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. 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 in February 2019; re-opening 2020. Girton College, University of Cambridge, invites entries for the Jane Martin Poetry Prize. Now in its ninth 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 […]

Open, closing Thursday 18 July 2019. The Ledbury Poetry Festival Competition has two categories for young people: 12-17 (first prize £100) and 11 & under. First entry is free and subsequent poems are £1.50. Winners are invited to read at the prestigious Ledbury Poetry Festival in July. 

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. 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 […]

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. Closed now, reopening 2019. First prize: £1,000 Second prize: £300 Third prize: £100 Plus 4 x £50  

Consider the two stone chairs that make up the ‘Hafez-Goethe Monument‘ in Weimar, Germany and write a poetic response. Categories for under 18s and over 18s; a piece in English and in German will be picked from each category, and all four prize-winners will win £250 each, plus workshops and performance. Judges include Ian McMillan and two […]

Closed in March 2019; re-opening 2020. All UK students, between 16-18, are encouraged to enter the 2019 Christopher Tower poetry competition. This year’s theme is ‘underwater’. First prize £3,000; second prize £1,000 and third prize £500.

Closed, reopening 2019. 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 […]

Closed for 2019. The Chaucer Heritage Trust is holding its second school writing competition inspired by The Canterbury Tales. The theme of the competition is 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 […]

Reopening 2019. 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 […]

Open, closing Tuesday 30 April 2019. 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 – […]

An annual national competition hosted by Buxton Festival and the University of Derby. It has three categories: poets aged 18 and over, 12-17, and up to 11. Shortlisted poems are displayed during the Buxton Festival in the summer. Winners are announced at the annual awards ceremony in July.  Reopens 2018.

Closed for 2018. 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.

‘Word Up’ is the search to find the Young Poet Laureate for Worcestershire. It’s open to young people aged 13-19 who live in or go to school, college, university or a youth club in Worcestershire. Closed, reopening 2019.

This competition opens early summer 2019 and closes August 2019. 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 […]

Closed. Poets and short story writers aged 11-17 are invited to submit work inspired by a line from Mansfield Park: “She could scarcely see an object in that room which had not an interesting remembrance connected with it…” Prizes include goody bags, book vouchers and a writing workshop. 

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 interpret the theme as broadly […]

Closed 14 January 2019; re-opening later in 2019. Young Romantics is a new prize for 16-18 year olds, for poems and short stories inspired by the Romantics. Prizes include a week-long Creative Writing Course with Arvon. The theme for both poems and short stories this year is Lost Angels. The Judges are Matthew Sweeney and […]

Re-opening 11 March 2019. The National Young Writers’ Awards is judged in 2018 by comedian and author David Walliams. It is a free writing competition for children aged 4 to 14 with the theme of HEROES. Winners awarded a trip to Disneyland Paris and £500 of books for their school. David Walliams will surprise the winner […]

Open, closing 5pm, 1 May 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 […]

Closed, re-opening later in 2019. 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. 

Never Such Innocence asks 9-16 year olds to send poems or artwork in all languages, inspired by the events of the First World War. First prize is £400 split between the poet and the poet’s school; there are also prizes for second, third, and runners up in each language category. 

Open. For children and young people aged 10-13 living anywhere across the British Isles.  Write a poem on the theme of ‘place’.             2019 judges are poets Wendy Cope and Lachlan Mackinnon.  The top fifty poems are printed in the BPP 2019 anthology. Finalists read their poems on National Poetry Day in front of an audience at St Pancras Station, […]

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 […]

Closed. 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. 

Reopens 2019. International award open to 13-18 year olds, for short stories.  1st Prize – £1,000  

Closed; re-opening winter 2019.  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 free; there is also an adult category […]

Closed in March 2019; re-opening early 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 […]

Cash prizes await for three winners of two age groups, plus the opportunity to appear in an anthology later in the year. Choice of subject, layout, and style are entirely your own. Just let your creative talents flow. Full details are available on the website and entry for junior categories is free.

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 from 22 April 2018 and online. Closed, re-opening early 2020. 

Closed. Poetry competition for younger writers on the theme of ‘birds’. The competition has four age groups: under 7; 7 to 10; 11 to 14; and 15 to 18. Poems up to 20 lines. Entry is free.

Open. With a different theme each year, this poetry competition is open to UK and Ireland residents aged 7+ years. Winners in each category receive a goody bag, and there is plenty of chocolate for the runners up. The competition has three categories: 7-11 year olds 12-17 year olds 18 years and over The subject […]

Closing 22 March 2019. 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 […]

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 for 2018, re-opening autumn 2019. 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.

Open, closing 30 June 2019. 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 judge Zoë Brigley Thompson and Cristina Navazo-Eguía Newton will both read all the […]

Closing 26 March 2019. The Newcastle Poetry Competition Young People’s Poetry Prize is looking for poems by young writers aged 11-17. You must be a UK resident to enter. Entry is free and up to 12 winners receive a £25 book token. Judged by former Foyle Young Poet Phoebe Power. More info here.

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 book free of […]

Open. 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 talismanic objects they own. […]

For poems in two age categories: under 8 and 8-11. Winners receive lots of signed books, and their schools receive books too. Closed, reopening 2018. For more information visit their website.

The Muslim Young Writers Award is for poems and short stories from 5-16 year olds. There are different categories for each key stage. 

Open, closing 31 May 2019. The poetry competition is open to writers of any nationality from any country. 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.

