My Novel

My Novel

UK Poetry Competitions (currently 33)

Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition.  This monthly contest from the glossy magazine Writers’ Forum is for poems of up to 40 lines on any thme.
    Closing: Monthly.  Entries arriving too late for one month automatically go forward to the next.
    Prize: £100 and a Chambers dictionary.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, or £6 if you want a short critique (enclose sae for the critique if entering by post).
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Cinnamon Press Debut Collection Prize.  This annual contest from Welsh publisher Cinnamon Press is for poetry collections comprising 10 poems of up to 40 lines.
    Closing : Annually - 30 November.
    Prizes: A publishing contract and 100 copies of the collection.
    Entry Fee: £12 for one collection, £22 for two.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Cinnamon Press Poetry Pamphlet Prize.  Entries for this open contest from Wales are invited from beginners and established poets. Submit 15 to 25 poems of up to 50 lines each.
    Closing: Annually - 31 March.
    Prizes (4): A publishing contract plus 30 copies of the pamphlet.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hour of Writes Competition.  To enter this new weekly peer-reviewed contest from Manchester you submit a piece of writing of any type you choose running to no more than 2,000 words. There is a different theme every week.
    Closing: 11pm every Friday.
    Prize: £50 (usually the minimum, they say; prize increases if more entries are received).
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Dear Michael
   I discovered your excellent site a few months back and entered some of the poetry competitions. I have in all my long years never received a payment for anything I have written, but I today received an email from Cooldog Publications to say I have won second prize in their E-mag Poetry Competition! £50! What a great way to start the new year.
   I just had to write and say thanks to you for the trouble you have taken with your site and how much I appreciate the sense of humour that underpins it.
  This has given me a terrific boost.
                                                                                -  Carol Browne

Secret Attic Competitions.  Here are two free monthly contests from Secret Attic Press, one for short stories of up to 1,200 words, the other for poems running to no more than 28 lines.
    Closing: End of each month.
    Prizes (in each category): £10.  Best entries will be published in the monthly magazine.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

And now a word from our sponsor.  Hello.  I’m Michael Shenton, creator of this website and author of Stiff Competition, winner of the Peter Pook Humorous Novel Competition.  People who are looking for me through search engines can remember just about everything about the website save its name and, more distressingly for me, my name. They search for ‘Peter Pook author’, ’the man who wrote Peter Pook’, ‘that bloke who won the cars’ and all manner of other odd things, but never ‘Michael Shenton’. The sole purpose of this site is to get my name known in the hope that one day dozens of people will buy my current novel and any others I manage to get published.  So would you all kindly make a note of it.  Michael Shenton.  Thank you.

Hi Michael
     I spent a year or so reading all those comments on your website from people who, since consulting your list, seem have won just about every competition going. I read it and thought it must be too good to be true – but worth a try. Then, on my third submission, I have actually gone and won the Yeovil Literary Prize for Poetry. I am absolutely over the moon, unable to believe it, etc.  Thank you so much.
                                                                                   -  Andy Miller

