Poetry Contest Ethiopia 2026, Qene & Geerarsa

Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Ethiopian poets. Write in Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Tigrinya or English, win cash prizes, earn certificates and detailed scores.

Qene is Ethiopia's oldest game of meaning, improvised Ge'ez verse built on sem-ena-werq, the wax and gold technique where a plain surface reading conceals a second one underneath, and it has been taught for centuries in the qene bet schools of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Around it sit the Amharic poems of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin and Kebede Michael that students meet in classrooms across the country, geerarsa sung in Afaan Oromoo, azmari verse improvised over the masenqo, and the crowds who fill Tobiya Poetic Jazz nights in Addis Ababa to hear new poems read against live music.

Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that takes all of those traditions as they are, with no translation required at any stage. Entries open on the 1st, close on the 25th and results are published on the 30th. Winners take cash prizes, every entrant collects a participation certificate, and each poem comes back with a score across creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme saved to the poet's profile. Poets from more than 50 countries have entered Writory, and Ethiopian work is read in exactly that company.

Writory holds a monthly international poetry contest that Ethiopian poets can enter in Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Tigrinya, English or any other language, with cash prizes for winners and a certificate for everyone who submits.

Why enter

Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Tigrinya and English entries reach the same judges under the same five criteria, so no language waits at the back of the queue.
There is no set form, so a short qene with its gold folded under the wax and a forty line free verse poem are each read on their own terms.
Twelve separate contests a year, so missing the 25th one month costs you nothing more than a wait until the 1st.
Entry is open from age 13, putting secondary school writers in Bahir Dar or Hawassa in the same reading pile as poets who have published for decades.
Poets whose Amharic, Oromo or Tigrinya work has so far only been read at local competitions get a monthly route to an international readership.

What winners and entrants receive

Cash prizes for the winning poems, announced on the 30th of the month you entered.
A participation certificate for every Ethiopian entrant, placing or not.
Win a month and your next entry costs nothing, and the same applies after three months of entering in a row.
The month's best work is showcased on the public leaderboard at writoryofficial.com/leaderboard.

Qene, geerarsa, azmari style verse, haiku and open free verse are all accepted, in Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Tigrinya, English or whichever language the poem arrived in.

Key facts

Entries open the 1st, close the 25th at 11:59 PM IST, results on the 30th.
One poem $5, two poems $8, five poems $15 (Rs 150 / Rs 220 / Rs 450 in India).
Every poem scored by human judges on five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme.
A participation certificate for every entrant, not only winners, and the score is visible in your profile.
Cash prizes for winners, free entry the following month for winners, open worldwide from age 13, any language.

Questions

I write in Amharic using the Fidel script. Can I enter without translating?

Yes. Writory accepts poems in any language and any script, so Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Tigrinya, English and mixed language work are all valid entries, and you never need to supply a translation alongside them.

A qene carries a hidden meaning under the surface. Will judges score it fairly against plain free verse?

Forms are never ranked against each other, craft is. Each poem is marked on creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, and those five numbers are saved to your Writory profile where you can read them yourself.

What does it cost to submit from Ethiopia?

Entry fees are charged in US dollars, with tiers at $5, $8 and $15 depending on how many poems you enter. Winners pay nothing the month after they win, and three consecutive months of entering also earns a free entry.

How long is the wait between submitting and finding out?

Submission runs from the 1st to the 25th and the announcement comes on the 30th, so a poem sent early in the month is settled before that month ends, and every entrant collects a participation certificate either way.

By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.

Enter the August contest · International poetry contest · Past winners · Read the winning poems