Just imagine! First prize in the Poetry Competition- a whopping £100! That of course was 30 years ago when £100 actually felt like £100; a small fortune in fact! Since then, the prize money has grown (as has the entry fee, admittedly), and so have the Competitions themselves.
In 1992 entries were received by post, many of them hand-written, from as far afield as Peterborough, Bexhill on Sea and even London… In 2021 more than 1000 poems were submitted from, well, almost everywhere. Plus, there were innumerable entries in the other categories – arriving online in a steady stream from 1 April right through to midnight on 30 June, dates which remain the same in this our anniversary year. (Make a note!)
We have four categories of competition. The Open Poetry Competition, the Short Story Competition, a Book for Children Competition and finally the Young Poets Competition. Our International Competitions will open on 1 April 2022, closing at midnight on 30 June 2022.
Prizes for all four competitions will be presented on Monday 17 October 2022 during the Festival.
The Poetry Reading for both the Young Poets and Open Poetry takes place immediately before the Prize Giving for all four categories. This special occasion is one of the highlights of the Festival when, for the first time, the winning writers are revealed and rewarded.
Awards:-
• Open Poetry Competition
First prize: £1000
Second prize: £500
Third prize: £250
• Short Story Competition
First prize: £750
Second prize: £300
Third prize: £200
• Book for Children Competition
First prize: £750
Second prize: £300
Third prize: £200
• Young Poets Competition
First prize: £150
Second prize: £75
Third prize: £50
Deadline:- 30-06-2022
Entry Fees:-
Open Poetry Competition – £6 per entry
Short Story Competition – £6 per entry
Book for Children Competition – £6 per entry
Young Poets Competition – £3 per entry (Competitors may submit only one entry)