Dylan Thomas Birthplace International Short Story Competition.  This watery-themed contest from Wales is for writers who were aged under 19 on October 27, 2018, the birthday of the late Dylan Thomas.  There are two age categories, each with a different word limit, as follows:  Under 15 - 500 words;  Under 19 - 2,500-words.  Each age category has a different line from a Dylan Thomas work to inspire them.
    Closing: 21.12.18.
    Prizes: Under 15 - £150, £50.  Under 19 - £500, £100.  Ther eis also a runner-up prize in each category.
    Entry Fee: Under 15 - £3 for one, £6 for two, £7.50 for three.  Under 19 - £6 for one, £12 for two, £15 for three.  All entrants receive a year’s membership of the Dylan Thomas Society.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Holland Park Press Poetry Competition.  Here is another contest from Holland Park Press of London.  It is for poems of up to 50 lines on the theme of Brexit.
    Closing: 31.12.18.
    Prize: £200.  The winner and runners-up will be published in the online magazine.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Moth Poetry Prize. This annual contest from Irish magazine The Moth is for poems of any length and on any subject.  I should perhaps mention that the magazine is not devoted to the subject of moths, fascinating though these may be.  It is an arts and literature magazine.  Presumably the name is a reference to the way artists and writers are attracted to the light of recognition, only to beat their wings in vain against an invisible barrier until finally, broken and defeated, they slide down to the windowsill of despair.  You’d think the magazine people could have come up with something a bit more cheerful than that, wouldn’t you?
    Closing: 31.12.18.
    Prizes: 1st - 10,000 euros.  Runners-up (3) - 1,000 euros.
    Entry Fee: 12 euros.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Magic Oxygen Literary Prize.  Here is a poetry and short story contest with a difference.  For every entry received, Magic Oxygen Publishing of Dorset will plant a tree in Kenya to create a ‘tropical word forest’.  And when the contest closes each entrant will receive the GPS co-ordinates of their tree.  It is not clear if you will have visiting rights or if you will be able to send your tree a card on its birthday, but you will certainly be able to feel good about helping to restore some of our planet’s lost greenery.  The contest is also funding the building of another new classroom at Kundeni Primary School next to the tropical word forest.  Poems should be limited to 50 lines while short stories can, if required, extend to 4,000 words.
    Closing: 31.12.18.
    Prizes (in each category): £1,000, £300, £100, and 2 x £50.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Fresher Writing Prize.  This open-to-all contest from publishing house Fresher at Bournemouth University has two categories: poetry and short story.  Poems are limited to 42 lines, while short stories have an allowance of 3,000 words.  The theme for both categories is Peace.  This is optional, but they say they do hope you will find it motivational.  They also say they want the competition anthology to be packed with peace-related pieces.  Call me cynical if you like, but it doesn’t sound to me as though ignoring the optional theme is going to put you on the favourite’s list.
    Closing: 9.1.19.
    Short Story Prize: £200, plus feedback and advice on a sample of your work (short story or novel extract) from publisher and literary agent Humfrey Hunter of Silvertail Books or author Anna Mazzoia (one of the judges).  You also get a professionally produced recording of your work.  You will be invited to Bournemouth University radio studios to record your readings (or someone can do it for you).
    Poetry Prize: £200 plus feedback and advice on your work from prize-winning poet and Arvon tutor Antony Dunn.  You also get a professionally produced recording of your work.  You will be invited to Bournemouth University radio studios to record your readings (or someone can do it for you).
    Entry Fee: £7.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Magma Poetry Competition.  Here’s another outing for a regular runner from the poetry magazine Magma.  It has two categories: Judge’s Prize (for poems of 11 to 50 lines), and Editors’ Prize (poems of up to 10 lines).  The judge is poet Andrew McMillan.  It is not stated who the editors are.  The editorship rotates, they say.
    Closing: 12.1.19.
    Prizes (in each category): £1,000, £300, £150.  Winners will have their poems published in the magazine and will, along with commended poets, be invited to read at the prize-giving event.
    Entry Fee: £5 for the first, £4 for the second, £3.50 thereafter.  It’s cheaper for subscribers.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Shepton Mallet Poetry Competition.  This contest from the Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival is for poems of up to 30 lines on any aspect of snowdrops or the James Allen snowdrop story, or something inspired by the judge’s comments (see website for info).  ‘Let your imagination run riot,’ they say.  At this time of year I think I’m going to have to beat mine with a stick just to wake it up, but I’m sure yours will already be on its feet and raring to go.  There are three age categories: 18 and over, 12 to 17, and up to 11.
    Closing: 13.1.19.
    Prizes: 18 and over - £200.  12 to 17 - £70.  Up to 11 - £50.
    Entry Fee: Adults - £4.  Youngsters - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Keats-Shelley Prize 2019.  This annual contest from the Keats-Shelley Association is for poems of up to 30 lines (one A4 page) on the theme of ‘Wandering’ or ‘Fiery Dust’, and essays running to no more than 3,000 words on any aspect of the work and lives of Keats, Shelley and their circle.  The reason given for this year’s poetry themes is that 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of Lord Byron’s controversial poem Don Juan.  Good grief, is it that long?  Seems like only yesterday.  The judging panel will include Jo Shapcott and Will Kemp, plus Professor Simon Bainbridge and Professor Sharon Ruston.
    Closing: 14.1.19.
    Prizes: Winners will share £5,000 in prize money.  Shortlisted entrants will be invited to attend the Awards Ceremony in London.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  You may send up to two essays and two poems.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

