Open, closing 5pm Thursday 16 July 2020. The Ledbury Poetry Festival Competition has categories for Adults (18+), Young People (Ages 12 to 17) and Children (under 12). The relevant ages means age on the date of submission. Poems must be no longer than 40 lines. This year’s judge is Liz Berry. Adults: £5.75 for the first […]

Closed January 2020, re-opening later in 2020. 16-18 and 19+ categories. For poems and essays on any aspect of the work or lives of the Romantics and their circles. Enter up to 2 poems or 2 essays. Essays should be no more than 1,500 words including quotations. For 16-18 year olds, for whom entry is […]

Reopening 2019. An annual competition as part of Deddington Festival which is open to children and young people who live or attend school in Oxfordshire, South East Warwickshire and South West Northants and who are in the following age groups: 5-7 years, 8-10 years, 11-16 years. 

The Poetry Society’s annual competition, open to poets aged 17 and over. Poems cost £7 to enter, then subsequently £4. Members get a free second entry. First prize £5000. Closed, re-opening summer 2020.

Closed. One of the highlights of the Roundhouse calendar, the Poetry Slam is back. The slam offers young poets from across the UK the chance to compete for the coveted Slam Champion title plus a prize of £600. More info: There’s nothing quite like a Roundhouse Slam Final; the atmosphere of anticipation and encouragement against […]

Closed for 2020. Re-opening early 2021. The Tower Poetry competition 2020 is now open for entries, this year on the theme of ‘Trees’. All UK students, between 16-18, are encouraged to enter. First prize £3,000; second prize £1,000 and third prize £500. Find out more at www.chch.ox.ac.uk/towerpoetry.

Opening in February 2020 and closing midnight Thursday 13 August 2020. The Muslim Young Writers Award is for poems and short stories from 5-16 year olds. There are different categories for each key stage. 

Closed. Poetry competition run by GCSE Poetry Live. 

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. Write a poem inspired by any piece of music in this year’s BBC Proms season. Winners will be invited to a special event, a Proms concert, and have their poem broadcast on BBC Radio 3. There are two age categories in the poetry competition: 12-18 and 19 and over. Prepare your entries now by exploring the Proms programme. […]

Open, closing 2 March 2020. Prize-giving and Exhibition (winners announced) Event: March 23rd 2020. There are three age categories:  Junior: anyone aged between 11-14 by date of entry ; Intermediate: anyone aged between 15-18 by date of entry; Senior: anyone aged between 19-25 by date of entry. The Humanitarian Aid Relief Trus (HART) Prize aims […]

Closed March 2020, re-opening 2021. The 2020 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award is now accepting entries from young Scottish poets or poets living in Scotland. With a prize of £20,000, the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award is one of the largest in the UK. To enter, poets must submit an unpublished collection of poetry. The runner-up will […]

Closed for 2020, re-opening 2021. Girton College, University of Cambridge, invites entries for the Jane Martin Poetry Prize. Now in its tenth year, the panel of judges will be led by two eminent poets, Hilary Davies and Adam Crothers. It is open to all UK residents between the ages of 18 and 30 and there […]

Closed. Staffordshire County Council is looking for the next Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Young Poet Laureate. The role is open to applicants aged 14-18 years who live or go to school or college in Staffordshire or Stoke-on-Trent.

Closed. Rewrite brings together young people from different backgrounds to fight prejudice and injustice, through the power of drama and creative writing. Their annual competition in two categories for writers aged 11-14 and 15-18 accepts poetry, prose and play writing along an annual theme. You must live in inner or Greater London.

Closed. This competition aims to inspire young writers in Scotland by asking them to produce a piece of creative writing which draws on the rich and rewarding legacy that Robert Louis Stevenson has left us in his works of fiction, poetry, travel writing and essays. This is currently open only to students living in Scotland […]

Closed. The Connell Guides Essay Prize is open to any sixth form pupil studying English Literature as part of an AS Level, A Level or IB Course. There will be a prize of £1,000 for the winning essay. Each of five runners-up will receive a £100 book token.

