Here is a list of five poetry competitions you can enter now to win great cash prizes and the chance to have your poetry published:
1. Anthology Poetry Award 2021: Entries are now open for the Anthology Poetry Award, but be quick because the deadline is fast approaching. Poets have until the 31st October to submit a poem of no more than 40 lines on the theme of ‘Freedom’. The competition is open to all nationalities regardless of where participants are living in the world and there is a small fee of €15 to enter. There is no limit to entries per person.
With a €500 cash prize for the winner and potential publication in a future issue of Anthology up for grabs, what are you waiting for?
2. National Poetry Competition 2021: Another competition with its deadline fast approaching is the 2021 National Poetry Competition. Entrants have until the 31st October to submit a previously unpublished piece of poetry of up to 40 lines on a subject of their choice. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18, including international participants. It costs just £7 to enter and £4 thereafter for any subsequent entries for those that wish to submit more than one piece. And the best part of all, there is £5,000 cash prize up for grabs for the winner of this illustrious award.
3. Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition 2021: This competition is for original, unpublished and not previously broadcast poetry. Participants can enter poetry on a subject of their choosing for as little as €7 or opt to enter five poems to increase their chances of winning for just €30. The 1st prize winner will receive €2,000 and the opportunity to perform at Cork International Poetry Festival 2022. Additionally, all winning entries will be published in the Southword Literary Journal.
For this one, you still have a lot of time to prepare, as the deadline for the Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition is November 30, but don’t leave it too late! The sooner you start, the more time you’ll have to perfect that spellbinding piece of poetry!
4. Cafe Writers Open Poetry Competition 2021: This wonderful competition is open to all poets for an entry fee of just £4 for a single poem or £10 for three. Poems can be up to 40 lines long and, like all of the aforementioned competitions, must be written in English. There is a cash prize of £1,000 up for grabs for the winner, with second prize taking home £300 and third place £100. There is also concessionary entry available to low-income writers. The deadline for this competition is also November 30.
5. The Moth Poetry Prize 2021: To round off this list is The Moth Poetry Prize 2021 competition, which is one of the biggest prizes in world poetry for unpublished work. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 16 with a fee of €15 for a single entry. Unlike some of the other competitions previously mentioned, there is only one entry per poet. But don’t let that deter you! There is a €6,000 cash prize available to the winner with three runner-up prizes of €1,000. So, make it into the top four and you’re guaranteed a nice sum for your efforts and contribution. The deadline for this one is December 31.
So, there you have it. A list of five poetry competitions you can enter now and be in with a chance of winning some great cash prizes. For more information on each competition, please visit the respective websites.
Written by: Liam Spencer
Wordplay & Flow 