The Young Romantics Prize.  This freebie from the Keats-Shelley Association is for writers between the ages of 16 and 18.  It is for essays of between 600 and 1,000 words, and poems of up to 30 lines (poems to fit one A4 page).  There is a choice of themes for the poetry: ‘Wandering’ or ‘Fiery Dust’.  For the essay, you are invited to review a passage from Lord Byron’s dramatic poem Manfred that chimes with the poetry theme of Wanderings (Act III, Scene IV).
    Closing: 14.1.19.
    Prizes: A share of the total prize fund of £5,000.  Shortlisted entrants will be invited to attend the Awards Ceremony in London.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  You may send up to two essays and two poems.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Writers in the Forest.  In 2019 the Forestry Commission celebrates its 100th anniversary.  No doubt there will be a huge party that leaves nothing to be desired.  Okay, that pun is a bit wooden, but it has its roots in the past, so what can you expect?  I’m getting side tracked here, therefore let’s get back to the competition.  The Commission is looking for two writers to tell the story of our nation’s forests.  If you want to branch out and apply for this, send a current CV, plus a pitch outlining your interest and indicting how you might respond creatively to our nation’s forests (spoken word or short story, poetry or prose ... you decide).  Pitches can be in writing (up to 750 words), video (3 mins max via YouTube or Dropbox/We Transfer), or audio (3 mins max via SoundCloud).
.    Closing: 14.1.19.
    Prizes (2): £2,500 plus a small travel allowance, unique access to our nation’s forests, promotional support and a platform to share your work, plus development opportunities.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Edward Thomas Poetry Competition 2019.  This contest from the Edward Thomas Fellowship is for poems of any length.  They can be in any style and on any subject.  Prize-winning poet Jane Draycott will be judging.
    Closing: 28.1.19.
    Prizes: £150, £50, £50.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Competition.  This annual contest from Kent & Sussex Poetry Society is for poems of up to 40 lines on any subject and in any style.  The judge, poet Ruth O’Callaghan, will read all submissions.
    Closing: 31.1.19.
    Prizes: £1,000, £300, £100, 4 x £50.  Winners will be published in the society’s Poetry Folio.
    Entry Fee: £5 each.  Three or more £4 each.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Teignmouth Poetry Festival Open Poetry Competition.  This annual contest from Devon is for poems of up to 35 lines on any subject.  John Greening will be judging.
    Closing: 31.1.19.
    Prizes: £500, £250, £100.
    Entry Fee: £4.50 for the first, £3.50 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hi Michael
     I discovered your website last year and entered lots of comps - no prizes in 2008. This year I decided just to enter The Trowell and District Writers Trust competitions - again directed from your site and also in the hope of bettering my marks compared to my entries last year.
     I am delighted to say I went along to the Presentation yesterday and received 1st prize in the Open Poetry competition - a lovely certificate, a shield and some prize money.
     I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon which had a "Stand and Deliver" poetry competition as well as a raffle, refreshments, sales of Members poetry, and time to chat and get to know people.
     The comps are great - all entries receive a mark and a short critique - I found all these helpful and encouraging. I feel I have new friends and a lovely day to look back on.
                                                                                -  Kate Brumby

The Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize 2018.  To enter this contest from Indigo Dreams Publishing in Devon you submit 15 poems of up to 36 lines each (incuding line breaks)
    Closing: 31.1.19.
    Prizes: Two winners will each have a 50-page poetry collection published and will receive 20 copies.
    Entry Fee: £15 per block of poems.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Prole Laureate Competition.  This annual contest from Prole, a print magazine that publishes engaging, accessible, entertaining and challenging poetry and prose, is for poems on any subject and in any style.  There are no restrictions on length, although you might like to consider how far it is reasonable to expect the judge to wade through that 5,000-line epic of yours before letting out an anguished cry and writing something obscene on it.  As an occasional poetry judge, the most I have ever managed before turning nasty is 100 lines.
    Closing: 31.1.19.
    Prizes: £200, £50, £50.  Winners will be published on the website and in Prole 28.
    Entry Fee : £3 for the first, £2 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine.  I used to think hippocrates were wooden containers used at the zoo for transporting large herbivores.  Of course I now know that Hippocrates was in fact a great medical poet, and this international contest is obviously being run in his honour.  Poems of up to 50 lines on a medical subject are required.  There are two categories, Open, and Health Professional.  Actually there’s a third category - Young Poets - but as it has a later closing date I’m listing it separately. 
    Closing: 14.2.19.
    Prizes (in each category): £1,000, £500, £250.  Winning poems will be published online and in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: £7 online, £10 postal.
    Comp Page : Click Here.

