UK-wide bilingual (Welsh and English) poetry competition for children aged 10-17, hosted by Poetry Wales.
Winners and Shortlist 2020:
Welsh 14–17
1st place: Ar goll by Erin Brady
2nd place: Chwarel y Penrhyn by Kai Melville-Richards
3rd place: Curiad calon yn troi’n dor calon by Cerys Howell-Cousins
English 10–13
1st place: Lockdown interpreted by Freya Leech
2nd place: Life drawing by Adam Rhys
3rd place: Diary entry of a microwave by Beau Dempsey
Highly commended:
Growing by Sylvie Wharton Griffiths
Too much empathy’s a curse by Kaila Patterson
Missing by Ruby Robinson
Elephant by Clara Rees
Lonely together by Tyra Bebel
It’s good to talk by Lillie Bryers
gloglaglaglab by Morgan Kendall
Rosa by Raazie Dar
Marvellous money by Ahmed Moalin
English 14–17
1st place: Song of Ikea’s sadness by Anni Hodgkinson
2nd place: A friend in silver by Florence Bullion
3rd place: Mary Janes by Stephanie Flynn
Highly commended:
The duality of mum by Dalton Bassnett
Teacups and tantrums by Niamh Chalmers
As the ghosts crash down by Jessica Spilsbury
What happened to the watering can? by Amber Gallagher
The pilgrim by Ellie Clare
So you see Mrs Daily by Isabel Anderson
Emily by Sarah Thomas
The Feeling Reader by Bronwyn Calvert
Why I stopped waxing my unibrow by Anezka Khan
The armourer by Vivian Cheung
Soap by Charlotte Jolley
The double empathy by Morgan Rhys
The screams by Anni Hodgkinson
Rules:
- Wales Young Poets Award opens for entries 10 July 2020 and closes 15 February 2021 at 3pm.
- The competition is open to poets aged 10-17 living in the UK at the time of submission.
- Poems can be sent in Welsh or English and must be inspired by the theme ‘Empathy’.
- Each entry must be accompanied by a form (available to download below), and every entrant can submit up to 2 entries in either language.
- Send your entries along with the correct form to jannatahmed@serenbooks.com with the subject line WYPA ENTRY, or fill out our Google Form https://forms.gle/4gBqF6SZK4EJidqc6 (for individuals only)
- If you have a performance poem you would like to submit, ask your parent/guardian’s permission to send it us. Please attach it to your email with the written version of your entry, your entry form, and your parent/guardian’s details to confirm we have their permission. This applies to anyone sending video entries aged 13-17.
- For those aged 13 and under, poems should be submitted on their behalf of from a teacher, parent or guardian.
- We cannot accept poems that have been published before or submitted to another writing competition.
- Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy for your own records.
- Poems may not be edited or changed once they have been submitted.
- Entries should be typed in a legible font.
- Prizes may not be awarded if we do not receive a minimum of 50 entries.
- Each poem must be sent as an attached Word document (.doc or .docx file).
- Award winners will be notified by the end of May 2021.
- By entering Wales Young Poets Award, authors of winning and highly commended poems grant Poetry Wales Press Ltd. the unrestricted rights in perpetuity (forever!) to publish and broadcast their poem in print, online, audio and video.
- Winning and highly commended poems will be collected in a print anthology which will be distributed to school libraries and sold.
Prizes (English Language)
For each of the following age categories: 10-13 and 14-17
1st Prize
£50 worth of National Book Tokens, writing goodie bag and publication
2nd Prize
£30 worth of National Book Tokens, writing goodie bag and publication
3rd Prize
£15 worth of National Book Tokens, writing goodie bag and publication
10-15 highly commended poets will be published in our anthology
In the case that a Welsh poet does not place, or win in the main competition, a Wales Young Poets Prize will also be awarded of £50 for the best English language poem from Wales.
Prizes (Welsh Language)
For each of the following age categories: 10-13 and 14-17
1st Prize
£50 worth of National Book Tokens, writing goodie bag and publication
2nd Prize
£30 worth of National Book Tokens, writing goodie bag and publication
3rd Prize
£15 worth of National Book Tokens, writing goodie bag and publication
10-15 highly commended poets will be published in our anthology
Download entry form for individuals
Wales Young Poets Award Entry Form for Individuals
Download entry form for groups/schools