Poetry Contest Kuwait 2026, Qasida & Nabati Verse

Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Kuwaiti poets. Write qasida, Nabati verse or free verse in Arabic or English, win cash prizes, certificates and detailed scores.

Kuwait keeps two poetries running side by side, the classical qasida in fusha and Nabati verse in the Gulf dialect, and the diwaniya has carried both aloud for generations. Fahd Al-Askar pushed the qasida toward modern subjects before his death in 1951, and the Al-Babtain Foundation later created a poetry prize in his name, while Ahmad Meshari Al-Adwani wrote the words of the national anthem. Souad Al-Sabah has published poets through Dar Souad Al-Sabah since 1985, and the Albabtain Central Library for Arabic Poetry, founded as a gift to the country when Kuwait was named Capital of Arab Culture in 2001, gathers the Arab world's verse into one building in Kuwait City.

Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that takes both of those traditions, and anything written beside them, exactly 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 Kuwaiti work is read in exactly that company.

Writory holds a monthly international poetry contest that Kuwaiti poets can enter in Arabic, fusha or dialect, English or any other language, with cash prizes for winners and a certificate for everyone who submits.

Why enter

Arabic and English entries are scored on the same five criteria, whether the poem is a fusha qasida or Nabati verse in Kuwaiti dialect.
There is no set form, so a strict two-hemistich qasida and a short prose poem are each read on their own terms.
Twelve separate contests a year, so a missed 25th costs you nothing more than a wait until the next 1st.
Entry is open from age 13, putting secondary school writers and poets who have recited at diwaniyas for decades in the same reading pile.
Kuwaiti poets who normally only see a local musabaqat shi'r 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 Kuwaiti 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 strongest poems of the month are posted to the public leaderboard at writoryofficial.com/leaderboard.

Classical qasida, Nabati verse in the Gulf dialect, taf'ila free verse, qasidat al-nathr, haiku and open free verse are all accepted, in Arabic, 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 Nabati poetry in Kuwaiti dialect, not fusha. Does that count?

Yes. Writory accepts poems in any language, and that includes dialect. A Nabati poem in Kuwaiti Arabic is as valid an entry as a classical qasida or an English sonnet, and you never need to supply a translation alongside it.

How can judges compare an Arabic qasida with an English free verse poem fairly?

They 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.

What will it cost me to submit from Kuwait?

Fees are charged in US dollars rather than dinars: $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.

I am still at school. Can I enter?

Entry is open from age 13, so secondary school students in Kuwait submit alongside adults, and every entrant gets the same five-part score and the same participation certificate.

How long is the wait between submitting and finding out?

Submission runs from the 1st to the 25th and results are announced 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