Spotlight Books Writing Competition.  Creative Future, Myriad Editions and New Writing South are seeking poets and fiction writers from under-represented backgrounds, i.e. those who face barriers due to mental health, disability, identity or social circumstances (you might for instance be a carer).  See the entry page for a comprehensive list.  If you fit the bill, submit a work of fiction of 8,000 to 10,000 words, or poetry of 40 to 45 pages (20 lines per page).  All genres welcome except explicit erotica and writing for children.
    Closing: 24.2.19.
    Prizes: Six selected writers will be supported to polish their manuscripts and further their careers.  In addition, each will be published in an individual short book.
    Entry Fee : None - free to enter (one manuscript per category per person).
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Open House 2019.  This poetry contest from the long-running literary magazine The Interpreter’s House is for poems of up to 50 lines on any subject.
    Closing: 28.2.19.  Not open for entries until 2.1.19.
    Prizes: £500, £150, £75.
    Entry Fee: £1.75 each, £5 for three, £10 for six.  Winners will be published in the mag and in an Open House Competition pamphlet.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Slipstream Poets Open Poetry Competition.  Here we have one from Slipstream Poets of West Sussex.  The contest has a line limit of 60 but no theme.  Creative writing teacher and poet Mandy Pannet will be judging.
    Closing: 28.2.19.
    Prizes: £150, £100, £50.  There is also £25 for the best West Sussex entry.
    Entry Fee: £5 for the first, £3.50 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Dear Michael

Just to let you know I’ve been entering writing competitions for several years and this year came second in the 19^th Feile Filiochta International Poetry Competition. Hurrah! I probably wouldn’t have heard about it but for your site (and I still don’t know how to say it). I don’t even consider it one of my better poems – but it was free to enter. It just goes to show that literary competition judges have to be very subjective in the end, so it’s worth carrying on even when you don’t feel that confident. Anyway, I’m off to spend my winnings of 500 euros (that’s very nearly £375 in real money). Keep up the good work!
     Here’s a link to the poem that won the prize.

      All the best - Clare Kirwan

The Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Competition.  To enter this annual international contest from The Poetry Business you submit 20 to 24 pages of your poetry.
    Closing: 1.3.19.
    Prizes (4): Publication of a pamphlet by smith/doorstop Books, a share of £2,000, a launch reading at The Wordsworth Trust and a £10 gift voucher from Inpress Books, plus publication of at least one poem in The North magazine.  There will also be an opportunity to submit an extended manuscript (a further 30-plus pages) at no extra charge for possible publication in book form (instead of the pamphlet).
    Entry Fee: £28.  Yike.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

The Poetry Business New Poets Prize.  If you can arrange to be between 17 and 24, you will be eligible to enter this competition from publisher and writer development agency The Poetry Business.  The contest is for collections of poems (12 pages).
    Closing: 1.3.19.
    Prizes: Four outstanding collections will be published in pamphlet form, and the writers will receive  a year of support and mentoring led by Ann and Peter Sanson of The Poetry Business.
    Entry Fee: £8.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Christopher Tower Poetry Prize 2019.  This annual contest from Christ Church, Oxford, is open to full- or part-time UK students between the ages of 16 and 18.  It is for poems of up to 48 lines.  This year’s theme has sunk without trace.  It’s ‘Underwater’.
    Closing: 1.3.19.
    Prizes: 1st - £3,000.  2nd - £1,500.  3rd - £500.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  One per preson.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hippocrates Young Poets Prize for Poetry and Medicine.  This international contest is open to young poets of between 14 and 18.  Poems of up to 50 lines on a medical subject are required.
    Closing: 1.3.19.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.  Winning poems will be published online and in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: £2 each,  £15 for ten.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Neil Gunn Writing Competition.  This annual international contest from The Neil Gunn Trust and  High Life Highland Libraries has two categories for adults: Poetry and Short Story.  For the former there is a 40-line limit, while the latter has an allowance of up to 2,500 words.  Entries should be inspired by one of the following quotes from the works of Neil Gunn.  ‘Suddenly something came out of the land, some cool shiver of Spring.’ Or:  ‘... at last, all the pieces, the whole pattern.’  Entries, they say, can be in any variety of English or Scots, or a combination of both.  Any variety?  I think they’re asking for trouble there.  The contest also has categories exclusively for Highland Council schools, as detailed on the website.
    Closing: 8.3.19.
    Prizes (in each adult category): £500, £300, £200.  Winners will be published on the website.
    Entry Fee : £8.  Only one entry per person per category.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

