My Novel

My Novel

UK Poetry Competitions (currently (14)

Tower Poetry Contest.  Open to students aged 16 to 19 who are in part- or full-time secondary education, the 25th Christopher Tower Poetry Competition is for poems of up to 48 lines.  This year’s theme is ‘A Riddle’
    Closing : 19.2.26 (noon).
    Prizes: £5,000, £3,000, £1,500, and ten at £100.  The top three winners will be offered a place on the Tower Poetry Summer School.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Tower Poetry

Arundel Literary Festival Competitions.  Here we have two contests, one for poems of up to 40 lines, the other for flash fiction of up to 500 words.  In both cases entrants must be 16 or over.  Prizewinning poet Denise Bennett will be judging the poetry.  Simon Brett, whose impressive track record in fiction writing is too long to list here, will be judging the stories.  Winners will be invited to read their entries at the final evening event of the Festival on March 21 in the Victoria Institute.
    Closing: 23.2.26.
    Prizes (in each category): £200, £100.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Arundel Litfest Comp

Never Such Innocence Writing Competition.  Here we have a repeat of the international freebie from the charity Never Such Innocence.  It is for youngsters between the ages of 9 and 18.  It has three categories - Poetry, Songwriting, Art - but here I deal only with the first two.  Entries must respond to the theme: ‘In Someone Else’s Shoes.’  If you are entering a song, submit a video or audio recording (maximum 4 minutes) plus the written lyrics.
    Closing: 27.2.26.
    Prizes:  Winners have their work published in a digital booklet, and will receive an NSI Prize Pack.  They will also be invited to take part in special opportunities.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  You can enter each category once.
    Comp Page: Innocence

The Mairtin Crawford Awards.  Here’s one from the Belfast Book Festival.  It is open to writers aged 18 and over who were born in or are resident in or are citizens of Ireland or the United Kingdom.   Poems of up to 60 lines and stories of up to 2,500 words are required.  To be eligible to enter you must not have had a full collection of stories or poems, or a novel, published.  In the poetry category, submissions should comprise between 3 and 5 poems.  For stories it’s one per submission, and entries must be unpublished.
    Closing: 11.3.26 (midday).
    Prizes: The first prize winners in each category will receive £500 and an optional ‘Time to Write’ package which includes a 3-night stay at a hotel in Belfast, and 4 days of dedicated writing space in The Crescent.  Runners-up (2) - £250.
    Entry Fee: £10 for each submission of one story or 3 to 5 poems.
    Comp Page: MC Awards.

Letter Review Prizes.  Here’s a repeat of the contest from the USA with three categories: Poetry (all kinds, up to 70 lines), Short Fiction (up to 5,000 words) and Unpublished Books (first 5,000 words of a novel, novella, nonfiction or collection of short stories, or 15 pages of poetry).  In the Unpublished Books category, self-published books are eligible.
    Closing: 29.3.26 (5am).
    Prizes: A share of the $1,000 prize pool in each category.  Poetry and Short Fiction winners will be published, while Unpublished Book winners can choose to have an extract published and receive a letter of recommendation from the judges.  Winners in the first three categories will also be considered for submission to the Pushcart Prize and other anthologies.
    Entry Fee: Short Fiction - $25.  Poetry - $20.  Book - $30.
    Comp Page: Letter Review Prizes

Dear Michael
   I discovered your excellent site a few months back and entered some of the poetry competitions. I have in all my long years never received a payment for anything I have written, but I today received an email from Cooldog Publications to say I have won second prize in their E-mag Poetry Competition! £50! What a great way to start the new year.
   I just had to write and say thanks to you for the trouble you have taken with your site and how much I appreciate the sense of humour that underpins it.
  This has given me a terrific boost.
                                                                                -  Carol Browne

Fish Poetry Prize.  Poems of up to 60 line in any style are invited for this annual international contest from Fish Publishing based in southern Ireland.   Billy Collins will again be judging.
    Closing: 31.3.26.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.   2nd - 300 euros plus a Fish writing course.  3rd - 300 euros.  Ten poems will be published in the Fish Anthology 2026.  The writers will each receive five free copies and will be invited to read at the launch ceremony at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2026.
    Entry Fee: 16 euros, for the first, 11 euros thereafter.
    Comp Page: Fish Poetry.

