My Novel

My Novel

UK Poetry Competitions (currently (26)

Wales Poetry Award 2024-25.  Open worldwide, this annual contest from Poetry Wales is for poems of up to 70 lines.  There is no theme.
    Closing: 17.2.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £500 plus a residential course or retreat at Literature Wales’ Ty Newydd Writing Centre, plus books, publication in Poetry Wales and a year’s subscription to the mag.  2nd - £100 plus books, publication and a year’s subscription.  3rd - £50 plus books, publication and a year’s subscription.
    Entry Fee: £5.  No more than 5 entries allowed.
    Comp Page: Wales Poetry

Subnivean New Writers’ Awards.  Subnivean is a magazine housed at the State University of New York.  It ‘never flees from chilling poems, penetrating stories, words that whip our perspectives around.’  The competition has two categories: Poetry and Fiction (up to 6,000 words each).
    Closing: 21.2.25.
    Prize (in each category): $150.  Winners will be published in the mag and ‘blurbed’ by the judges (I think ‘blurbed’ means they write something good about your work, but I can’t be certain).
    Entry Fees: Stories - $7 each.  Poetry -  $7 for a batch of up to six poems.
    Comp Page: Subnivean Awards

Elmbridge Literary Competition.  The RC Sheriff Trust and Elmbridge Borough Council have teamed up again to present this annual multi-category contest for poetry and short stories.  The theme this year is The River.   So let’s dive in.  Short stories should be a maximum length of 1,000 words for writers aged between 8 and 13, and 1,500 words for those aged 14+.  Poems can be up to 30 lines.  There is a Little Rhymes and Stories category for youngsters aged 5 to 7, with the rhymes running to no more than 20 lines and the stories to 500 words.  There are strict entry instructions in the T&Cs.  Read ’em or weep.
    Closing: 21.2.25 (5pm).
    Prizes: 19+ age group poem - £250, £150, £100.  19+ short story - £250, £150, £100.  14 to 18 category - £35, £30, £25.  11 to 13 - £35, £25, £20.  8 to 11 - £25, £20, £15.  5 to 7 - £20, £15, £10.  Elmbridge Prize (for an Elmbridge resident) - £50 book token.  Adult prizes, with the exception of the Elmbridge Prize, are in cash, the rest are in book tokens.
    Entry Fee: Adults £5.  Under 18s free.  Optional feedback: £10.  Optional full critique: £25.
    Comp Page: Elmbridge Literary.

Never Such Innocence Writing Competition.  Here we have an international freebie for youngsters between the ages of 9 and 18.  It has four categories - Poetry, Speech, Song and Art - but here I deal only with the first three.  Poems, which should run to no more than 40 lines, must answer the question: How Can We Prevent Future Wars?’  This question applies to the other categories too.  In the Speech category you are required to submit a speech of up to 5 minutes (750 words), in writing and with an audio or video recording.  If you are entering a song, submit a video or audio recording (maximum 4 minutes) plus the written lyrics.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes:  The prizes will be announced later in the competition, say the promoters, and will include some exciting opportunities.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  You can enter each category once.
    Comp Page: Innocence

Canterbury Tales Writing Competition.  Children aged 5 to 18 are invited to enter stories or poems in this freebie from the Chaucer Heritage Trust.  Entries do not have to be set in Canterbury but they must invoke the spirit of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.  The theme of the contest is Surprise, Surprise.  You can write a story/poem about a surprise, or a poem or story with a twist ending, or you can write a description of a character who was not what they appeared to be.  Limit your creative efforts to 500 words.  There are three age categories: 5 to 10, 11 to 14, and 15 to 18.  Winners are awarded prizes for themselves and their school’s library.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes (in each age category): 1st - £300, plus £1,000 for the library.  2nd - £150 plus £500 for the library.  3rd - £100  plus £250 for the library.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry (one per person).
    Comp Page: Canterbury Tales

Charles Causley International Poetry Competition.  The contest this year from the Charles Causley Trust is for poems of up to 40 lines on the theme of Peace.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,000.  2nd - £200.  3rd - £100.
    Entry Fee: £8 for one, then an additional £5 each.  It is advisable to check your pulse before submitting your work as the rules state that posthumous entries are not allowed.
    Comp Page: Causley Poetry

Charles Causley Young Person’s Poetry Competition.  This one from the Charles Causley Trust is for poets aged 5 to 18 who live in the UK. The theme is Peace.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: Unspecified prizes will be awarded in three age categories: 5 to 10, 11 to 15, 16 to 18.  There will also be a prize for a young poet from Charles Causley’s home county of Cornwall.
    Entry Fee: None - Free entry.
    Comp Page: Causley Poetry

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

Plaza Poetry Prize.  You have up to 60 lines to impress the judge in this annual contest from Plaza Prizes Ltd.
    Closing: 28.2.25.
    Prizes: £4,000, £300, £100.  The ten shortlisted entries will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee : £12 for the first, £9 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Plaza Poetry Prize

