Poetry Contest Oman 2026, Qasida & Taghrooda

Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Omani poets. Write in Arabic, English, Swahili or Balochi, win cash prizes, earn certificates and detailed judge scores.

Every qasida written anywhere in Arabic is measured against the meters that al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, an eighth century scholar of Omani origin, set down in his 'ilm al-'arud, so the craft itself carries an Omani fingerprint. At home the tradition runs from Al-'Azi, the sung poetry of northern Oman that UNESCO inscribed as intangible cultural heritage in 2012, to al-taghrooda chanted from camelback in the desert, while in Dhofar poems still travel orally in Mehri and Shehri. Between the diwan of Abu Muslim al-Bahlani, whose death centenary UNESCO placed on its 2020-2021 anniversaries list, and Saif al-Rahbi's Muscat quarterly Nizwa, publishing new Arabic poetry since the mid-1990s, the line from classical to contemporary has never broken.

Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that reads Omani work exactly as it arrives, 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. Poets from more than 50 countries have entered Writory, and a qasida from Nizwa or a free verse poem from Salalah is read in exactly that company.

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

Why enter

Arabic, English, Swahili and Balochi 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 metred qasida and a qasidat al-nathr prose poem 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 school writers in Muscat and Salalah in the same reading pile as long practising poets.
A poet in Nizwa or Sur gets the same monthly route to an international readership as one in London or New York, without waiting for a televised stage in Abu Dhabi.

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 Omani 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.

The classical qasida, sha'bi folk verse, taghrooda lines, shi'r hurr free verse, prose poems and haiku are all accepted, in Arabic, English, Swahili, Balochi 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 Arabic script. Will the entry form take it, and do I need a translation?

It will, and you do not. Writory accepts poems in any language and any script, so Arabic, Swahili, Balochi, English and mixed language work are all valid entries, and no translation is ever asked for at any stage.

How can judges compare a metred 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 scores come back to you with your result.

What will it cost me to submit from Oman?

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