Binsted Poetry Prize.  The South Downs Poetry Festival is coming round again and as usual it features a competition for poems on any subject.  With a line limit of 40, this is open to all poets aged over 16.
    Closing: 31.3.26.
    Prizes: 1st - £250.  2nd - £150.  3rd - £50.  Winners and highly commended entries will be published in the Binsted Prize Anthology.
    Entry Fee: £5 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Binsted Poetry.

Rialto Nature & Place Poetry Competition.  Any aspect of nature and place is the theme of this annual contest from The Rialto magazine in association with the RSPB, Birdlife International, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the University of Leeds Poetry Centre.  Poems of up to 40 lines are required.  The judge is Mona Arshi.
    Closing: 1.4.26.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.
    Entry Fee: £7 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Rialto N&P.

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition .  Ware Poets of Hertfordshire are running their annual international contest again, and as before it is for poems of up to 50 lines on any subject.  There is a separate category for sonnets.  The prize money in the main category has been increased significantly this year.  Winning poems will be published in the 2026 anthology, with a free copy going to each writer.  The best poem will be entered for the Forward Prize.  Prize-winning and Commended poets will be invited to read their poem at an informal prize-giving event at Southern Maltings Arts Centre in Ware.
    Closing: 30.4.26.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £200.  Ware Sonnet Prize - £200.  Local Prize - £200.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Ware Poets

Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize.  The Alpine Fellowship is a charity project of the German-based ‘Argosophia Stiftung’, which holds a symposium every year.  The contest, like the charity, is international.  The prize is awarded annually for the best piece of poetry on the set theme.  This year’s theme is Joy.  Maximum word count: 500.
    Closing: 1.5.26.
    Prizes: £3,000, £1,000, £1000.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Alpine Poetry Prize.

Creative Future Competition.  The Creative Future Awards for underrepresented writers over 18 is back again.  There are three categories: Poetry of up to 50 lines, Fiction up to 2,000 words, and Creative Non-fiction up to 2,000 words.  The theme this year is ‘Material’ (‘a creative prompt,’ they say, ‘not a requirement’).
    Closing: Online - 5.5.26.  Postal- 6.5.26.
    Prizes: (Poetry) 1st - £75, a Chapter and Verse Mentorship, manuscript assessment and a year’s Being A Writer membership, plus a Faber Academy online masterclass.  2nd - £50 plus other writing-relatesd items.  3rd - £25 plus other Writing-related items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up.  (Fiction): 1st - £75, a Curtis Brown mentorship and agent meeting, one year’s Being A Writer membership, Faber Academy Writing a Novel course,  a year’s membership of the Society of Authors.  2nd - £50 plus writing-related items.  3rd - £25 plus other items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up. (Creative Non-fiction): 1st - £75 plus mentoring and manuscript assessment, plus Faber Academy’s Memoir and Life Writing course.  2nd - £50, manuscript assessment and an online writing course from Writing Magazine, plus Society of Authors membership.  3rd - £25 plus manuscript assessment and coaching, and a copy of the W&A Yearbook.  There are also prizes for Highly Commended and Commended.  In addition to the main category prizes there are ‘Joint prizes’, presumably so you can smoke away the blues after not winning the top prize ... oh, hang on, it seems these prizes are something extra that all winners get jointly.  Winners will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: Free to enter, or pay what you can.
    Comp Page: Creative Future Award

Hi Michael,
     Thanks for a very useful website. Since finding the contact details on your site, I've won the Txtlit competition twice, and the Write Invite competition four times. With the prize money I'm now entering other competitions. Thanks for keeping us writers posted!
     Best regards, Uta Coutts

Bridport Prize.  This famous international competition from the Bridport Arts Centre is one of the most prestigious writing contests in the British literary calendar.  Everyone in the trade whose mind is not addled by drugs has heard of it, and they will be impressed if you can claim to have won it.  The good news is that winning it is easy.  All you have to do is submit the best poem, short story or flash fiction, the poem having no more than 42 lines, the short story running to no more than 5,000 words.  For those who find 5,000 words too tiring to write, the flash fiction category is ideal as it has a word limit of only 250 (if that’s too much, consider becoming a poet).
    Closing: 31.5.26.
    Prizes: Short Stories, Poems (in each category) - £5,000, £1,000, £500, and ten @ £100.  Flash Fiction - £1,000, £500, £250, and five @ £100.  Winning entries will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fees:  Poem - £13.  Short Story - £15.  Flash Fiction - £12.
    Comp Page: Bridport Prize.

