Poetry Contest Netherlands 2026, Judged Monthly
Quick answer: A monthly poetry contest open to poets in the Netherlands. Dutch or English, every poem scored on 5 criteria, certificate for every entrant. Enter by the 25th.
The Netherlands takes poetry seriously in public: a national Poezieweek every January, a Dichter des Vaderlands reading verse at state occasions, and poems printed on walls across Leiden. What the Dutch calendar lacks is a serious contest that runs every month and tells the poet, in numbers, how the work was read.
Poems in Dutch are as welcome as poems in English, judged blind against five published criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme. The entrant pool spans more than fifty countries, and the full score breakdown returns to the poet with the results, days after the deadline rather than months.
Entries close on the 25th of every month, around 8:30 in the evening Dutch time in summer and 7:30 in winter, with results by the 30th. Winners are paid through PayPal, which serves the Netherlands directly, and every entrant receives a certificate carrying their name and the title Writorian. Every right to the poem stays with its author.
Writory is a monthly international poetry contest poets in the Netherlands can enter online in Dutch or English, with cash prizes for winners and a certificate plus a five criteria score for every entrant.
Why enter
- Twelve deadlines a year instead of one annual window, so a finished poem gets a serious reading the same month it is written.
- Every entrant is told how the poem scored on creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, not just whether it placed.
- One poem costs $5, with no membership, subscription or reading fee culture attached.
- Beginners and unpublished poets compete on identical terms with everyone else, from age 13 upward, because the judging is blind.
- Duotrope and Christopher Fielden's international competition list both carry Writory, so the contest can be verified before entering.
What winners and entrants receive
- Winners are paid cash prizes every month, twelve times a year, with the month's top ten named on the Writory leaderboard.
- A participation certificate goes to every Dutch entrant, not only to the winners.
- Winning a month makes the next month's entry free, and entering three consecutive months earns a free entry as well.
- The five criteria score stays in your profile, concrete evidence of craft in a culture that values exactness.
Sonnets, free verse, prose poems, spoken word scripts and light verse all fit, in Dutch, English, Frisian or any other language written in the Netherlands today.
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
Kan ik gedichten in het Nederlands insturen?
Ja. De wedstrijd accepteert gedichten in elke taal, Nederlands inbegrepen, beoordeeld volgens dezelfde vijf criteria: creativiteit, emotie, structuur, taal en thema.
When is the deadline in Dutch time?
Entries close on the 25th of every month at 11:59 PM Indian time, roughly 8:30 PM in the Netherlands in summer and 7:30 PM in winter. Results are published by the 30th of the same month.
What does a Dutch entrant actually receive?
A blind judged score out of 100 with the five part breakdown visible in your profile, a participation certificate carrying your name and the title Writorian, and for winners, a cash prize paid by PayPal plus free entry to the following month.
Is there a free way to enter from the Netherlands?
Two earned routes: monthly winners receive free entry to the next round, and entering three consecutive months earns a free entry as well.
By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.
Enter the August contest · All poetry competitions 2026: deadlines & prizes · International poetry contest · Past winners · Read the winning poems