Poetry Contest Liberia 2026, Kolokwa & English

Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Liberian poets. Write in English, Kolokwa, Kpelle, Bassa or Vai, win cash prizes, earn certificates and detailed judge scores.

Liberia writes in a script of its own invention, the Vai syllabary that Momolu Duwalu Bukele devised in Grand Cape Mount County in the 1830s, and its poetry carries the same independence. Roland Tombekai Dempster, born in that same county, answered the colonial gaze in his poem 'Africa's Plea', Bai T. Moore gathered his verse as Ebony Dust in 1962 while his Murder in the Cassava Patch still sits on Liberian school syllabuses, and Patricia Jabbeh Wesley brings the Grebo cadences of Maryland County to collections like Praise Song for My Children, work recognised with the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Award.

Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that takes Liberian work exactly as written, in English, Kolokwa, Kpelle, Bassa, Vai or Grebo, 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 poems from Monrovia are read in exactly that company.

Writory holds a monthly international poetry contest that Liberian poets can enter in English, Kolokwa, Kpelle, Bassa, Vai, Grebo or any other language, with cash prizes for winners and a certificate for everyone who submits.

Why enter

English, Kolokwa, Kpelle, Bassa, Vai and Grebo entries are all scored on the same five criteria, creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, so the language of a poem never decides its standing.
There is no set form, so a piece written to be spoken aloud and a tight English sonnet are each read on their own terms.
Twelve separate contests a year, so a missed 25th costs nothing more than a wait until the next 1st.
Entry is open from age 13, which puts senior high writers in Monrovia and Gbarnga in the same reading pile as long practising poets.
Fees are quoted in US dollars, the currency Liberians already spend every day, so no conversion arithmetic stands between you and the entry.

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 Liberian 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 strongest poems are posted to the public leaderboard at writoryofficial.com/leaderboard.

Praise poems, story poems in the oral tradition, spoken word pieces, sonnets, haiku and open free verse are all accepted, in English, Kolokwa, Kpelle, Bassa, Grebo or Vai, including poems set down in the Vai syllabary.

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 the way Liberians actually talk. Does a poem in Kolokwa count?

Yes. Writory accepts poems in any language, and no translation is ever asked for. A poem in Kolokwa, one that moves between Kolokwa and standard English mid-line, or one entirely in Kpelle or Bassa is a valid entry exactly as written.

Can I enter a poem written in the Vai script?

You can. The syllabary Momolu Duwalu Bukele devised in the 1830s is as welcome as the Latin alphabet. Every poem is scored 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 enter from Liberia?

Fees are charged in US dollars, which already circulate in Liberia alongside the Liberian dollar: $5 for one poem, $8 for two and $15 for five. Winners enter free the month after they win, and three consecutive months of entering also earns a free entry.

How long between sending a poem and hearing back?

Submissions run from the 1st to the 25th and results are published 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