Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition 2021 (Adults)

This page is for adults. If you are under 18 and wish to enter please go to the Under 18 Entry page for Children and Young People.

If you are planning to enter on-line then, before completing the form below, please ensure that you have ALL your poem(s) in ONE suitable file ready to upload at the next step and please read the rules before submitting

Ideally this file will be in a Microsoft Word format (any version, .doc or .docx) but we can also accept text (.txt) or PDF (.pdf) files if you cannot create a Word format file.

Do not type your name or any other details in the document, just the poem titles and the poems but please do include your name in the filename. The judge will only see printed copies.

If you enter more than one poem, each must begin on a new page in the same document. Indicate with “[new page]” if you have to send a .txt file. If the number of poems in the file is greater than the number indicated on the form, any additional additional poems will not be considered for the competition.

Individual poems must be no more than 40 lines in length.

Data protection: Unless you explicitly request to go onto our emailing list (see the form below) we will only contact you in respect of this year’s Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition. If you want to be notified of next year’s competition and other Ledbury Poetry Festival activities please request to go onto the general emailing list. In either case we will not pass your details on to any other organisation unless required to do so by law.

Make sure your poem titles are entered correctly into the form below and that they are ALL in the ONE file you plan to upload. The category is set to Adult on this version of the form.

Ledbury Poetry Competition 2021 Entry Form (Adult)

Category*

Now select the file with ALL your poem(s) in. The file must be a Word, PDF or Text file. The maximum file size is 2MB. You can only upload one file.

File name of entry*

Entry fee for adults: £5.75 for the first poem, £3.50 for each additional poem.

Entry fee for Children and Young People: First poem is Free,then £1.50 for each additional poem.

Your name *

First name

Last name

Address*

Town/City*

Post/Zip code*

Country*

Telephone*

Email*

Repeat email*

Number of poems*

Titles of poems*

Mailing list*

Fee to be paid (£)

This entry requires a payment so, after clicking Submit, you will be taken to the payment system which uses PayPal to process payments. You do not need a PayPal account as there is a "Pay by debit or credit card" option below the PayPal login button.

Competition Rules

Poems must be received on or before Thursday 15th July 2021 at 5pm British Summer Time.
All poems must be the original work of the entrant and should not have been previously published, accepted for publication by a magazine, nor entered in other competitions.
The length of each poem must not exceed 40 lines.
Each individual poem, regardless of length, must be typed on one sheet of plain A4 paper (except Children’s category, which can be handwritten). Please submit two copies of each poem – unless you enter online. If entering online, each poem must be on a separate page in your document.
The competitor’s name must NOT appear on the poem.
All poems must be accompanied by a fully completed entry form.
Please keep a copy of your poem, as manuscripts cannot be returned.
Copyright remains with the author, but Ledbury Poetry Festival reserves the right to have entries performed at the Festival, on radio, TV, or stage, published on the internet, in an anthology or used for publicity purposes at any stage in the future.
No acknowledgement of entry will be sent unless the competitor sends an SAE marked ‘Acknowledgement’.
Competitors wishing to be informed of the results should enclose an SAE marked ‘Results’.
The decision of the judge is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The Festival reserves the right to withhold prizes if such an action is justified.
Entries not complying with competition rules will be disqualified.

Don’t like online forms?

You can enter on paper if you prefer. Simply download and print the entry from below and enter paper copies. You must submit TWO copies of each poem. These copies must not have your name on them – just the title and the poem itself. Separate pages for each poem.

Adult Entry Form 2021

Stuck for ideas?

Transcripts of LPF poetry workshops packed with warm up writing exercises and prompts

Resource page for Young Writers

Ledbury Poetry Festival