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UK Poetry Competitions (currently (17)

Chesham Literary Festival Poetry Competition.  You have to log in to Facebook to enter this freebie from the Chesham Literary Festival.  If you haven’t got an account you can sign up for free.  The contest is for poems of up to 40 lines.  There are four categories: Under 11s, 11 to 18s, Adults living anywhere in the world and Adults living in the UK HP5 postcode area.     Closing: 14.6.25.
    Prizes (in each category): Adults - £100.  Under-18s - £50.
    Entry Fee: None- free entry (up to 5 poems permitted).
    Comp Page: Chesham Litfest

International Welsh Poetry Competition.  I know what you’re thinking: you’ll have to write a poem in Welsh for this one.  Not so, because there are only four poets in the entire world who write in Welsh, so the promoters are wisely asking for entries in English.  They’re also asking for no more than 50 lines.  These lines can be in any style and on any subject.  Mike Jenkins will be judging.
    Closing: 29.6.25.
    Prizes: £500, £250, £100.  Winners and 17 runners-up will be published in a future anthology.
    Entry Fee: £6.
    Comp Page: Welsh Poetry

Wells Festival of Literature Competitions.  Here we have a return of the famous Wells Litfest and its various competitions: Poetry, Short Story, Book for Children, Young Poets.  I should mention before we go any further that we are talking about Wells in Somerset, not Wells in Norfolk which also has an annual litfest (I wouldn’t want you turning up at the wrong event to receive your prize or to berate the judges for not awarding you anything).  Anyway, back to business.  For the Poetry you are allowed up to 35 lines, while the Short Stories should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words.  For the Book for Children, which must be suitable for youngsters aged 7+ (includes YA), you need to submit the first three chapters (or first 30 pages, this being the maximum) plus a synopsis of up to 2 pages.   If shortlisted, you may be asked to submit the complete manuscript.  The Young Poets category, for budding bards aged between 16 and 22, requires poems of no more than 35 lines.
    Closing: 30.6.25 (5pm).
    Prizes: Poetry - £1,000, £500, £250.  Short Story, Book for Children (in each category) - £750, £300, £200.  Young Poets - £200, £150, £100.  Additional prizes: Local Prize for poetry, short story - £100 in each category.  Book for Children Local Prize - £100.
    Entry Fee: Adult categories - £6.  Young Poets - £3.
    Comp Page: Wells Litfest.

Poetry London Prize.  Needless to say it’s a poetry competition, and it’s from a magazine called Poetry London .  However, rntries need not be about London.  They can be on any subject and they can run to as many as 80 lines.  The contest is open worldwide.
    Closing: 30.6.25.
    Prizes: £5,000, £2,000, £1,000.  Winning entries will be published in the magand on the website.
    Enttry Fee:  £4 for one, £10 for three, £3 each thereafter.
    Comp Page: Poetry London

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

Letter Review Prizes.  Here’s a repeat of the contest from the USA with four categories: Poetry (all kinds, up to 70 lines), Short Fiction (up to 5,000 words), Nonfiction (up to 5,000 words) and Unpublished Books (first 5,000 words of a novel, nonfiction or collection of short stories, or 15 pages of poetry).  In the Unpublished Books category, self-published books are eligible.
    Closing: 30.6.25.
    Prizes: A share of the $1,000 prize pool in each category.  Poetry, Short Fiction and Nonfiction winners will be published, while Unpublished Book winners can choose to have an extract published and receive a letter of recommendation from the judges.  Winners in the first three categories will also be considered for submission to the Pushcart Prize and other anthologies.
    Entry Fee: Short Fiction - $20.  Poetry - $15.  Nonfiction - $20.  Book - $25.
    Comp Page: Letter Review Prizes

Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize.  ‘Wasafiri’, according to the website, ‘is a literary magazine at the forefront of mapping new landscapes in international literature.’  Try saying that in Kiswahili, the language from which the magazine’s title comes.  Now, you are probably thinking that the magazine itself must hail from Africa, but this is not so.  It was born at the University of Kent in 1984 and, as far as I know. it has no African connection at all.  Nor, I might add, has the contest.  This has three categories (Poetry, Fiction, Life Writing) and is open to anyone anywhere in the world who has not published a complete book in their chosen category.  The word limit for the Fiction and Life Writing is 3,000.  In the poetry category, you can submit up to three poems (total words 3,000 max) for the same entry fee (start each poem on a separate page in the same document).  You can enter more than one category, but only once each.  Incidentally, ‘wasafiri’, in case your Kiswahili is a bit rusty, means ‘cultural traveller’.  Incidentally, if you are stuck for inspiration, you can now translate someone else’s work into English and enter that.  Do remember to credit the original creator though.
    Closing: 30.6.25.
    Prize (in each category): £1,000 and publication in the mag.  Winners and shortlisted writers will  be offered Chapter & Verse or Free Reads mentoring in partnership with The Literary Consultancy.  Shortlisted entries will be published on the website.
    Entry Fee: £12.  If you enter two separate categories it’s £16.
    Comp Page : Wasafiri Prize.