Closed for 2020. We’re looking a young poet with something to say and who love’s saying it with words! Every year, one young person from Worcestershire is given the title Worcestershire’s Young Poet Laureate.  In this role, our Young Poet Laureate champions poetry as an art form with the aim of encouraging and inspiring other […]

Not strictly a poetry competition, but flash fiction – every month, the Scottish Book Trust posts a prompt and you take the story somewhere exciting! Ongoing.

Currently closed for entries; re-opening late 2020. A major new annual poetry prize of £3000 aimed at the development, celebration and promotion of poetry from Africa. The prize is open to poets who were born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African. You must submit ten poems. 

Opening 24 April 2020, with a closing date of 17 July 2020. The Stephen Spender Prize promotes literature in translation with an annual prize for translated poems. Entrants must be UK or Irish citizens or residents. There are three categories: Open (adult); 18-and-under, for entrants still 18 on the closing date; and 14-and-under, for entrants […]

Closed for 2020. Register now for a free resource pack (including fabulous poetry posters!) There’s still time to take part in this year’s Poetry By Heart competition. Simply register your school here and encourage your students (and colleagues!) to learn poems from the Poetry By Heart online anthologies. Then upload a video of your poetry champions and celebrations to […]

Closed. The Ted Hughes Young Poets award is for poets aged 6-10, 11-14 and 15-18, with a prize of £100 in each age category. Free to enter. 

Closed. For poems in two age categories: under 8 and 8-11. Winners receive lots of signed books, and their schools receive books too. For more information visit their website.

Closed. Reopening 2020. Open to any Year 12 and 13 students in the UK, with categories in Criticism, Fiction and Poetry. First prize £200 and publication in Cake Magazine, plus prizes for second and third place. 

Closed. This free competition is open to anyone 16 or under living in, or attending school in, Essex. Prizes will be awarded in four age categories, 7 and under, 11 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under. The title ‘Essex Young Poet of the Year’ will be awarded to the overall winner.  Age is […]

Closed. The competition is open to Wirral Adults and Students of all ages. Cash prizes will be awarded to both winners and runners up in each age category and they will be invited to attend a workshop hosted by a renowned local poet. The overall winner aged 18 or under will also become Wirral’s Young […]

Reopening 2020. The Festival’s Young Writers Poetry Competition is on the theme of ‘summer’, with categories for 6-11 and 12-16 year olds. Free to enter. There are prizes for first, second and third place, plus winners are printed in an anthology and invited to a prize tea. 

The Poetry Society’s Slam Championship for 12-18 year olds aims to involve as many young people as possible in reading, writing, and performing poetry.

Closed, reopening 2020. This prize welcomes poetry, short stories, script-writing and creative non-fiction from anyone over 16 (you don’t have to be a fresher!). Please note there is a £6 entry fee per submission. 

Closed. These annual awards are a fantastic opportunity for individuals committed to developing their writing. Awardees receive: A £2,000 cash award, allowing them to focus on their work Tailored personal development opportunities, which can include mentoring from writers and industry professionals. Training in PR, performance and presentation training The opportunity to showcase work to publishers […]

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. Schools and individual young people in Reception–Year 13 (ages 11/12-18 inclusive) are welcome to enter this competition, which is for an original poem or short story. 

Closed now, re-opening April 2020. For residents of Brighton & Hove, East and West Sussex, an annual competition produced by Brighton Festival and Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) to encourage young writers to explore the written word from a creative point of view. There are three categories of ages: Ages 11–13, 14–16 […]

Faber New Poets exists to encourage new writers at a crucial point in their career. Open to those who have yet to publish a first collection or pamphlet, the scheme offers mentoring, pamphlet publication and financial support. Closed.

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. The Hippocrates Young Poet Prize for Poetry and Medicine is an annual international award for an unpublished poem on a medical subject. There is a category for young poets aged 14-18 with a small entry fee of £2 per poem. First prize £500.

Closed for 2019, re-opening autumn 2020. The Eric Gregory Awards, for a collection by poets under the age of 30, are administered by the Society of Authors. Awards are given annually, for submissions of up to 30 poems, with prize money totaling up to £24,000.

