Prize Writing Competition – Poetry Book Society
Deadline: Friday 11 December 2015.
Copied from the website (http://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/projects/15/):
The Poetry Book Society and emagazine invite students to step into the judges’ and poets’ shoes by writing a critical piece or a poem of their own in response to the work on the shortlist.
A chance for students to:
- Win £100, meet poets and be published
- Boost their CV or university statement
- Read the very best contemporary poetry
- Develop critical skills and confidence in reading poetry for pleasure
For the first time, this year, there are two choices of response:
EITHER
A 500 word critical piece on the 2 poems by your chosen poet, reflecting on what you particularly liked about them and why you think they should win.
OR
A poem of your own, ‘writing back’ to one of the poems you found particularly interesting. Your poem might take the same title, or use aspects of the form of the poem, or explore the same subject matter, or argue back with a view or angle that challenges or subverts ideas in the original.
How to apply
1. From Tuesday 3rd November 2015 – go to www.englishandmedia.co.uk/e-magazine, read the competition instructions and rules and follow the link to download the 20 poems.
2. Choose your poet and decide whether to write a critical piece or a poem as a response.
3. Get your entry in by Friday 11th December 2015.
(Un)natural Poetry Competition
Joint project between Nuffield Council on Bioethics and Apples and Snakes. http://nuffieldbioethics.org/project/naturalness/performance-poetry-collaboration/poetry-competition/
Deadline: Midnight on Sunday 1 November 2015. Open to poets living in the UK. The following is copied and pasted from the website:
We are looking for poems that explore, delve into and reveal the meaning of the words natural, unnatural, nature and similar words in the context of debates about science, technology and medicine.
What do people mean when they say genetic modification is wrong because it’s unnatural, or food that is natural is better for you?
We want to share these poems to engage others in the conversation, so we are looking for poets to perform their work at a public event in London on Monday 30th November 2015. The event will be filmed and shared online.
Amnesty International Poetry Competition
Copied and pasted from the Amnesty International website (http://join.amnesty.org/ea-campaign/action.retrievestaticpage.do?ea_static_page_id=4326):
Theme: ‘Silenced Shadows’
We are inviting Sri Lankans at home and abroad to take part in a poetry competition to mark the decades of enforced disappearances the country has experienced.
- Entries may be submitted in English, Tamil or Sinhala from any place in the world; you do not have to be a poet to enter.
- Writers must be Sri Lankans living in the country or who have emigrated in the past 20 years.
- All entrants must be 14 years of age or older when they submit their entry to the Competition. Entrants under the age of 18 must obtain written parental or guardian consent to enter and claim any prize. The Competition Administrators may ask the winner to provide proof of age.
Deadline 31 December 2015.
Respond – Human Rights Poetry Award 2015/2016
This is a free-to-enter competition, to highlight the plight of immigrants and refugees: http://www.uhrsn.org/respond-human-rights-poetry-award/ Entries must be in English. The deadline is 20 November 2015.
The following is copied from the UHRSN website: The Universal Human Rights Student Network (UHRSN) based in Vienna, Austria is organizing its very first human rights poetry contest. Given the plights refugees are facing on a daily basis and the current widespread media coverage of the so-called “refugee crisis in Europe” this year’s theme is
“Refugees and their message to Europe”
UHRSN is convinced that all people should have the right to a life lived with dignity free from fear, persecution and oppression. As widely reported, people in search of this life seeking asylum in European countries are in many instances denied just that – their fundamental rights. UHRSN also aims to utilize the power of poetry and the positive impact words can have to raise awareness for an issue that cannot be ignored. In this sense the poetry competition was established to provide refugees, migrants, students, sympathisers, etc. with an avenue
- to create thought-provoking poems by reflecting on their experiences, wishes, dreams and hopes
- to raise awareness amongst stakeholders, politicians, ordinary EU citizens, etc. on the fate of refugees in- and outside of Europe
- to demonstrate that #refugees are welcome and advocate for their rights
- to be creative
Carers UK Writing Competition 2015
Closing date: 31 July 2015. It’s late, so I’ve copied this from the ever-helpful Poetry Library website (http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/)
Details:
While we’re inviting entries about all aspects of caring, this year we’re particularly interested in poems and short stories that respond to our 50th Anniversary message: no one should have to care alone. Prizes: A total of £300 in high street vouchers will be provided in prizes, plus other prizes from leading literary organisations. We will publish the winning entries on the Carers UK website in the autumn and, depending on the number of entries, we hope to produce an anthology or an e-book featuring a selection of the poems and stories. Judge: Cheryl Moskowitz will be judging the Carers UK creative writing competition for the second year. You can submit up to three poems, each being no longer than 40 lines. Short story: you can submit one short story of up to 1,000 words. Entries must be unpublished, in English, and not a translation of another author’s work.
Entry Fee: £Free
Contact: If you have any questions about the competition, please send an email towritingcomp@carersuk.org. For further information and entry, please see:http://www.carersuk.org/how-you-can-help/creative-writing/2015-competition
The Poet's Resource 