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Happiful Poetry Prize

Happiful Poetry Prize

Deadline: 18th November 2024

  • Entry Fee: FREE
  • Prizes: Winner: £100; four shortlisted poets: £25 National Book Token; plus publication/broadcast
  • Line Limit: 25 lines max (excluding title)
  • Theme: Poems must be on the topic of mental health or wellbeing.
  • Eligibility: The competition is open to anyone based in the UK or NI aged 18 or over at the time of entering
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website: happiful.com/poetry-prize

Featured

New Writers Winter 50-Word Competition 2024

Deadline: 11.59 (UK time) on Monday 30th December 2024

  • Entry Fee: FREE
  • Prizes: 1st Place: £50 plus one free entry to the New Writers Flash Fiction Competition 2025, and publication on the NewWriters.org.uk website
  • Word Limit: 50 words (excluding title)
  • Theme: Winter
  • Category: Flash Fiction / Poetry Competitions
  • How to Enter: Send your entry as an attachment (Word doc or Google doc please) to: competitions@newwriters.org.uk with the email subject "Winter 50-Word Competition".
Arkbound Writing Competition

Arkbound Writing Competition

Deadline: 31 December 2024

  • Entry Fee: £8
  • Prizes: Free copy of published book; cash prize TBD
  • Word Limit: 4,500
  • Judge: Bridget Reaume, Publishing Executive of Arkbound
  • Category: Poetry Competitions, Non-fiction Competitions
  • Competition Website: arkbound.com/writing-competitions

The Page is Printed 2025

The Page Is Printed 2025

Deadline: 23.59 (UK time) on 13 January 2025

  • Entry Fee: £5 for one entry, £10 for three (FREE for under 18s)
  • Prizes: First prize (adults): £100 voucher; First prize (under 18s): 2x £25 vouchers
  • Word Limit: Single side of A4
  • Competition Website: tacchi-morris.com/the-page-is-printed

Poetry Wales Award

Poetry Wales Award 2024/25

Deadline: 23:59 (UK time) on 17th February 2025

  • Entry Fee: £5 per poem (or FREE for magazine subscribers and low-income households)
  • Prizes: 1st Place: £500; 2nd Place: £100; 3rd Place: £50; top three also win a One Year Subscription to Poetry Wales & publication in Poetry Wales
  • Word Limit: 70 lines maximum (excluding title and line breaks)
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Judge: Jeremy Dixon (prize-winning poet, workshop leader and maker of Artist’s Books)
  • Competition Website: poetrywales.co.uk/award
Novels and books

Canterbury Tales Writing Competition 2024/25

Deadline: Midnight (UK time) on 28 February 2025

  • Entry Fee: FREE
  • Prizes: For entrant: 1st £300, 2nd £150, 3rd £100 (For entrant's school library: 1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250)
  • Word Limit: 500 words
  • Theme/Genre: Surprise, surprise!
  • Eligibility: The three age groups are: Junior – 5-10 years old, Intermediate – 11-14 years old, Senior – 15-18 years old
  • Category: Story/Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website: chaucer.org.uk/the-canterbury-tales-writing-competition-2024-25-surprise-surprise

Old Typewriter

Red Shed Poetry Competition 2025

Deadline: 28th March 2025

  • Entry Fee: £3.50 for the first entry, £2 extra for each additional entry
  • Prizes: 1st Place: £100, 2nd: £50, 3rd: £20. Wakefield postcode prize: £25
  • Word Limit: 40 lines maximum
  • Category: Marion Oxley
  • Sole adjudicator: Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website: currockpress.com/theredshedpoetrycomp
Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2025

Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2025

Deadline: 31st March 2025

  • Entry Fee: €15
  • Prizes: 1st prize €1,000 plus a week at Circle of Misse in France; 2nd prize €500; 3rd prize €250
  • Word Limit: No line limit
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Judge: Kate Wakeling
  • Competition Website:  thecaterpillarmagazine.com

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2025

Deadline: Midnight (UK time) on 30th April 2025

  • Entry Fee: £5.00 per poem
  • Prizes: First prize £800, Second prize £400, Third prize £200, Sonnet prize £200
  • Word Limit: 50 lines maximum
  • Judge: Hannah Copley, TS Eliot Prize shortlisted poet, editor of Stand literary magazine, creative writing lecturer at Westminster University
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website: warepoets.org/competition-2025
Channel Islands LGBTQ Writing Competition

Channel Islands LGBTQ+ Writing Competition 2025

Deadline: Wednesday 30 April 2025

  • Entry Fee: Free
  • Eligibility: Entrants must be from the Channel Islands. You do not have to be LGBTQ+ yourself to participate.
  • Theme: LGBTQ+ theme, fiction or non-fiction and in any written literary form
  • Prizes: Winner of each category will receive a £100 voucher
  • Word Limit: 1,000 words
  • Age Categories: 'Under 18s' or '18 and Over'
  • Competition Website:  CLICK HERE for Entry Details