Hastings Book Festival Competitions.  Short stories and poetry are the order of the day here, the former having a word allowance of up to 2,500, the latter a line allowance of up to 40.
    Closing: 30.6.25 (10pm).
    Prizes (in each category): £250, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £8.25 for one, £15 for two, £21 for three.
    Comp Page: Hastings Bookfest Comp

Hysteria Writing  Competition.  This annual contest is open to all writers of any age and nationality.  It has three categories: Short Story up to 1,000 words, Flash Fiction up to 250 words, and Poetry up to 16 lines.
    Closing: 30.6.25.
    Prizes (in each category): £75 and a publication contract from Crystal Clear Books.  Runners up will received a free e-book copy of the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Hysteria Writing

Winchester Poetry Prize.  Back with a bang like a shot from a Winchester rifle is this annual contest from the Winchester Poetry Festival.  It is for poems of up to 40 lines.  Prizewinning poet Fiona Benson will be judging.
    Closing: 31.7.25.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.  Winners will be announced live at the Winchester Poetry Festival on October 12, 2025.  Winning and commended poems will appear in an anthology which will be available on the day.  There is also a prize for the best poem written by a Hampshire-based poet.
    Entry Fee: £6 for the first, £5 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Winchester Fest Poetry.

Foyle Young Poets Competition.  Here’s a repeat of the annual contest from the Poetry Society.  It is for poets between the ages of 11 and 15.  Entries can be up to 40 lines,  There is no theme.
    Closing: 31.7.25.
    Prizes: The 15 top winners will receive Poetry Society mentoring packages and their poems will be published in a print anthology.   Commended poems (85) will appear in an online anthology.  All winners (100) will  receive youth membership of the Society, plus goody bags containing books and unspecified treats (possibly sweets, weed, etc).   All will be invited to an awards ceremony.  Winning entries will appear in an online anthology.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page:  Folye Young Poets

SaveAs  International Writing Competition.  Here’s a repeat of the annual international contest from SaveAs Writers of Canterbury in Kent.  It is for poetry of up to 60 lines and stories running to no more than 3,500 words.  The theme this year is ‘facing the storm’,   The email and postal entry addresses can be found in the T&Cs document (link on the Saveas comp page).
    Closing: 31.8.25.
    Prizes (in each category): £200, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: Stories - £5 each, £12 for three.  Poems - £4 each, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: SaveAs Writing

Oxford Poetry Prize.  Here’s another international contest from Oxford Poetry, the oldest dedicated poetry magazine in the UK (founded 1910).  It is for poems of up to 50 lines.
    Closing : 31.8.25 (midnight UTC).
    Prizes: £1,000, £200, £100.  The winner will be published in a print issue of Oxford Poetry and online.  Second and Third prize winners will be offered publication in the print issue.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Oxford Poetry

Fool for Poetry Competition.  To enter this international chapbook competition from Munster Literature Centre in southern Ireland you submit 16 to 24 pages of your work.  The poems can have been published before but they must not have appeared together in a book.
    Closing: 31.8.25.  Opens for entries 1.6.25.
    Prizes (in euroes): 1,000, 500.  The two winners will be published in chapbook form by Southword Editions.  Each will receive 25 free copies of their book, plus a featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival with 3-night hotel stay (full board).
    Entry Fee: 25 euros.
    Comp Page: Fool Poetry

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

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award.  The writing in question for this contest from Aesthetica Magazine is short fiction running to no more than 2,000 words, and poetry of up to 40 lines.  Submissions can be on any subject and may have been previously published.
    Closing: 8.9.25.
    Prize (in each category): £2,500 plus other writing related prizes.  Finalists will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual.
    Entry Fee: Up to 31.8.25 - £18 for fiction, £12 for poetry.  Between 1.9.25 and 8.9.25 - £24 for fiction, £18 for poetry.
    Comp Page: Aesthetica Award. 

Hammond House International Writing Competitions.  This annual offering from Hammond House Publishing at University Centre Grimsby is for short stories of between 1,000 and 5,000 words, poems of up to 40 lines, scripts (theatre, radio, short film or TV) of up to 10 pages (approx. 10 minutes duration), and Songwriting in the form of just lyrics or complete songs.  In all categories the theme is Secrets.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes: Short Story - £1,000.  Poetry - £500.  Script - £250.  Songwriting - £100 in each sub-category, plus the song will be played at the 2026 Literary Festival and released worldwide on the Hammond House record label.  All shortlisted entries in the Story and Poetry categories will be published in the anthology, as will the scriptwriting winners.  There will be a televised awards ceremony (so get your politically correct, virtue signalling acceptance speech ready - and don't forget to thank the train/taxi driver, etc, without whom you wouldn’t be there).
    Entry Fee : £10.
    Comp Page: HH Lit Prize

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Prize.  This regular visitor from the USA has now become two competitions in one: the Tom Howard Prize and the Margaret Reid Prize.  The former is for poems in any style, while the latter is for traditional verse as defined on the competition page.  In both cases the line limit is a very generous (some might say extravagant) 250.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes: Tom Howard Prize (any style) - $3,500 + gift certificate.  Margaret Reid Prize (traditional verse) - $3,500 + gift certificate.  In addition there will be ten Honourable Mention awards of $500.  The Dishonourable Mention awards have been dropped this year following several suicides.  I wrote that last bit on April 1st.
    Entry Fee: $22 per submission (one submission can contain up to 3 poems).
    Comp Page: TH & MR Poetry.

Bedford Writing Competition.  This annual not-for-profit contest from Bedfordshire, home of the famous Shuttleworth Collection (old aeroplanes and cars) is for stories of up to 3,000 words and poems running to no more than 40 lines.  There is also the Cygnature story and poetry contest, open to young writers aged 17 to 25.  Plus there is the Bedford Prize for Bedford residents.
    Closing: 31.10.25 (opens for entries 1.5.25).
    Prizes in each category (Poetry, Short Story): £1,500, £300, £200.   Cygnature Short Story and Poetry - £200 in each category.  In addition there is £100 in each category for the Bedford Prize..  Shortlisted and winning entries will be published in an anthology (e-book and hardcopy).
    Entry Fee: £8.50 each, £17 for three.  Full-time students: £6 each, £12 for three.
    Comp Page: BWC.

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.