Poetry Competitions in the UK and Ireland 2026
Quick answer: 19 British and Irish poetry competitions with fees in £ and €, 2 taking entries right now (October 2026) and 1 with no entry fee, followed by 2 open competitions that accept international entries. Each is listed with its entry fee, prize and recorded window. Check age, residency and other eligibility rules before entering. Dated source checks are shown per listing; recurring annual windows remain estimates.
The UK has the densest poetry competition calendar in the English speaking world: the Poetry Society's National Poetry Competition closes every 31 October, Bridport at the end of May, Ledbury in July, and the Irish prizes from the Moth and Fish fill the spring. Most are open to poets anywhere, charge £5 to £13 a poem and take unpublished work only.
Open now (2)
- The Moth Poetry Prize (Ireland). Open, closes December 31, 2026. Entry: €17 per poem. Prize: 1st €6,000, three €1,000 runner-up prizes and eight €250 awards. The 2026 call opened on 3 October and closes on 31 December at 11:59 PM GMT. Open worldwide to writers over 16, for unpublished poems in English, including translations; judge Diane Seuss. Published cutoff: 31 December 2026, 11:59 PM GMT. This edition does not reopen automatically next year. Official date source, checked 2026-10-06.
- Magma Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Open, closes January 31, 2027. Entry: £5 first poem, £4 second, £3.50 each after; less for subscribers. Prize: 1st £1,000, 2nd £300, 3rd £150 in each of two categories. Two prizes, the Judge's Prize and the Editors' Prize for shorter poems. The current call opened on 1 October 2026 and closes on 31 January 2027 at 11:59 PM GMT. The organiser's 1 October 2026 announcement confirms the current call and its 31 January 2027, 11:59 PM GMT deadline. Official date source, checked 2026-10-06.
Upcoming, ended or dates to confirm (17)
- National Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Typical May–October window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £9 first poem, £6 each subsequent. Prize: 1st £5,000, 2nd £3,000, 3rd £2,000, plus commendations. Run by the Poetry Society and open worldwide; one of the best known single poem prizes in English.
- The Bridport Prize (Poetry) (United Kingdom). Opens November 15, 2026; closing date to confirm. Entry: 2027 fee to confirm; the displayed 2026 fee was £13 per poem. Prize: 2026 awards: 1st £5,000, 2nd £1,000, 3rd £500, plus highly commended prizes; confirm 2027 terms. The organiser confirms that the 2027 competition opens on 15 November 2026. The detail page still describes the closed 2026 round; the next closing date and fees require confirmation. Confirmed 2027 opening: 15 November 2026. Historical fees and prizes are labelled by edition, not carried forward as new terms. Official date source, checked 2026-10-06.
- Fish Poetry Prize (Ireland). Typical March window; current dates to confirm. Entry: €16 first poem, €11 each subsequent. Prize: 1st €1,000, plus a Fish writing course prize. From Fish Publishing in West Cork; winners appear in the annual anthology launched at a festival.
- Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award (United Kingdom). Typical February–July window; current dates to confirm. Entry: free. Prize: Prizes, mentoring and publication for young poets. Free to enter for poets aged 11 to 17 anywhere in the world; deadline at the end of July.
- Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Prize (Ireland). Typical November window; current dates to confirm. Entry: €7 per poem, or €30 for a batch of five. Prize: 1st €2,000, 2nd €500, winning poems published. From the Munster Literature Centre; the winner is flown to read at the Cork poetry festival.
- Ledbury Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Typical March–July window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £6 per poem, up to ten poems. Prize: 1st £1,000 and a week's Arvon poetry course, 2nd £500, 3rd £250. Open to poets aged 18 or over anywhere, poems up to 40 lines in English; closes in July, on the 27th in 2026, with the winner read at the Ledbury Poetry Festival.
- Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award (Ireland). Typical July–September window; current dates to confirm. Entry: Entry fee per collection. Prize: Cash prize for an unpublished collection. For an unpublished collection by a poet not yet having published a book; the deadline usually falls in early autumn, so confirm the date.
- Manchester Poetry Prize (United Kingdom). Opens periodic windows. Entry: £18 per portfolio of three to five poems (last edition). Prize: Large cash prize for a portfolio of poems. A £10,000 prize for a portfolio of three to five poems from Manchester Metropolitan University, open to any nationality over 16; no edition has run since 2023, and the university says future dates will be posted when confirmed.
- Aesthetica Creative Writing Award (Poetry) (United Kingdom). Typical December–August window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £12 per poetry entry. Prize: £2,500 to the poetry winner, of a £5,000 total pot. Runs from the 1st of December to the 31st of August every year, with a short late window after the standard close.
- Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition (Ireland). Typical July–August window; current dates to confirm. Entry: €25 per manuscript. Prize: Chapbook publication by the Munster Literature Centre. A full chapbook manuscript rather than a single poem; run by the Munster Literature Centre in Cork.
