Poetry Contest Namibia 2026, Omitandu & Gedigte

Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Namibian poets. Write in English, Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, Otjiherero or Khoekhoegowab, win cash prizes and get detailed scores.

In Otjiherero a praise poem is an omutandu, and the omitandu that carry family lines, places and cattle through ceremonies and commemorations have been recorded at the University of Namibia by the scholar Jekura Kavari. On the page, Mvula ya Nangolo, whose collection Thoughts from Exile appeared in 1991, is among the Namibian poets anthologised in The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, and since 2019 Doek!, the country's first literary magazine, has published poems out of Windhoek in English and in Namibian languages.

Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that takes all of this work as it stands, 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 Namibian work is read in exactly that company.

Writory holds a monthly international poetry contest that Namibian poets can enter in English, Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, Khoekhoegowab, Afrikaans, German or any other language, with cash prizes for winners and a certificate for everyone who submits.

Why enter

Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, Khoekhoegowab, Afrikaans 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, so a praise poem built the way an omutandu is built and a free verse piece written for a Windhoek open mic 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 secondary school learners and long practising poets in the same reading pile.
Poets whose work normally circulates at Windhoek readings and in local anthologies 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 Namibian 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 top ten poets and their poems appear on the public leaderboard at writoryofficial.com/leaderboard.

Praise verse in the omitandu line, Afrikaans gedigte, spoken word pieces set down on the page, haiku and open free verse are all accepted, in English, Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, Khoekhoegowab, Afrikaans, German 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 Oshiwambo and Afrikaans more often than in English. Can I still enter?

Yes. Writory accepts poems in any language, so Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, Otjiherero, Khoekhoegowab, German, English and mixed language work are all valid entries, and you never need to supply a translation alongside them.

Most of my work is spoken word. Does it belong in a written contest?

It does, once it is set down as text. The poem is scored on creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, the same five criteria as every other entry, and those numbers land in your Writory profile where you can read them yourself.

Will judges follow a poem that leans on praise poetry, with its names and places?

Judges do not mark familiarity, they mark craft. A poem built on the naming and lineage of an omutandu is read for what it does with creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, exactly like a sonnet or a free verse piece.

What will it cost me to submit from Namibia?

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.

By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.

Enter the August contest · International poetry contest · Past winners · Read the winning poems