Closed for 2019. Open to all young poets across Suffolk, 18 years old and under. Entrants may submit poems based on any theme, up to a maximum of 30 lines. There are two categories: Junior (7-11) Senior (12-18)  

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. Red Room holds Australia’s largest poetry writing competition Poetry Object.  The competition targets years 3 – 10 student and provides teachers with a comprehensive resource to teach poetry and creative writing to a broad range of students, across different classroom contexts. Students, teachers and schools compose poems in response to special […]

Closed. First prize is pamphlet publication, plus a launch reading and up to £200 travel expenses.  Poets on the shortlist of 10 will each get a paragraph of feedback from Hannah.  The winner and 3 others will have a poem published in The Rialto and all shortlisted poets will have one on the Rialto website.  […]

Closed. The CityLife team and the University of East London are extremely excited to announce the launch of a brand new literary prize, the CityLife Prize for Fiction by Young Writers. It is open to all London-based writers aged 16 to 19. The theme for this year’s competition is ‘The City’. We are looking for fiction […]

Closed for 2019, reopening 2020. Enter this annual competition for the coveted title of Fenland Poet Laureate and share your passion for poetry! The Young Fenland Poet Laureate position is open to all young poets across Fenland aged 10-17. The competition is looking for poems that represent and relate to the theme of ‘Fenland’. You can […]

Open, closing 31 January 2020. This competition is open to anyone aged 16 and over, and is judged this year by Catherine Smith.  Poems may be on any subject and in any form or style. First prize: £1,000 Second prize: £300 Third prize: £100 Plus 4 x £50  

Open, closing 12 February 2020. Voices 2020, Coram Voice’s annual creative writing competition for children in care and care leavers, is now open! The theme is ‘Dreams’, and children in care and care leavers are invited to write any piece on this under 500 words to be in with a chance of winning up to […]

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. Writing East Midlands presents the Solstice Prize, for young writers aged  between 10 and 17 years old. You can enter up to 40 lines of poetry or a short story of up to 1000 words on any subject. The competition is completely free to enter, and there are some great […]

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. Are you an avid writer aged between 14 to 18? If so, the BBC Young Writers’ Award with First Story and Cambridge University is for you. The award returns for its 14th year with Life Hacks’ very own Katie Thistleton heading up the judging panel. What’s more, the five writers […]

Closed, reopening 2020. NB there is an entry fee for this competition. The tenth Battered Moons Poetry Competition is open to all UK residents aged 18 or over and accepts poems on any topic and style of up to 40 lines. Guest judges for 2019 were Zoë Brigley Thompson and Cristina Navazo-Eguía Newton. The 3 winners and 4 […]

Closed, re-opening 2020. Planet Magazine invites anyone under 30 to submit an essay of between 1,5000 – 2,000 words to their annual competition. The brief is extremely broad – Planet welcomes creative and unconventional ways of exploring the essay form as well as a more traditional style. Planet features writing which is in-depth, yet sufficiently accessible […]

Open, closing Friday 20 March 2020. Theme: “Impact of Conflict on Communities” For the 2019/20 academic year, the Never Such Innocence competition will be bigger than ever! We have expanded our focus to include all conflicts throughout history and today, and have broadened the age range to 9-18. We are also delighted to open a […]

Closed. Hawk’s Well Theatre’s iYeats Poetry Competition is an annual online international poetry competition open to all those 16 years of age and upwards. They award an overall prize across the board of entries and an emerging prize to a young poet aged between 16-25 years of age. 

Closed. A photo-themed creative writing competition for 14 to 25s from across South Yorkshire, with age categories 14 – 17, 18 – 21, and 22 – 25. Schools welcome to enter. 

Closed for 2019. The Poetry on Loan competition is for poems of up to 20 lines long on the subject Onwards, upwards, freedom, by poets living, studying or working regularly in the West Midlands. There are separate categories for adult and young poets. 

Closed for 2019, re-opening summer 2020. This competition is for 16-19 year olds only and there’s just one way of entering – by writing a poem of your own in response to one of the Forward shortlisted poems, along with a short commentary explaining how the poem influenced you. How to enter Download the poems. […]

Closed for 2019. With the theme of Peace, this poetry competition is open to children and young people in two age ranges: 7-12 and 13-16. 

