Poetry Contest Kenya 2026, Kenyan Poetry Competition
Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Kenyan poets. English, Kiswahili and Sheng all welcome. Cash prizes, certificates for every entrant and scored feedback each month.
Swahili poetry on the Kenyan coast is centuries old, and the shairi and the long narrative utenzi are still recognisable forms, with Muyaka bin Haji of Mombasa remembered as the poet who brought Swahili verse out of the mosque and into the street. Inland, Micere Githae Mugo, Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye and Jonathan Kariara helped build a modern Kenyan literature, Kwani Trust opened the space that came after them, and Nairobi now has spoken word nights most weeks of the year. Writory holds a competition Kenyan poets can enter from the 1st of any month up to the 25th.
The result comes on the 30th. Money goes to the poems that lead, and a participation certificate reaches every poet who took part. Marking runs across five criteria, creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, and your own marks sit in your profile. Kiswahili, Sheng, Gikuyu, Dholuo, Kalenjin and English are all accepted, entry begins at 13 years of age, and Writing Africa carries Writory in its listings. Submissions have arrived from more than 50 countries, so a Kenyan poem is read far outside East Africa.
A poem in Kiswahili, Sheng, English or any other language can go into Writory's monthly competition, which pays cash prizes and sends a certificate to everyone who takes part.
Why enter
- A shairi in Kiswahili and a poem in English are marked by the same five criteria, and neither language is treated as the default.
- Sheng is accepted. If the poem lives in Nairobi's actual spoken language, it does not have to be cleaned up before you submit it.
- The whole thing runs on a phone, from paying the fee to reading your marks, so no printing or postage is needed.
- Writing Africa lists Writory, which is worth checking before paying any competition anywhere.
- Twelve results a year gives a poet something to work toward every month, instead of one annual submission window.
What winners and entrants receive
- Cash prizes are awarded to the winning poets with every monthly result.
- A participation certificate goes to every Kenyan entrant, which students can file with their coursework.
- Winners pay nothing to enter the following month.
- A poet who enters three months running gets the entry after that for free.
- Ten poems make the public leaderboard each month, and it stays online for readers to find.
Shairi and mashairi, utenzi narrative verse, ngonjera dialogue poems, Sheng poetry, stage pieces committed to the page, sonnets and open free verse all qualify.
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
Must I write in English to enter from Kenya?
No. Kiswahili, Sheng, Gikuyu, Dholuo, Kalenjin and English are all accepted, and none of them needs translating. Any poet aged 13 or above can submit, from Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret or anywhere else in the country.
How is a Kiswahili poem judged next to an English one?
Both are held to one set of five criteria: structure, language, theme, creativity and emotion. Marks under each criterion are written into your profile when results are released, so you can read the assessment rather than accept a verdict.
What will entering cost me?
The fee is charged in US dollars: $5 for a single poem, $8 for two, and $15 for a batch of five. There is no charge for a winner's next submission, and a poet who enters three months running receives one free entry.
When is the result released?
Entry runs from the 1st to the 25th, and the outcome goes up on the 30th. Your criterion marks appear in your profile alongside the public announcement.
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By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.
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