Wales Poetry Award, a national competition to discover the very best international contemporary poetry

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Update 15.05.2023:

Winners Announced!

Wales Poetry Award 2022 closed for entries in January 2023, and the shortlist and winners were announced in May 2023

Wales Poetry Award 2023 will be open for submissions in September 2023, exact dates TBC. Follow our social media accounts below or sign up for our newsletter to be the first to be notified about updates, including this year’s judge and the official competition dates.

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Since 1965, Poetry Wales has published over 200 issues, containing over 10 000 poems. In 2019, we established the Wales Poetry Award, a national competition to discover the very best in international contemporary poetry

Wales Poetry Award is open to single poem entries from new and established poets from Wales and beyong, with 3 awards and 10 highly commended prizes to be won

If you have any questions about Wales Poetry Award that are not covered below, please email francesturpin@serenbooks.com

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Entry

An entry fee of £5 applies for each poem submitted, and you may submit up to 5 poems

Wales Poetry Award is open to poets worldwide aged 17 or over at the time of submission

The competition is free to enter for writers of low-income backgrounds residing in the UK, from households earning £16 000 or less per year*

To submit your entry, read our rules, then use the buttons below to pay your entry fee and upload your entry

Scroll down to find our online entry forms

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Rules

• Wales Poetry Award opens for entries 12 September 2022 and closes 12 January 2023 at 9pm (British Standard Time). Any entries received after this time will not be considered

• Wales Poetry Award is open to poets worldwide aged 17 or over at the time of submission

• Poems should be submitted primarily in English, with a key or footnotes for any words translated

• You may submit up to 5 poems online (see below) or via post

• Unless visual effects/font variations are part of a poem’s composition, entries should be typed, single-spaced, in 12pt Arial font and printed in black ink

• All entries must be accompanied with an entry form

• Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy for your own records

• Poems may not be edited once they have been submitted

• Poems must not exceed 70 lines (excluding title)

• Each poem must be sent as a separate .doc or .docx document

• If a poem exceeds one page, please number the pages with the title printed on each page

• Your name must not be visible on entries as poems are judged anonymously

• Poems will be judged on quality, style and poetic impact

• Prizes may not be awarded if we do not receive a minimum number of entries

• A submission fee of £5 must accompany every poem submitted, with the exception of those entitled free entry. *Entries are free for UK residents of low-income backgrounds, from households earning £16,000 or less per year. There is no need to declare or prove your income threshold

• Simultaneous submissions are not permitted

• Poems may not have been previously published

• Poems submitted must be entirely your own work

• Entry fees may be paid online using the links below or via post using our postal form

• By entering Wales Poetry Award, authors of shortlisted, winning and highly commended poems grant Poetry Wales the unrestricted rights in perpetuity to publish and broadcast their poem in print, online, audio, performance and video. Winning poems may not be published elsewhere until notice is given by Poetry Wales

• Your contact details will be used to inform you about the status of your entry and about current and future rounds of Wales Poetry Award

• Poetry Wales reserves the right to disqualify entries for any reason

• The winner is entitled to a residential course at Literature Wales’ Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre of their choice or a 4-night stay at their Nant Writers’ Retreat Cottage in 2022 subject to availability, and not including courses that are awarded through a competitive application process. Prize cannot be exchanged for a monetary prize

• Entrants must be contactable via email or phone

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Prizes

1^st Award Winner

£500 & a place on a residential course of your choice at Literature Wales’ Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre in 2023

Seren Book Bundle

Publication in Poetry Wales

2^nd Award Winner

£100

Seren Book Bundle

Publication in Poetry Wales

3^rd Award Winner

£50

Seren Book Bundle

Publication in Poetry Wales

and 10 Highly Commended Prizes

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How to Enter

If you are eligible for free entry, please bypass the payment portion of the entry process and skip to submitting your entries via Google Form.

For all other entries:

SUBMITTABLE

Submittable will ask for a £5 fee per entry. Please upload each poem as a separate document and entry

GOOGLE FORM/EMAIL

If you are submitting via email or Google form, please first pay your entry fee (unless exempt) by clicking the ‘Pay entry fee for Google Form or email entries’ button, then submit your individual poems by clicking ‘Submit paid and free entries via Google Form’. Please upload each poem as a separate document and entry

Entries by email are accepted only if you have been unable to upload your entry via Google Form. To enter by email, first pay using this link, unless you are exempt.

Email info@poetrywales.co.uk with the subject line WALES POETRY AWARD 2022 ENTRY by 12th January 2023 with the following information:

• Your pen name
• Your address
• Your contact number
• Your submission title

We will follow up about any other details as required. Include your poem entry as an individual .doc or .docx attachment only. Do NOT paste your poem into the email. Do NOT place multiple poems in one document. You may include multiple individual attachments, but ensure each poem is correctly titled to avoid confusion. By submitting an entry via email, you accept our rules, terms and conditions.

BY POST

Download our postal form below, fill in all of your details including payment type, and send to:

Wales Poetry Award
Poetry Wales
Suite 6
4 Derwen Road 
Bridgend
CF31 1LH

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Read our previous shortlists:

Watch our previous awarding ceremonies:

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