Closed, reopening 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. Respond to the poems on this year’s Forward Prizes shortlist. Read ten of the Forward shortlisted poems on the English and Media Centre website and choose one that appeals. They welcome two kinds of entries: either a short (500 word max.) essay or a poem plus a critical commentary. There are separate categories for […]

Open for entries! The biggest poetry competition for young writers is once again open, looking for the very best poems by writers aged 11-17. This year’s prestigious poet judges are Jackie Kay and Raymond Antrobus. You must be aged 11-17 on the deadline of 31 July 2019 to enter. The Foyle Young Poets of the […]

Closed until further notice. Poetry Rivals is open to all poets in the UK  and has categories for both under 18s and 18 and over. Note: there is an entry fee for adult entrants. Under 18s Entrants are invited to submit a poem on any subject and in any poetic style. Whether you want to put the […]

Closed 4 March 2019. The Humanitarian Aid Relief Trus (HART) Prize aims to engage young people (11 to 25 years old) in global issues by encouraging them to create written or creative pieces from conducting independent research. There are two competitions: the essay competition and the creative competition. Prizes include tea in the House of […]

The theme of the 2016 Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month competition is great sporting or physical achievements. The National Association of Teachers of Travellers + Other Professionals invites young people up to 18 years old to express their ideas on this theme using any medium – a picture, a painting, a piece of writing or poem or […]

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, reopening 2019. 

Closed for 2018, re-opening 2019. 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.

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. 

Closed February 2019; re-opening early 2020. If you’re aged 12-19 you can enter the young people’s categories of the New Writing North’s Northern Writers’ Awards. If you are older, you can enter many of the other categories. The Young Northern Writer Award is part of New Writing North’s mission to recognise and support writing of exceptional promise. Open to […]

Currently closed. Open to middle school, high school and college students (i.e. UK secondary, college, sixth form, and undergraduate university) living in the United States and internationally, the Golden Shovel Anthology Competition invites young adults to submit original poems that adhere to the Golden Shovel form following the competition rules. No fee is required to […]

Currently closed. Poetry By Heart is a national competition designed to encourage pupils aged 14-18 and at school and college in England to learn and to recite poems by heart. The competition is a pyramid of participation from individual classrooms to whole school/college contests, then county contests, regional semi-finals and the grand final. In the process, […]

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 2019.

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. Reopening 2019.

Reopening 2019. 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 & 17–19 You […]

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 2018, reopening 2019. 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. 

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. 

Open, closing 17 June 2019. Students are invited to submit poetry, prose, film, visual art, and music that explore this year’s theme, Presence of Future: Climate Change and the Ocean. Students are asked to create a piece about a coastal/marine species, place, or system that will be threatened, altered, or lost due to climate change.  […]

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, and the theme for 2016 is ‘Welcome’. You must live in inner or Greater London.

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.

Open now for 2019. The Pushkin Prizes are awarded to young people in Scotland studying S1 or S2 (or equivalents). Entrants are invited to submit a portfolio of three pieces of writing, these might be poetry but they could also be fiction, drama, non-fiction or journalism. Ten winners receive places on a five-day residential creative […]

Closed for 2018. Kirkgate Shopping has partnered with literacy charity Reading Matters to launch its annual ‘Bradford’s Young War Poet’ competition on National Literacy Day, Friday 8 September. Local schools, young writers and students of drama, speech and writing groups across the district are encouraged to write a poem on the topic of war. Email your poems to the address on […]

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. 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. 

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.

Closed for 2018. The DSWF School’s Global Canvas Poetry Competition is for poetry-and-art projects by school groups. The theme for the 2016 competition is ‘Wild Wonders’. £20 entry fee per group.

Closed for 2018, reopening 2019. 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. Voices 2019, Coram Voice’s annual creative writing competition for children in care and care leavers, is now open! This year’s judges include BBC news reporter Ashley John-Baptiste, rap artist Ric Flo, author Jenny Molloy and many more brilliant writers, authors, poets, and journalists. The theme is ‘Growing Up’, and children in care and care […]

Open, closing Friday 26 April 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 […]

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. With the theme of Peace, this poetry competition is open to children and young people in two age ranges: 7-12 and 13-16. Submissions should be made via the website thenationalschoolspoetrycompetition.com. 

Closed for 2018; re-opening summer 2019. The prestigious Young Walter Scott Prize, the UK’s only creative writing prize specifically for budding historical writers, is open for entries until 31st October 2018. Entries are judged in two age groups – 11 to 15 years and 16 to 19 years. Any kind of fiction is accepted – prose, poetry, […]

Closed, re-opening 2019. 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 […]

The sum of £20,000 will be awarded biennially for the best collection of poems, published or unpublished, by a Scottish poet aged 30 or under. If the winner is an unpublished collection, the Edwin Morgan Trust will support its publication by a Scottish small press. The runner-up will receive funding to attend a short course […]

Reopening 2019.  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 prizes up for grabs. […]

Open, closing Sunday 2 June 2019. The Creative Future Writers’ Award is the UK’s only national writing competition and high profile awards ceremony for under-represented writers. We showcase talented writers who lack opportunities due to mental health issues, disability, identity or other social circumstance. There are over £10k in cash and development opportunities in prizes, including publication and reading at our […]

Closed for 2018, re-opening 2019. 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.

The New Poets Prize is a short collection competition for writers between the ages of 17 and 24 (inclusive). This prize runs alongside the renowned International Book & Pamphlet Competition organized by The Poetry Business, which has now been established for 32 years. Entrants are invited to submit short collections of twelve pages of poems. […]

The Poetry Book Society is looking for poems by students. Entry is free to PBS members. Non-members must pay a £10 entry fee. 1st Prize £100, 2nd Prize £50, 3rd Prize £25, and 3 highly commended poems will receive PBS Associate membership. All the winners will have their poems published on the PBS website and […]