Poetry Contest The Gambia 2026, Jali & Kora Verse

Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Gambian poets. Write in English, Wolof, Mandinka or Fula, win cash prizes, earn certificates and detailed scores on every poem.

Gambian verse begins in the voice of the jali, the hereditary griot who carries genealogies and praise songs over the twenty one strings of the kora, a craft the musical families of Brikama still pass down. On the page, Lenrie Peters put the country into classrooms across West Africa with Satellites in 1967, then named his next collection Katchikali after the sacred crocodile pool at Bakau, and Tijan M. Sallah's Kora Land and Dreams of Dusty Roads carried Gambian poetry abroad. Today poems are written in English, Wolof, Mandinka and Fula, read aloud at open mic nights around Serrekunda and championed by the Writers' Association of The Gambia.

Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that takes all of that work as it is, 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 Gambian work is read in exactly that company.

Writory holds a monthly international poetry contest that Gambian poets can enter in English, Wolof, Mandinka, Fula or any other language, with cash prizes for winners and a certificate for everyone who submits.

Why enter

English, Wolof, Mandinka and Fula 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, which means a praise poem shaped by the jali tradition and a page of quiet free verse 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 senior secondary writers and long practising poets in the same reading pile.
A poet whose audience has so far been an open mic night in Serrekunda or Fajara gets a monthly route to readers far beyond the Kombos.

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 Gambian 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 ten strongest poems of the month are posted to the public leaderboard at writoryofficial.com/leaderboard.

Praise poems in the jali line, spoken word written down for the page, sonnets, haiku and open free verse are all accepted, in English, Wolof, Mandinka, Fula, Jola 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 Wolof and Mandinka as well as English. Can I enter?

Yes. Writory accepts poems in any language, so Wolof, Mandinka, Fula, Jola, English and mixed language work are all valid entries, and you never need to supply a translation alongside them.

How is a praise poem in the griot tradition judged next to English free verse?

The judges do not compare forms, they score craft. Each poem is marked on creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, and those five numbers land in your Writory profile where you can read them yourself.

Most of my work is spoken word for the stage. Does it count?

Yes, as text. Write the piece down and submit it as you would perform it. There is no set form, so a poem built for a Serrekunda open mic is read with the same care as one built for the page.

What will it cost me to submit from The Gambia?

Fees are charged in US dollars rather than dalasi: $5 buys one poem, $8 buys two and $15 buys five. 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.

By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.

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