Open, closing 21 February 2020. Aged between 5 and 21 living in the UK? Enter a poem to win cash prizes of up to £300 and publication in a Festival book which will be on sale at Waterstones Stratford-upon-Avon and online. 

Closed for 2019.  This competition has three age categories: under 11 (primary school), 11 to 16 (secondary school) and 17 to 25. Shortlisted entries will be included in an anthology, a published collection of poems, and category winners will each receive a cash prize. Poems should be sent by e-mail to elizabeth@customshouse.co.uk and the deadline […]

Wax Poetry and Art invites all poets under 25 years of age, living everywhere on Earth, to enter the Under 25 Poetry Contest. This contest is free to enter. Check out their website for information on how to enter.

Open, closing 30 April 2020. This festival is looking for poems in any poetry style, about science. It is free to enter for 5-16 year olds based in Oxfordshire who are at school or homeschooled. It will be judged in three age categories: School Year 2 and below (i.e. Key stage 1) School Years 3 – […]

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. FREE writing competition for ages 4 – 14. Prizes include a family trip to Disneyland Paris and £500 of books for the winning child’s school.

Closed. Organisers are hoping for budding wordsmiths to wax lyrical in verse about the village Saltaire, with the winners getting to read theirs out at the festival’s Poetry Night. Full details of how to enter can be found on the festival website. Free to enter and categories for 18 and under, and over 18.

Closed. Poets are invited to enter the Padraic Colum Children’s Poetry Competition. It is an open theme and entries will be adjudicated by acclaimed writer, Alan McMonagle. There are categories for children (aged 8-16) and adults (age 17+). Terms and conditions and entry details can be found on their website (click here).

Closed for 2019; re-opening late summer 2020. The prestigious Young Walter Scott Prize is the UK’s only creative writing prize specifically for budding historical writers. Entries are judged in two age groups – 11 to 15 years and 16 to 19 years. Any kind of fiction is accepted – prose, poetry, drama, fictional letters or […]

Closed. Loughborough University gives the Overton Poetry Prize for a series of poems, on any subject -up to 300 lines. The winner of the competition will get their work published in chapbook form, with two runners up each receiving a £50 book token. The cost of entry to the competition is £12, and the money […]

Closed. Categories for KS1 and KS2 in English and Welsh. Enter a poem on diversity no more than 20 lines or 150 words. The judging panel includes former Premier League footballer Rio Ferdinand, singer and songwriter Olly Murs, Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Lauren Child, poet Joseph Coelho. Casia Wiliam, current Bardd Plant Cymru (Welsh-language Children’s Poet […]

Open, with a new young people’s category. The poetry competition is open to writers of any nationality from any country aged 16+. The top three poems are entered for the Forward Prize for Poetry (Best Single Poem), an award not open to the general public. £10 per poem. First prize: £5,000. For 2020, Bridport are […]

Closed for 2019. The Chaucer Heritage Trust is holding its second school writing competition inspired by The Canterbury Tales. The theme of the competition was Magic and Trickery. In 500 words or less students aged 5-19 can choose to write one of the following: A poem or story about someone or something magical. A tale […]

Open, closing Sunday 1 March 2020. The Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry 2019 is now open to published and unpublished writers and poets living in the UK. Entry £5 per poem. There are three categories: page poetry, performance poetry and poetry in film. There will be three category winners selected with the overall Prize for Poetry […]

Open, closing 15 June, 2020. Students aged 11-18 are invited to submit poetry, prose, film, visual art, and music that explore 2020’s theme, Climate Hope: Transforming Crisis. The 2020 Ocean Awareness Contest is a call for young artists, conservationists, makers, thinkers, and activists who are concerned about the future of our blue planet. Join thousands […]

Closed for 2019. Aged 8-14? Submit your poetry on any subject to youngmindspoetry@gmail.com by 20 April 2019 for a chance to have it included in their book. Young Minds will be a poetry book written by young people for all to enjoy. All poets who have their work printed will receive a copy of the […]

Closed for 2019. With the onset of spring, and as a tribute to our newest restoration project here at Hestercombe, we’re calling for young writers to enter our poetry competition on the theme of ‘spring’. The age categories for the competition are split into three: under-12s, 12-15 and 16-21. With the unveiling of Sibyl’s Temple, a recreation of a […]

Closed from 14 June 2019. The streetcake experimental writing prize will be one of the first of its kind, aimed at young people (18-26 years old) who are residents in the UK, who are creating writing that extends the possibilities and boundaries of the contemporary literature mold. We want to recognise and develop writers in this […]

Open. Young people are invited to take the Amnesty Make a Difference in a Minute Challenge by writing a poem that can be performed in 1-minute or less on the themes of gender-based violence online or reuniting refugee families. Poems can by submitted via their website. This year’s theme is voice.

