My Novel

My Novel

UK Poetry Competitions (currently (31)

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.

The Plough Poetry Prize.  Arr, it be that time again.  The Plough Prize is back for its umpteenth annual appearance.  It comes from the Plough Arts Centre in Torrington, Devon.  It is for poems of up to 40 lines in any style and on any subject.  The judge this year is award-winning poet Pascale Petit.
    Closing: 28.3.25.
    Prizes: I’m tempted to say ploughs, but I think I’ve done that one before.  The prizes are actually quite useful amounts of money: £1,000, £500, £250.
    Entry Fee: £5 online, postal £6.
    Comp Page: Plough PP.

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.

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: 31.3.25 (11.59pm ET).
    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.  Unpublished Book - $25.
    Comp Page: Letter Review Prizes

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

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.

Artemesia Arts Poetry Competition 2025.  Poems on any theme are required for this one, and the line limit is 40.  Prize-winning poet Jo Bell will be judging.
    Closing: 5.4.25.
    Prizes: £200, £80, £80.  Winners and certain others will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Artemesia

The Mairtin Crawford Awards.  Here’s one from the Belfast Book Festival.  Open to residents of Ireland and the UK aged 18 and over, it is for poems and stories by writers who have not yet had a full collection of stories or poems, or a novel, published.  In the poetry category, submissions should comprise between 3 and 5 poems of no more than 60 lines each.  Stories (one per submission) should not exceed 2,500 words.
    Closing: 9.4.25 (midday).
    Prizes: The first prize winners in each category will receive £500 and an optional ‘Time to Write’ package which includes a 3-night stay at a hotel, Belfast, and 4 days of dedicated writing space in The Crescent.  Runners-up (2) - £250.
    Entry Fee: £10 for each submission of one story or 3 to 5 poems.
    Comp Page: MC Awards

Ware Poets Poetry Competition .  Ware Poets of Hertfordshire are running their annual international contest again, and as before it is for poems of up to 50 lines on any subject.  There is a separate category for sonnets.  The prize money in both categories has been increased significantly this year. Winning poems will be published in the 2025 anthology, with a free copy going to each writer.  The best poem will be entered for the Forward Prize.
    Closing: 30.4.25.
    Prizes: £800, £400, £200.  Ware Sonnet Prize - £200.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Ware Poets

Indigo Open Poetry Prize 2025.  Here we have another contest from Indigo Dreams Publishing in Devon.  It is for poems of up to 40 lines on any subject.
    Closing: 30.4.25.
    Prizes: £250, £100, £50.  Plus magazine publication.
    Entry Fee : £5 esch, £9 for two, £12 for three.
    Comp Page: Indigo Dreams.

Oxford/42 New Writing Prize 2025.   The writing in question for this freebie is novels, stage plays, radio plays and screenplays for TV or film.  To enter you have to be at least 18, unagented and living, studying or working (legally) in the UK or Ireland.   For novels you enter the first 10,000 to 15,000 words.  For a stage or radio play you submit the complete script of 30 o 90 pages.  For screenplays the requirement is 30 to 60 pages for the first episode of a TV show, or 90 pages for a complete feature-length film script.  You also need to send a synopsis of up to 300 words, plus and elevator pitch of two sentences for a work of fiction.
    Closing: 30.4.25.
    Prize: £1,500 and agency representation.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Oxford 42

Ver Poets Open Competition.  Here’s a repeat of the annual contest from Ver Poets of St Albans in Hertfordshire.  It is for poems of up to 30 lines on any subject.  The judge this year is Rory Waterman.
    Closing: 30.4.25.
    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: Ver Poets.

F(r)iction Writing Competition.  This international contest from the USA has three categories: Short Story (1,001 to 7,500 words), Poetry (up to three pages per poem), and Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words, Creative Nonfiction up to 6,500 words).
    Closing: 2.5.25.
    Prizes: Short Story - $1,000.  Creative Nonfiction - $500.  Flash Fiction - £300.  Poetry - $300.
    Entry Fees: Short Story and Creative nonfiction - $15.  Poetry and Flash Fiction - $10.
    Comp Page: F(r)iction Comps

Wigtown Poetry Prize.  This annual international contest from Wigtown in Scotland is for poems of up to 40 lines on any subject (although I would suggest NOT wigs - too obvious).  Entries can be in English or, for shy writers who prefer not to have too many readers, Scottish Gaelic or Scots.
    Closing: 7.5.25 (noon).
    Prizes: English - £1,500, £200.  Scottish Gaelic - £500, £200.  Scots - £500, £200.  Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voice Award - A package of professional support including mentoring and a retreat at Moniak Mhor Creative Writing Centre.  There is also the Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize: submit 8 - 12 poems (limit 12 pages) to win 30 copies in pamphlet form.
    Entry Fees: English - £10.  Scots and Gaelic - £10.   Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voice Award - £10.  Pamphlet Prize - £25.
    Comp Page: Wigtown.

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

Slipstream Poets Open Poetry Competition.  Here we have another contest from Slipstream Poets of West Sussex.  It has a line limit of 40 but no theme.  The judge this time is poet Catherine Smith.
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prizes: £300, £175, £75.  There is also £50 for the best West Sussex entry.  Winning poems will be published on the Slipstream website.
    Entry Fee : £5 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Slipstream Poets.

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.

Yeovil Literary Prize.  This is the 24th of these annual international contests from Yeovil, the literary capital of the West Country where even the sheep appreciate poetry.  There are five categories: Short Story, Poetry, Novel, Children’s & YA Novel, and Unrestricted.  The short stories can run to 2,000 words, while poems should be no more than 40 lines.  Adult Novels have a limit of 10,000 words for the opening chapters and synopsis.  Children’s & YA entries should be no more than 3,000 (opening) words with a 500-word synopsis, and can include one illustration.  The final category is unusual in that it’s for anything you have written - as long as it has ‘the Wow! factor’ (they mean ‘Wow - that’s brilliant!’ rather than, ‘Wow - you’ve really plumbed the depths with that one!’).  Your entry could be a particularly creative tax return, a witty note to the milkman (if there are such people these days), or that hilariously scathing critique of your former best friend’s novel, etc.
    Closing: 31.5.25.
    Prizes: Short Story - £625, £275, £150.  Poetry - £625, £250, £150.  Novel - £1,350, £450, £200.  Children’s & YA Novel - £625, £275, £150.  Writing Without Restrictions - £275, £150, £100.  In addition there is the Western Gazette Best Local Writer Award for a shortlisted writer living in the Western Gazette distribution area (mainly Dorset and Somerset).  It isn’t worth moving down there however as the prize is only £100.
    Entry Fee: Short Story - £10.50  Poetry - £8.  Novel - £18.50.  Children’s & YA Novel - £15.  Writing Without Restrictions - £10.
    Comp Page: Yeovil Lit Prize.

Canterbury Poet of the Year Competition.  It’s back again: the annual international poetry contest from Canterbury Festival.  As usual, it is for poems of up to 60 lines.  Shortlisted poets will be asked to read their work att the awards evening on October 2, but they can if they wish nominate someone else to do this, including one of the judges.
    Closing: 2.6.25.
    Prizes: £300, £150, £75.  Longlisted entries will be published in an anthology.  All longlistees will receive a free copy.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Canterbury Festival Comp

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.

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. 

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.