5th January 2021 – 29th April 2021 (Closing date for initial submissions is extended to 2nd May 2021)
The competition is open only to writers living in the UK aged 18+ who have not previously published a collection and are currently under-represented in publishing in the UK, including working-class writers, writers of colour, disabled writers, neurodiverse writers and LGBTQI+ writers.
Entry fee is £10/£5/Free*
£10 entry fee if your household income is more than £16k per year.
£5 entry fee if your household income is less than £16k per year.
Free entry if you have very low or no income and cannot afford the fee.
How to enter
Please send 5 poems from your pamphlet via Submittable or Google form by May 2nd 2021 11.59pm UK time. If your pamphlet is longlisted, you will be invited to send the full manuscript of 20 poems early July. We hope to announce a shortlist, highly commended and the winning pamphlet in September 2021. If you are unable to use these forms due to disability, please email info@poetrywales.co.uk with your submission with the subject like POETRY WALES PAMPHLET ENTRY 2021: YOUR NAME, YOUR PAMPHLET TITLE.
Format
Please attach your pamphlet as a .doc/.docx file. Unless visual effects/font variations are part of a poem’s composition, entries should be typed in Arial, 12pt, single-spaced. Individual poem titles should be in Arial, Bold, 16pt. Please include your pamphlet title and name in the header area of your document, and include page numbers in the footer. Please start every new poem on a new page. Individual poems may not exceed 70 lines (excluding title). A template document can be downloaded here:
Eligibility
The competition is open only to writers living in the UK who have not previously published a collection** and are currently under-represented in publishing in the UK, including but not limited to working-class writers and writers of colour, disabled writers, writers living with a chronic condition, neurodiverse writers and LGBTQI+ writers. You may also be a new or emerging writer of state pension age, or carer. **You may already have published a pamphlet.
Individual poems can be previously published in journals, anthologies or online, but cannot be previously published together as a collection or pamphlet.
Poems must be entirely your own work, and not translations.
Poems should be written primarily in English, with a key or footnotes for any words translated.
Terms and conditions
- Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy for your own records.
- Poems may not be edited once they have been submitted.
- Prizes may not be awarded if we do not receive a minimum number of entries.
- By entering Poetry Wales Pamphlet Competition, authors of shortlisted, winning and highly commended pamphlets grant Poetry Wales the unrestricted rights in perpetuity to publish and broadcast their poems in print, online, audio, performance and video. The winning pamphlet cannot be published elsewhere as a pamphlet or collection except with the express permission of Poetry Wales as publisher.
- Your contact details will be stored and used to inform you about the status of your entry, and future competitions.
- Poetry Wales reserves the right to disqualify entries for any reason.
- Entrants must be contactable via email or phone or forfeit their win, longlist or shortlist status as applicable.
- Poetry Wales Pamphlet Competition opens 5th January 2021.
Prizes
- 1 overall winner will have their pamphlet published by Poetry Wales Press
- Highly commended winners will receive feedback and a mentoring session from a Poetry Wales poet
- 10 shortlisted poets will receive brief feedback from the judging panel and have one poem published on our website.
Judging
Pamphlets will be judged foremost on quality of writing, style and poetic impact, and, where relevant, how individual poems work together as a pamphlet. Pamphlets will be longlisted by the Poetry Wales team, at which point all entrants will be informed of their submission status. The longlist will then be judged by a judging panel or single judge (TBC).
The competition is open only to writers living in the UK aged 18+ who have not previously published a collection and are currently under-represented in publishing in the UK, including working-class writers, writers of colour, disabled writers, neurodiverse writers and LGBTQI+ writers.