Closed for 2019. Be #periodproud and take part in the Women and Girls Period Poetry Competition! Help to educate girls in India about periods with your flair for poetry by embracing this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day theme: it’s time for action. Any style or length is allowed – just go with the flow… Find out […]

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. The Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition is an annual competition run by Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre that is open to anyone aged 18 and over from anywhere in the world. There are two categories: Open and English as an Additional Language, and the winners in each category receive £1000 with £200 for the […]

Closed for 2019. The University of Hertfordshire is delighted to announce the launch of the second Single Poem Prize. The first prize was launched in 2018, in conjunction with the University’s Poetry Hub, founded in 2017 to encourage the development and study of contemporary poetics. Judged by Hub fellows Rachel Long, Mark Waldron, and chaired […]

The John Byrne Award is an online exhibition and creative competition open to anyone aged 16+ living in Scotland. Deadlines:  The John Byrne Quarterly Award (£500) 23:59 on the last day of April, July, and October. The John Byrne Annual Award (£7500) 23:59 on Friday 31 January 2021. The John Byrne Award is Scotland’s most […]

Closed, re-opening late 2020. London’s Spread the Word is once again partnering with Asia House to find the best new poetry talent among spoken word artists aged 18-25. If you’re passionate about telling stories through poetry and want the chance to be named the Asia House Poetry Slam Champion 2019, as well as to win […]

Open, closing Saturday 29 February 2020. Aged 15 or younger? To celebrate the Japan Rugby World Cup and Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games, why not try writing a Haiku poem on the theme of ‘sports’? Let us know how it feels to score a goal or lose a game, jump up high or tumble down, […]

Closed. I know I wish I will invites 5-25 year olds to enter our FREE spoken word poetry competition where 500 entrees will be selected to perform in London’s West End. Browse our website to download your free competition guide, watch videos featuring professional poets and submit by 20th December, 12pm. Find out more and […]

Open, closing 30 November 2020. The East Riding Festival of Words 2019 Poetry competition is now open for entries. This year’s theme is ‘My Mind, My Thoughts’. Entries will be judged by a panel of published Yorkshire poets, led by James Nash. Winners will be invited to read their poems at the special event, Poet […]

Closed for 2019, re-opening 2020. The Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival Poetry Competition 2020 calls for for entries on the theme of snowdrops, the James Allen story and Monochrome and Green as specified by judge, Jane Draycott. Three age categories: 11 & Under, 12 to 17, 18 & Over. The competition is free to under 18s and £4 […]

Open, closing 31 March 2020. Chester Cathedral, and Cathedral Poet In Residence, Julia McGuinness, are running a Young People’s Poetry Competition for poems of up to 40 lines on their 2020 theme of Journeys. Journeys can take many forms across distance and through time; over outer landscape or inner territory. Poems can also take many […]

Closed in February 2020. Submit a poem that expresses how you feel about unity. All types of poetry will be accepted – from haikus to spoken word performances.

Opens 1 April 2020, closes 30 June 2020. Young Poets category: age 16 to 22  Entry fee, £3 Prizes: £150, £75, £50 plus a year’s membership of The Poetry Society Any subject, no more than 35 lines Judge, Victoria Adukwei Bulley Open Poetry: Entry fee, £6  Prizes:  1st £1,000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, Local £100 Any subject, no […]

Open, closing Friday 27 March 2020. Tall Tales, Short Stories celebrates 20 years of the V.S Pritchett Prize. The anthology contains the first 500 words of winning entries to the Prize and stories from past judges. We challenge those aged 14-18 to finish one of the stories with a new ending of their own!