The Binstead Prize.  This contest from Binstead Arts and the South Downs Poetry Festival is for  poems of up to 50 lines on any subject.  Award winning poet James Simpson will be judging.
    Closing: 29.3.19.
    Prizes: £250, £150, £50.  Prizewinners will be invited to read their poems in Binstead Church during the poetry evening, one of the events in the 2019 Binstead Art Festival.
    Entry Fee: £5 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here

Poetry on the Lake Festival Competition.  This annual international contest from Italy, now in its eighteenth year, has two categories: Silver Wyvern, for poems of up to 42 lines, and Formal for traditional forms (sonnet, sestina, villanelle, etc) up to 42 lines).  There is no compulsory theme, but there is a separate prize for the best poem in either category that has the theme of ‘Spirit’ (interpret this as you wish).
    Closing: 31.3.19.
    Prizes: Silver Wyvern: 500 euros, 200 euros.  Formal category: 100 euros.  Best ‘spirit’ themed poem in any category - 100 euros.
    Entry Fee (online): £10 for the first, £8 thereafter.  Early bird entries (by 31.12.18) - £6 each.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Fish Poetry Competition .  Poems of up to 300 words are invited for this contest from Fish Publishing based in southern Ireland.  Billy Collins will be judging.
    Closing: 31.3.19.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.  2nd - A week’s residency at Anam Cara Writers’ retreat.  3rd - 200 euros.  The top 10 poems will be published in the Fish Anthology 2019.
    Entry Fee: 14 euros, for the first, 8 euros thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Wergle Flomp Humour Poetry Competition.  This contest from Winning Writers in the USA is for published or unpublished humorous poems of up to 250 lines.  Before entering, it is advisable to check some of the past winners and judge’s comments (in the Contest Archives), as here you will find information about things the judges frown upon.
    Closing: 1.4.19.
    Prizes: 1st - $1,000 plus gift certificate.  2nd - $250.  Runners-up (10) - $100.  The top 12 entries will be published online.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  One entry per person.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Ver Poets Open Competition.  This annual contest from Ver Poets of St Albans in Hertfordshire is for poems of up to 30 lines on any subject.  Kathryn Maris, creative writing tutor and poet, will be judging.
    Closing: 1.4.19.
    Prizes: £600, £300, £100.  Winning and selected poems will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £10 for three, £3 each thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hi Michael,
     Thanks for a very useful website. Since finding the contact details on your site, I've won the Txtlit competition twice, and the Write Invite competition four times. With the prize money I'm now entering other competitions. Thanks for keeping us writers posted!
     Best regards, Uta Coutts

Ware Poets Poetry Competition.  This annual contest from Ware Poets of Hertfordshire is for poems of up to 50 lines on any subject.  There is a separate category for sonnets.  Poet Maggie Butt will be judging.
    Closing: 30.4.19.
    Prizes: £600, £300, £150.  Ware Sonnet Prize - £150.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £12 for four, £3 each thereafter.
    Entry Form and Details (pdf): Click Here.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>   Books for Writers - Improve your Skills   <<<<<<<<<<<<<

*********************************************************************************
Notes: Unless otherwise stated in the rules, poetry should be single-spaced.  It is sometimes the case that your name shouldn’t appear on the manuscript. Check the rules.  If you put your name on there after being told not to, you’re out.  Don’t use coloured paper or fancy fonts.  The colour and pizzazz to make you stand out from the crowd should be in the words.  Plain white A4 80gsm paper is the stuff to use, with plain black typing or print.  My preferred font for poetry manuscripts printed on an inkjet or laser printer is Gill Sans in 12 point (13 if I’m not pressed for space).  This gives a clear, dark print that’s easy to read.  Although publishers and agents sometimes demand the feeble Courier font, which comes out on my printers like something produced by a typewriter with an antique ribbon, I’ve never known competition organisers to express any preference.  But as always, check the rules.  Finally, write on one side of the sheet only - unless asked to put your address, etc, on the back.
 

----------------------------------------- --------------

Finally, as you sift through the remnants of your shattered dreams and wonder if it’s worth going on ... www.samaritans.co.uk/

Disclaimer

For other types of writing competitions, see the full list of literary contests on my Writing Comps page.