Dead Cat Poetry Prize .  I’m all-too familiar with the dead cat bounce (stock market), but this is the first time I‘ve come across a dead cat poetry contest.  But some people are understandably fond of writing about their dearly departed pets, and so it was inevitable that sooner or later someone would come up with a competition.  You can enter up to 60 lines, either as one poem or two.
    Closing: 17.3.25.
    Prizes: £75, £60, £15.
    Entry Fee: A donation (minimum £1).
    Comp Page: Dead Cat Poetry

SWLF Writing Competition.  This new contest from the South Warwickshire Literary Festival has four categories: Fiction (up to 800 words), Flash Fiction (up to 200 words), Poetry (up to 40 lines), and Creative Non-Fiction such as travel writing, memoir, and life writing (up to 800 words).  Winners and commendeds will be offered the opportunity to read their entries at the Festival in September.
    Closing: 28.3. 25.
    Prizes (in each category): £75, £25.
    Entry Fee: £3.90.
    Comp Page: SWLF Comp

Red Shed Open Poetry Competition.  Here’s a return visit from the annual contest run by Currock Press of Wakefield.  Sponsored by the Mocca Moocho cafe it is for poems of up to 40 lines on any subject.  Be aware that the rules contain some formatting instructions.
    Closing: 28.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £100.  2nd - £50.  Shortlisted - £20.  Wakefield Postcode: £25.
    Entry Fee: £3 for the first, £2 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Red Shed.

Rubery Book Award.  This annual international award is for books of all genres published by independent publishers or self-published.  To enter, send a hardcopy of your book by post or submit an ebook electronically.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £2,000.  Category winners - £200.  All winners receive a glass plaque.
    Entry Fee: £45.  If you are entering from outside the UK, see the website for pricing.
    Comp Page: Rubery Book.

Plaza Prose Poem Prize.  Prose poems of up to 750 words are requred for this annual contest.  Any theme is acceptable but poems must be written for adults.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: £750, £300, £100.
    Entry Fee: £10 for the first, £7.50 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Plaza Prose Poem.

Binsted Poetry Prize .  The South Downs Poetry Festival in conjunction with the Binsted Arts Festival is coming round again, and as usual it features a competition for poems on any subject.  With a line limit of 40, it is open to all poets aged over 16.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £250 plus publication in Poetry & All That Jazz magazine.  2nd - £150.  3rd - £50.
    Entry Fee : £5 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Binsted Poetry.

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize.  Before you clutter up your mind with ideas for poems about caterpillars, let me point out that the name of this annual contest is not intended to indicate the official subject, although if you wish to go that way, you are free to do so.  The only stipulations are that your poem must be suitable for children aged 7 to 11, and it must be written by someone aged over 16..  It can be any length and may have any number of legs, including none.  The Caterpillar, incidentally, is a children’s magazine based in Southern Ireland.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros and a week at Circle of Misse in France.  2nd - 500 euros.  3rd - 250 euors.  Winners will be publishd in the Irish Times online.
    Entry Fee: 15 euros.
    Comp Page: Catmag Poetry.

Fish Poetry Prize.  Poems of up to 60 lines in any style are invited for this annual international contest from Fish Publishing based in southern Ireland.  Billy Collins will again be judging.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.  2nd - 300 euros plus a Fish writing course.  3rd - 300 euros.  Ten poems will be published in the Fish Anthology 2025.  The writers will each receive five free copies and will be invited to read at the launch ceremony at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2025.
    Entry Fee: 14 euros, for the first, 9 euros thereafter.
    Comp Page: Fish Poetry.

Grey Hen Chapbook Competition.  To enter this poetry contest from Grey Hen Press for woman over 60 you submit 15 to 20 poems.
    Closing: 31.3.25.
    Prize: The winner’s chapbook will be published by Grey Hen Press in their Hen Run series.
    Entry Fee: Place an order for at least £20 worth of titles published by Grey Hen Press or Hen Run.
    Comp Page: Grey Hen Chapbook.

Wergle Flomp Humour Poetry Competition.  This annual freebie from Winning Writers in the USA is for published or unpublished humorous poems (including inspired gibberish) of up to 250 lines.  Before entering, it is advisable to read some of the past winning entries.
   Closing: 1.4.25.
    Prizes: 1st - $2,000 plus a gift certificate.  2nd - $500, $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: Wergle Flomp.

Rialto Nature & Place Poetry Competition.  Any aspect of nature and place is the theme of this annual contest from The Rialto magazine in association with the RSPB, Birdlife International, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the University of Leeds Poetry Centre.  The judge is Helen Mort.
    Closing: 1.4.25.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.
    Entry Fee: £7 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Rialto N&P.

Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize.  The Alpine Fellowship is a charity project of the German-based ‘Argosophia Stiftung’, which holds a symposium every year.  The contest, like the charity, is international.  The prize is awarded annually for the best piece of poetry on the set theme.  This year’s theme is Fear.
    Closing: 1.4.25.
    Prizes: £3,000, £1,000, £1000.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  One entry per person. You can submit one poem, or a collection of poems on the same theme.  Maximum word count: 500.
    Comp Page: Alpine Poetry Prize.

Tom Howard/John H Reid Fiction & Essay Contest.  This regular visitor from Winning Writers in the USA is two competitions in one.  The first is for fiction running to no more than 6,000 words, while the second requires factual essays, also with a limit of 6,000 words.
    Closing: 1.5.25.  Opens for entries 15.10.25.
    Prizes: Story - $3,500 plus $100 gift certificate.  Essay - $3,500 plus $100 gift certificate. Honourable Mentions (10) - $500.  The top 12 entries will be published online.
    Entry Fee: $25.
    Comp Page: Tom H Comp.

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

Creative Future Competition.  The Creative Future Awards for under-represented writers over 18 are back again.  There are three categories: Poetry up to 50 lines, Fiction up to 2,000 words, and Creative Non-fiction up to 2,000 words.  The theme this year, (‘a creative prompt,’ they say, ‘not a requirement’) is ‘Wild’.
    Closing: 18.5.25.
    Prizes: (Poetry) 1st - £75, a Chapter and Verse Mentorship, manuscript assessment and a year’s Being A Writer membership, plus a Faber Academy online masterclass.  2nd - £50 plus other writing-relatesd items.  3rd - £25 plus other Writing-related items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up.  (Fiction): 1st - £75, a Curtis Brown mentorship and agent meeting, one year’s Being A Writer membership, Faber Academy Writing a Novel course,  a year’s membership of the Society of Authors.  2nd - £50 plus writing-related items.  3rd - £25 plus other items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up. (Creative Non-fiction): 1st - £75 plus mentoring and manuscript assessment, plus Faber Academy’s Memoir and Life Writing course.  2nd - £50, manuscript assessment and an online writing course from Writing Magazine, plus Society of Authors membership.  3rd - £25 plus manuscript assessment and coaching, and a copy of the W&A Yearbook.  There are also prizes for Highly Commended and Commended.  In addition to the main category prizes there are ‘Joint prizes’, presumably so you can smoke away the blues after not winning the top prize ... oh, hang on, it seems these prizes are something extra that all winners get jointly.  Winners will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: Free to enter, or pay what you can.
    Comp Page: Creative Future Award

Wirral Poetry Festival Open Poetry Competition.  Poems of up to 40 lines are invited for this long-running contest from the Wirral (where Vikings once settled ... before being moved on by the council following complains of antisocial behaviour).
    Closing: 30.5.25.
    Prizes: £250, 4 x £25.  Wittal Prize (for people living or working in Wirral): £100, 2 x £25.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: Wirral Poetry

Frogmore Poetry Prize.  This annual contest is run by Frogmore Press which was founded in 1983 in the Frogmore tearooms in Folkestone.  Well, what else can you do in Folkestone?  I’ll tell you what: you can fall in the sea - a feat I managed at the age of 8.  Will I ever forget that day?  Unlikely, for I had the misfortune to be rescued by my two sisters.  ‘No, no - let me drown!’ I cried.  ‘I’ll never be able to face my mates again.’  But I had the ice cream money in my pocket and so my pleas were ignored.  I later wrote a poem about the shame of it all but it would have been too long for this contest as it ran to 360 lines.  The line limit here is 40.
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prize : 1st - 250 guineas.  Classy.  You also get a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers.  2nd - 75 guineas and a year’s subscription.  3rd - 50 guineas and a year’s subscription.  Shortlisted poets also get copies of selected Frogmore Press publications, plus publicaion in the mag.
    Entry Fee: £4.
    Comp Page: Frogmore PP

Bridport Prize.  This famous international competition from the Bridport Arts Centre is one of the most prestigious writing contests in the British literary calendar.  Everyone in the trade whose mind is not addled by drugs has heard of it, and they will be impressed if you can claim to have won it.  The good news is that winning it is easy.  All you have to do is submit the best poem, short story or flash fiction, the poem having no more than 42 lines, the short story running to no more than 5,000 words.  For those who find 5,000 words too tiring to write, the flash fiction category is ideal as it has a word limit of only 250 (if that’s too much, consider becoming a poet).
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prizes: Short Stories, Poems (in each category) - £5,000, £1,000, £500, and ten @ £100.  Flash Fiction - £1,000, £500, £250, and five @ £100.  Winning entries will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fees:  Poem - £12.  Short Story - £14.  Flash Fiction - £11.
    Comp Page: Bridport Prize.

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

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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.
 

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Disclaimer

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