Poetry Contest Malaysia 2026, Sajak & Pantun Welcome
Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Malaysian poets. Write in English, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil or Chinese, win cash prizes, earn certificates and detailed scores.
The pantun is Malaysia's best known contribution to world literature, four lines that pair a pembayang of image with a maksud of meaning, and UNESCO inscribed it as intangible cultural heritage in 2020. Around it sit the modern sajak, the moral couplets of Raja Ali Haji's Gurindam Dua Belas, Tamil verse read aloud in Ipoh and Klang, and Chinese poetry written in Penang and Johor Bahru.
Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that takes all of those traditions 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 Malaysian work is read in exactly that company.
Writory holds a monthly international poetry contest that Malaysian poets can enter in Bahasa Melayu, English, Tamil, Mandarin or any other language, with cash prizes for winners and a certificate for everyone who submits.
Why enter
- Bahasa Melayu, Tamil, Mandarin and English 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 four line pantun and a twenty line sajak 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 sekolah menengah writers and long practising poets in the same reading pile.
- Malaysian poets who normally only see a local peraduan menulis 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 Malaysian 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.
Pantun, sajak, syair, gurindam, seloka, haiku and open free verse are all accepted, in Bahasa Melayu, English, Tamil, Mandarin 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 Bahasa Melayu and sometimes in Tamil. Can I still enter?
Yes. Writory accepts poems in any language, so Malay, Tamil, Mandarin, English and mixed language work are all valid entries, and you never need to supply a translation alongside them.
How can judges compare a pantun 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 Malaysia?
Fees are charged in US dollars: $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.
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By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.
Enter the September contest · All poetry competitions 2026: deadlines & prizes · International poetry contest · Past winners · Read the winning poems