- The Bedford Competition (Poetry) (United Kingdom). Typical February–October window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £8.50 per poem, £17 for three. Prize: 1st £2,000, 2nd £400, 3rd £300. An annual open competition with parallel poetry and short story strands; confirm the opening month on their site.
- Kent and Sussex Open Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Typical October–January window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £5 per poem, £4 each for three or more. Prize: 1st £1,000, 2nd £300, 3rd £100. Run since 1985 by one of England's oldest poetry societies; closes on the last day of January.
- Mslexia Women's Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Typical September–December window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £12 for up to three poems. Prize: 1st £2,000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, an Unpublished Poet Prize of £250; winners and 16 finalists published in Mslexia. For women of any nationality in any country; unpublished poems of any length, no AI, closing 7 December 2026 with winners announced 1 March 2027.
- The Rialto Nature and Place Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Typical December–April window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £7 first poem, £4 each further poem. Prize: 1st £1,000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, winning poems published in The Rialto. Run with the RSPB and BirdLife International for poems of up to 40 lines on nature and place; no residency rule, closing 1 April in both 2025 and 2026.
- Poetry London Prize (United Kingdom). Typical March–June window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £10 per poem, £5 for subscribers; free entries for writers on UK means tested benefits. Prize: 1st £5,000, 2nd £2,000, 3rd £1,000, winners published in the autumn issue. Open to poets anywhere in the world writing in English, poems up to 80 lines, unlimited entries; the 2026 round ran 13 March to 30 June.
- Winchester Poetry Prize (United Kingdom). Typical April–July window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £7 first poem, £5 each further poem; free entry through the Pay It Forward scheme for poets on low incomes. Prize: 1st £1,000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, plus a £150 prize for a Hampshire poet; longlist published in an anthology. Anyone aged 16 or over in any country, poems up to 40 lines in English, judged anonymously; runs April to 31 July with results at the October festival.
- Wells Festival of Literature Open Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Typical April–June window; current dates to confirm. Entry: £8 per poem. Prize: 1st £1,000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, and £100 for the best local poet. Open worldwide for poems of up to 40 lines, entered anonymously as a PDF; runs 1 April to 30 June with winners announced at the festival in October. A separate young poets category covers ages 16 to 22.
Open competitions accepting international entries (2)
- Writory International Poetry Contest (International). Open, closes the 25th. Entry: Shown in your local currency (a free entry option is available each month). Prize: Cash prizes, a certificate for every poet, and a five criteria score. Opens on the previous month's 26th, closes on the 25th, results on the 30th, or the last day in February. Every poem is scored on creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance.
- Poetry Society of America Annual Awards (United States). Open, closes December 15, 2026. Entry: Free for PSA members; US$10 per single poem award and US$15 per multiple poem award for non-members. Prize: Seven awards from US$250 to US$2,500, the largest the Robert H. Winner Memorial Award for poets over 40. Seven individually judged awards open to PSA members and non-members. Select an award and read its requirements before submitting via Submittable. Eligibility: Original poems primarily in English; no translations or coauthored work. Age, manuscript and prior-publication rules vary by award.. 2027 awards: entries October 1 to December 15, 2026; the published cutoff is 11:59 PM EST. Official date source, checked 2026-10-02.
Questions poets ask
Which UK & Ireland poetry competitions are free to enter?
Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award cost nothing to enter. Writory also gives a free entry to each month's winners and to poets who enter three months in a row, so a fee is never the only way in.
What poetry competitions in the UK and Ireland close next?
The next British and Irish deadlines are The Moth Poetry Prize on 31 December 2026, Magma Poetry Competition on 31 January 2027. Writory's featured listing comes first, then contests within their listed submission window, ordered by deadline. Check the official closing time before entering.
Are UK poetry competitions open to poets outside the UK?
Nearly all of them. The National Poetry Competition, Bridport, Ledbury, Poetry London, Magma and the Irish prizes accept entries from any country as long as the poem is in English and unpublished. The exceptions are youth prizes with residency rules and a few regional prizes; each row's notes say when a competition is limited to residents.
How much do British poetry competitions charge?
Many charge per poem, with a discount for further poems in the same entry. The National Poetry Competition lists £9 for the first poem and £6 for each after that. Bridport's displayed 2026 poetry fee was £13; the 2027 fee is not yet confirmed. Foyle Young Poets, run by the Poetry Society for 11 to 17 year olds, is free.
How is Writory different from the British and Irish competitions here?
Writory opens its next monthly round on the 26th and closes it on the 25th. Results arrive on the 30th, or the last day in February. Every entrant receives a score out of 100 and a certificate; written feedback is an optional paid add-on. Poets from the UK and Ireland compete in one worldwide field. Current entry fees are shown before payment.
Other countries
By the Writory editorial team. Statuses computed October 2026. Writory's contest for poets in United Kingdom, Writory's contest for poets in Ireland, enter Writory's monthly contest, how to enter a poetry contest.