We need your help to raise £3000 for Wales Young Poets Award, a new bilingual competition and anthology for young people aged 10-17 across Wales and the UK.
The competition will be free to enter and its theme will be empathy. We will produce an anthology that will find a home in every school in Wales. Our winners and runners-up, in Welsh and English, published together, will receive coveted book vouchers.
But, more importantly, they will gain a confidence which they will take with them through life. They will know and take strength from what’s on offer here in Wales: an unrivalled community of poets, writers and artists.
We are asking you to contribute to our crowdfunder so we can create this invaluable opportunity for our young poets across Wales and the UK.
Why we need your support
We are a non-profit company. Despite our long history, we are a small magazine. While we would love to dedicate £3000 to fund the competition ourselves, another £3000 to pay our poets to create resources for young poets, and any spare to support low-income writers entering our competition for adults, we simply do not have the money.
We are grateful to Books Council Wales from whom we receive our core funding of £20k. This funding primarily pays for staffing (and our dedicated Poetry Wales staff are both part-time). We, unfortunately, do not have the money to create this opportunity. So we turn to you.
Your support will allow us to fund the most important of our outreach projects: to reach young and underrepresented writers in Wales.
The competition will likely yield no profit, but it is a huge opportunity we want to give all young writers in Wales. For many poets, a writing competition is the first and most important jaunt into the literary world. We would like for every young person to experience this: to write, to find their voice, and have the opportunity to publish. So, please pledge what you can. Please share with friends, family, teachers, universities, businesses, publishers, everyone. And above all, please donate to help us support the next generation of poets.
What your support will fund
Your support up to £3000 will fund Wales Young Poets Award, including prizes, a print anthology sent to schools in Wales, judging and bilingual translation.
Your support up to £6000 will fund the creation of freely accessible poetry resources, including activity plans and video lessons for young poets. These are designed to complement the new Welsh national curriculum.
Support exceeding £6000 will be used to subsidise free entry to Wales Poetry Award for those from low-income backgrounds, ensuring fair access for all.
We are grateful for any contribution, no matter how small. Please pledge today to help nurture young talent. Thank you.