Poetry Contest Ghana 2026, Enter Online
Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Ghanaian poets. English, Twi, Ewe, Ga and Dagbani welcome. Cash prizes, certificates for all entrants, scored feedback each month.
Ghanaian poetry has old roots and a loud present. Akan apae praise poetry and the Ewe dirge tradition shaped Kofi Awoonor long before he became one of Africa's most translated poets, Atukwei Okai pulled performance back into the printed line, and Ama Ata Aidoo moved between poetry, drama and fiction without asking permission from any of them. Accra's spoken word stages carry that same energy now. Writory runs a competition Ghanaian poets can enter between the 1st and the 25th of any month.
The 30th brings the result. There is prize money for the poems judged strongest and a certificate of participation for everybody who submitted. Five headings are used in the marking, creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, and each poet's headings are shown inside their profile. Twi, Ewe, Ga, Dagbani, Fante, Nzema and English are all accepted, entrants must be at least 13, and Writory is listed by Writing Africa. Poems have reached the contest from over 50 countries, and Ghanaian work is read on the same page as all of them.
Writory is a monthly poetry competition Ghanaian poets can enter in English, Twi, Ewe, Ga or Dagbani, with cash prizes, certificates for all and a marked score on every poem.
Why enter
- A poem in Twi or Ewe is not a novelty submission here. It joins the same pool as English work and is marked under the same five headings.
- Everything happens on the site, from paying to reading your marks, so there is no printing, no posting and no travel involved.
- There is a result every single month, so a poet building a body of work gets twelve chances a year rather than one.
- Writing Africa lists Writory, which means you can confirm the contest is real before you send anything to it.
- Performance poets are not disadvantaged. A piece written for the stage is marked on emotion and language, and the certificate arrives whether or not the poem places.
What winners and entrants receive
- Cash prizes are paid to the winning poets after each monthly result.
- Every Ghanaian entrant receives a participation certificate, which students can add to a school or university file.
- A win means your next entry is free of charge.
- Entering for three months without missing one also earns a free entry.
- The ten strongest poems of the month go up on the public leaderboard for anyone to read.
Apae praise poetry, Ewe dirge forms, Anansesem inflected narrative verse, spoken word written down, sonnets and free verse are all accepted.
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
Is the contest open to poets writing from Ghana?
It is open to anyone in Ghana aged 13 or above, whether you are in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale or a town with one bar of signal. Entries in Twi, Ewe, Ga, Dagbani or English are all accepted, and nothing needs translating first.
How can I be sure the marking is honest?
Nothing is decided behind a curtain. The same five headings, creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, settle every poem in the pool, and your marks under each of them appear in your Writory profile once results are released.
What is the entry fee for a Ghanaian poet?
The site bills in US dollars. Sending one poem costs $5, sending two costs $8, and sending five costs $15. Winners are not charged the following month, and a poet who has kept up entries for three straight months also earns one at no cost.
How soon after I submit will I hear anything?
The contest closes on the 25th of the month you entered and names its winners on the 30th of that same month. Your five heading marks are published to your profile at that point.
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By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.
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