Frogmore Poetry Prize.  This annual contest is run by Frogmore Press which was founded in 1983 in the Frogmore tearooms in Folkestone.  Well, what else can you do in Folkestone?  I’ll tell you what: you can fall in the sea - a feat I managed at the age of 8.  Will I ever forget that day?  Unlikely, for I had the misfortune to be rescued by my two sisters.  ‘No, no - let me drown!’ I cried.  ‘I’ll never be able to face my mates again.’  But I had the ice cream money in my pocket and so my pleas were ignored.  I later wrote a poem about the shame of it all but it would have been too long for this contest as it ran to 360 lines.  The line limit here is 40.
    Closing: 31.5.26.
    Prize: 1st - 250 guineas.  Classy.  You also get a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers.  2nd - 75 guineas and a year’s subscription.  3rd - 50 guineas and a year’s subscription.  Shortlisted poets also get copies of selected Frogmore Press publications, plus publicaion in the mag.
    Entry Fee: £4.
    Comp Page: Frogmore PP

Wells Festival of Literature Competitions.  Here we have a return of the famous Wells Litfest and its various competitions: Poetry, Short Story, Book for Children, Young Poets.  I should mention before we go any further that we are talking about Wells in Somerset, not Wells in Norfolk which also has an annual litfest (I wouldn’t want you turning up at the wrong event to receive your prize or to berate the judges for not awarding you anything).  Anyway, back to business.  For the Poetry you are allowed up to 40 lines, while the Short Stories should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words.  For the Book for Children, which must be suitable for youngsters aged 7+ (includes YA), you need to submit the first three chapters (or the first 30 pages, this being the maximum), plus a synopsis of up to 2 pages.   If shortlisted, you may be asked to submit the complete manuscript.  The Young Poets category, for budding bards aged between 16 and 22, requires poems of no more than 40 lines.
    Closing: Adults - 30.6.26.  Young Poets - 31.7.26.  Opens for entries 1.4.26 (no, really, I’m not fooling!).
    Prizes: Poetry - £1,000, £500, £250.  Short Story, Book for Children (in each category) - £750, £300, £200.  Young Poets - £200, £150, £100.  Additional prizes: Local Prize for poetry, short story - £100 in each category.  Book for Children Local Prize - £100.
    Entry Fee: Adult categories - £8.  Young Poets - £3.
    Comp Page: Wells Litfest.

Hi Michael
     I spent a year or so reading all those comments on your website from people who, since consulting your list, seem have won just about every competition going. I read it and thought it must be too good to be true – but worth a try. Then, on my third submission, I have actually gone and won the Yeovil Literary Prize for Poetry. I am absolutely over the moon, unable to believe it, etc.  Thank you so much.
                                                                                   -  Andy Miller

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Notes: Unless otherwise stated in the rules, poetry should be single-spaced.  It is sometimes the case that your name shouldn’t appear on the manuscript. Check the rules.  If you put your name on there after being told not to, you’re out.  Don’t use coloured paper or fancy fonts.  The colour and pizzazz to make you stand out from the crowd should be in the words.  Plain white A4 80gsm paper is the stuff to use, with plain black typing or print.  My preferred font for poetry manuscripts printed on an inkjet or laser printer is Gill Sans in 12 point (13 if I’m not pressed for space).  This gives a clear, dark print that’s easy to read.  Although publishers and agents sometimes demand the feeble Courier font, which comes out on my printers like something produced by a typewriter with an antique ribbon, I’ve never known competition organisers to express any preference.  But as always, check the rules.  Finally, write on one side of the sheet only - unless asked to put your address, etc, on the back.
 

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Disclaimer

   
For other types of writing contests see the full list on my Writing Comps page.