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New Writers Poetry Competition 2026

Welcome to the New Writers Poetry Competition 2026. Open to poets from anywhere in the world, we’re offering a prize pot of £1,400, with a top prize of £1,000 and four runners-up prizes of £100 each. The top five poets will win cash prizes and their poems will be published on our website and in the next issue of the New Writers Anthology.

The deadline is 23.59 (UK time) on Wednesday, 15th July 2026, and 10% of the competition proceeds will be split between two UK-registered charities, Duchenne UK and The Funzi & Bodo Trust.

ENTRY FORM

New Writers Poetry Competition 2026 – At A Glance:

  • Deadline: 23:59 (UK time) on Wednesday, 15th July 2026
  • Entry Fee: £10 per entry (£18 for two entries or £26 for three entries, when submitted together)
  • Prizes: 1st Place: £1,000; 4x Runners-up prizes of £100 each
  • Publication: The winning entry and the four runners-up will be published on the NewWriters.org.uk website and in the New Writers Anthology
  • Head Judge: To be confirmed
  • Word Limit: 42 lines (excluding title and line spaces)
  • Charity: 10% of all proceeds will be donated to charity (split between Duchenne UK & the Funzi & Bodo Trust)
  • Please read the full Poetry Competition Terms & Conditions before entering.
  • Winners and poets who have made the shortlist will be notified by email no later than Wednesday, 23rd September 2026. The announcement of winners and shortlisted entries will also be made no later than this date.

Low Income Entries: We want to make the competition accessible to as many writers as possible. We therefore have a limited number of free entries (one per person) for low-income writers, available on a first-come, first-served basis (though no later than 10th July 2026). Please see the terms and conditions for details.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Go to the ENTRY FORM page.
  2. Click on the PayPal button and follow the instructions to pay the relevant entry fee: £10.00 (one entry), £18.00 (two entries), or £26.00 (three entries).
  3. You can pay through your PayPal account or by a Debit Credit card (both options are administered by PayPal).
  4. Once you have submitted your payment, you will receive a confirmation email from PayPal confirming your payment. Make a note of the transaction ID.
  5. Fill in the entry form including the PayPal transaction ID, your name, your email address, pen name/alias (optional) and the title of your poem(s).
  6. Upload your poem(s) by clicking ‘Choose File’, ensuring it is in one of the supported file types (Microsoft Word Document or PDF). When your poem is uploaded, it will show a little red cross (this is not an error).
  7. Tick the box to confirm you have now used AI or similar when writing the poem(s).
  8. Read the Competition Rules, Terms & Conditions and tick the box to confirm you have done so and that you agree to them.
  9. Click to sign up to the monthly newsletter (optional but gives access to free-to-enter writing competitions with cash prizes, writing tips and more).
  10. Submit your poem(s). You will receive a confirmation email upon receipt.
  11. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 24 hours (and it’s not in your spam folder), please send us a message: david@newwriters.org.uk.
ENTRY FORM