Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition 2021 (Under 18s)

You may not be aware that the annual Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition has categories for younger poets as well as adults so we’ve created a separate page for you to make this clearer. If you are 18 or over please go to the Adult Poetry Competition entry page.

Young People’s Prizes (12 – 17 Years)

First Prize: £100, Second Prize: £50 and Third Prize: £25

Children’s Prizes (11 years and under)

First Prize: £25 book token, Second Prize: £15 book token and Third Prize: £10 book token.

All winners are offered the chance to read at the 2022 Ledbury Poetry Festival.

(The relevant ages means age on the date of submission.)

Entering Online

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. You must select the correct age category before you can complete the rest of the form.

Ledbury Poetry Competition 2021 Entry Form (Under 18s)

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 £1.75 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.

Stuck for ideas?

Check out these fun and useful resources:

https://ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk/
(The tips and advice section is extensive and very useful!)
https://www.poetry4kids.com/
(This even has a rhyming dictionary!)
http://www.languageisavirus.com/writing_prompts.php
(Press the button to generate a writing prompt!)
https://www.ourcoronadiary.com/
(Poetry often starts out as prose! Or write your diary in verse!)
https://www.sparkwriters.org/get-creative/
(short videos with some writing ideas)
https://www.ministryofstories.org/get-writing/
(lots of writing tips and ideas for different kinds of writing)

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?

If you are uneasy about filling in online forms or want to submit on paper, you can download and print an entry form using the buttons below – please pick the correct one for your age! You must enter two copies of each poem on separate sheets of paper and do not write your name on the sheets! Children under 12 may enter in their own handwriting, the rest of you will have to type the poems!

Young Person (12 – 17)

Child (under 12)

Ledbury Poetry Festival