New Writers Poetry Competition 2025
Featured

New Writers Poetry Competition 2025

Deadline: 23:59 (UK time) on Thursday 17th July 2025

  • Entry Fee: £10 per entry; (£18 for two entries, £26 for three entries, when submitted together)
  • Prizes: 1st: £1,200; 2nd: £300; 3rd: £150; 4th to 6th: £50 each
  • Publication: The six winning entries will be published on the NewWriters.org.uk website and in the next New Writers Anthology
  • Word Limit: 42 lines (excluding title and line spaces)
  • Head Judge: Katrina Moinet (Prize-winning writer of poetry & prose)
  • Charity: 10% of all proceeds will be donated to charity (split between First Story and the Funzi & Bodo Trust)
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website: newwriters.org.uk/poetry-competition

Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition

Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition 2025

Deadline: 2 June 2025

  • Entry Fee: £5 for each poem
  • Prizes: Winner: £300 (and named Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year(; Second place: £150; Third place: £75
  • Word Limit: 60 lines maximum (excluding title and line breaks)
  • Judges: Luigi Marchini (Chair, SaveAs Writers Group), Kerry Rawlinson (Joint Winner, Poet of the Year 2024) and Gary Michael Studley (Joint Winner, Poet of the Year 2024)
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website: canterburyfestival.co.uk/poet-of-the-year-competition-2025
Featured

New Writers Hopeful Haiku Competition 2025

Deadline: 23.59 (UK time) on Tuesday 17th June 2025

  • Entry Fee: FREE
  • Prizes: 1st Place: £50 plus one free entry to the New Writers Poetry Competition 2025, publication on the NewWriters.org.uk website and in the next New Writers Anthology
  • Word Limit: three lines with a total of 17 syllables (excluding title)
  • Theme: Hope
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • How to Enter: Send your entry as an attachment (Word doc or Google doc please) to: competitions@newwriters.org.uk with the email subject "Haiku Competition".
Hastings Book Festival Writing Competition

Hastings Book Festival Competition 2025

Deadline: 10pm on 30 June 2025

  • Entry Fee: Single entry fee is £8.25; Two entries: £15; Three entries £21 (Max one entry for creative non-fiction)
  • Prizes: 1st prize £250, 2nd prize £100, and 3rd prize £50
  • Word Limit: Stories up to 2,500 words; poems up to 40 lines; creative non-fiction up to 1,000 words
  • Eligibility: Entrants to all competitions must be a minimum of 18 years old at time of entry, but the competition is open to all, including non-UK based writers.
  • Judges: Short Story, Jen Calleja (Poetry), Creative Non-Fiction
  • Category: James Young (Short Story), Poetry, Sam Davey (Creative Non-Fiction)
  • Competition Website: hastingsbookfest.org/competitions

Winchester Poetry Prize 2025

Winchester Poetry Prize 2025

Deadline: 11.59 pm (UK time) on 31st July 2025

  • Entry Fee: £6 for first poem, £5 for subsequent poems
  • Prizes: 1st Place: £1,000; 2nd Place: £500; 3rd Place: £250; winning and commended poems will be published in a competition anthology
  • Word Limit: 40 lines maximum (excluding title)
  • Judge: Fiona Benson
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website: winchesterpoetryfestival.org/wpp25

Aurora Prize for Writing

Aurora Prize for Writing 2025

Deadline: 23.59 (UK time) on 6th August 2025

  • Entry Fee: £9 (£7 for additional entries)
  • Prizes: Winner: £500 in each category, Second: £150, Third: A ticket to the 2027 Writers’ Conference, hosted by Writing East Midlands
  • Word Limit: 60 lines (poetry), 2,000 words (short story)
  • Category: Poetry and short fiction competition
  • Competition Website: writingeastmidlands.co.uk/for-writers/aurora-prize-for-writing
The Bournemouth Writing Prize

Bournemouth Writing Prize

Deadline: 15th August 2025

  • Entry Fee: £10 (for three poems or one short story)
  • Prizes: First prize: £1,000; second prize: £300; third prize: £200; published in Dorset Magazine, read entry at the 2026 Bournemouth Writing Festival celebration event
  • Line/Word Limit: Poetry - 30 lines; Short Story - 3,000 words
  • Categories: Poetry and Short Story Competitions
  • Judges: Madeleine Milburn (Short Story) and Abu Ibrahim (Poetry)
  • Competition Website: bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk/2026-writing-competition
Fool for Poetry Competition

Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition

Deadline: 31st August 2025

  • Entry Fee: €25 per manuscript
  • Prizes: 1st Place: €1000; 2nd Place: €500; both winners will receive Chapbook publication and 25 complimentary copies, Featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival (with three-night hotel stay and full board)
  • Category: Poetry Competitions
  • Competition Website:  munsterlit.ie/fool-for-poetry

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