Enter The Poetry Society's major prize for new writing

Area: Worldwide
Deadline: Thursday 31 October 2024

The 2024 National Poetry Competition is now open for entries. The competition, run by The Poetry Society, is one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for a single unpublished poem.

Work from poets at every stage of their writing careers is welcome, and the judges read all entries via an anonymised judging process, only discovering the identity of the winner after making their final decision. The competition has recognised previously unpublished newcomers, established names, and emerging talents.

The National Poetry Competition offers a first prize of £5,000, a second prize of £2,000, a third prize of £1,000 and commendations of £500 each. The top three winners are also published in The Poetry Society’s journal The Poetry Review. This year’s judges are Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature Romalyn Ante, Associate Publisher at Carcanet Press John McAuliffe, and Forward Prize for Best First Collection winner Stephen Sexton. 

Open to all writers worldwide aged 18+. Poems must be no longer than 40 lines in length (excluding title), must be the entrant’s own work, and must not have been previously published.

Find out more and enter The National Poetry Competition 2024