The Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition

by Eugenia Loli: eugenialoli.tictail.com

Deadline: October 31, 2018

Prizes: £5000 (first place), £2000 (second place), £1000 (third place), £200 (commendations)

Entry: via The Poetry Society website; £7 for the first poem, £4 per additional poem

Eligibility: Previously unpublished poems up to 40 lines by any poet older than 17.

Judges: Kei Miller, Kim Moore, Mark Waldron

Guidelines:

General
  1. The competition is open to anyone aged 17 or over at the time of entering. International entries are welcome.
  2. The closing date of the competition is midnight (UK time), 31 October 2018.
  3. There is no limit on the number of entries a single entrant can make. All entries will be considered anonymously by the judges.
  4. Telephone or email confirmation of receipt is not available. Poetry Society staff are unable to confirm the content of documents submitted online, so please ensure you send the correct version.
  5. The competition organisers reserve the right to change the judging panel without notice and not to award prizes if, in the judges’ opinion, such an action is justified.
  6. The judges read all the entries; their decision is final. Neither the judges nor Poetry Society staff will enter into any correspondence.
  7. No current employee or Trustee of The Poetry Society is eligible to enter the National Poetry Competition.
Poems
  1. All entries are judged anonymously and the poet’s name must not appear on the poem itself.
  2. All poems must have a title and must not exceed 40 lines in length (excluding title). Entries can be on any subject.
  3. Poems must be the entrant’s original work.
  4. Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on a website, broadcast or featured among the winners in another competition before 31 March 2019.
  5. Handwritten entries cannot be accepted. Entries can be double or single spaced.
  6. Entries must be written in English.
  7. The first poem submitted costs £7. Subsequent entries in the same submission cost £4 per poem. Poetry Society members (including those joining at time of submission) get a free second poem, with subsequent poems at £4.
Winners
  1. Prizewinners will be notified by the end of February 2019 and invited to an awards event in spring 2019. All winners will be expected to provide a biography and photograph.
  2. All entrants who provide a valid email address will be notified about the outcome of their entry by the end of March 2019.
  3. The copyright of each poem remains with the author. However, authors of the winning poems, by entering the competition, grant The Poetry Society the right in perpetuity to publish and/or broadcast their poem. Use of the poems elsewhere for one year from March 2019 is subject to permission from The Poetry Society.

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