Click on the Links below for more details on these competitions. Remember to read the entry conditions carefully. Tyne & Esk Members are asked to send me details on competitions they hear about. Remember too that some ‘competitions’ are scams, particularly if the ‘prize’ is publication in a book no-one else reads. While we believe that the following competitions are genuine, Tyne & Esk Writers accepts no responsibility if things go wrong; it’s down to the judgement of members whether or not they enter. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Edwin Morgan Poetry Competition 2012
http://edwinmorganpoetrycompetition.co.uk/index.php/competition-2012
The competition, sponsored by the University of Strathclyde and hosted by the Book Festival, offers one of the biggest poetry prizes in the UK, with awards totalling £6,600.
2012 will be the fifth year the competition has run and this year’s judges will be Don Paterson and Gillian Ferguson. For the first time we will also be accepting entries in Scots. The competition will open for online and postal entries on February 1st 2012 and this year’s prizegiving will take place at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.
Rules
The closing date is 9am on Monday 4th June 2012.
Maximum of 60 lines per poem
The Prize is open to anyone, including non-UK applicants, over 18 years
Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published, self-published, published on any website or broadcast (this includes publication on social networking sites, e.g. Facebook).
Entries may be in English or Scots.
Entries must be anonymous with no identifying marks other than the title
Alterations cannot be made to poems once they have been submitted
Entrants can submit up to 3 (three) poems, provided the appropriate entry fee is included: the entry fee is £5 per poem
No employee of the University of Strathclyde may enter the competition
The copyright of each poem remains with the author. The authors of the winning poems must grant the University of Strathclyde the right to use the poems for one year from date of award
Prizewinners will be notified by July 25th 2012. The list of prizewinners will be displayed on the website after the prize-giving ceremony.
This year’s prizegiving will take place at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence can be entered into
Competition entries cannot be returned.
Entry implies acceptance of all the rules. Failure to comply with the entry requirements willresult in disqualification.
If you are entering by post, please do NOT send SAEs for results of winners. Details will be posted on this website.
If you are entering by post PLEASE do NOT staple your work.
Federation of Writers
The Federation of Writers (Scotland) is an organisation dedicated to making the written and spoken word available to the public of Scotland, with respect for diversity and recognition of additional support needs.
20th February, 2012 – Deadline
Jack Kerouac Collection
In order to celebrate what would have been the 90th birthday of celebrated Beat Generation writer, purveyor of haiku, iconoclast and visionary Jack Kerouac. Dharmic Angels (launching in March), will be a collection of poems providing a timeless and international response to the work of one of America’s strongest literary voices.
Selections from the great canon of Kerouac have been made and if you’d like to be involved in the project, please email the address at bottom of this page and you will be sent a segment, all you have to do is take this as the inspirational jumping off point for your own work.
Responses will be welcomed in the form of poems, capturing the iconic voice of Kerouac in the modern age, in your own language, in your own emotions, in your own distinctive style. Responses will be blind reviewed.
If you’d like to get involved, please e-mail matt.macdonald@live.co.uk and you will be forwarded on the randomly determined excerpt.
Writing the World – competition for children
We wanted to draw your attention to our latest poetry and short story competition called Writing The World . The theme reflects the 2012 Olympics and is called I Like The Way You Move. The children will need to think about how different life forms move and write either a short story consisting of no more than 350 words or a poem consisting of no more than 18 lines. The competition is open to individuals and schools worldwide, but entries need to be in English. There will be three age categories, 5 – 10, 11 – 14 and 15 – 18. The closing date for this competition is the 23rd August 2012. Please contact us if you require any further information.
Nature Poetry Competition 2012
Organisers: RSPB and The Rialto magazine
Prizes: £1000, £400, £300
Judges: Sir Andrew Motion, Mark Cocker
Closing Date: 30 April 2012
Entry fees £6 for first poem, £3 each subsequent poem
Websites: www.rspb.org.uk | www.therialto.co.uk
The Stafford Poetry Competition 2012
First prize £1000
Entry fee £4 for first poem, £3 each for any further poems
Closing date 28th February 2012
Stafford Poetry Competition, Shire Hall Library, Market Street, Stafford, ST16 2LQ
Cardiff International Poetry Competition
1st prize £5000
Entry fee £6 per poem
Closing date 2nd March, 2012
Cardiff International Poetry Competition, PO box 438, Cardiff, CF10 5YA
Website: www.literaturewales.org
