Poetry Contest Pakistan 2026, Urdu & English
Quick answer: Monthly online poetry contest for poets in Pakistan. Submit ghazals, nazms or free verse in Urdu or English. Cash prizes, certificates and scores for each poet.
Pakistan measures itself in poetry more than most countries do. Iqbal's philosophical nazms, Faiz Ahmed Faiz writing from prison, Parveen Shakir's Khushbu, Ahmad Faraz and Habib Jalib read as political events, and mushairas where the audience finishes a sher before the poet reaches the end of it. Beyond Urdu there is Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai in Sindhi, Bulleh Shah in Punjabi, and Rahman Baba and Khushal Khan Khattak in Pashto.
Writory's monthly international contest accepts all of it. Send a ghazal, a nazm, an azad nazm, a rubai or a single sher, in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Saraiki or English. Entry runs from the 1st to the 25th, results are declared on the 30th, and each poem returns with a five part score held in the poet's profile. More than 50 countries have sent poems to Writory, and that is the field a Pakistani ghazal is measured against.
Writory is a monthly international poetry contest open to poets across Pakistan writing in Urdu, English or any regional language, with cash prizes for winners and a participation certificate for every entrant.
Why enter
- The ghazal is judged as a ghazal, so radif, qafiya and the weight carried by one sher are not marked down for being unfamiliar.
- Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi and Saraiki entries are accepted in their own script, with nothing asked for in Roman letters.
- It runs entirely online, a practical route out for poets in Quetta, Multan or Peshawar who sit far from the Lahore and Karachi circuits.
- A new call every month means a poet can test a fresh ghazal against readers twelve times a year.
- Every poem comes back with a numeric score, so even an unplaced nazm tells you something about how it read.
What winners and entrants receive
- Cash prizes for the winning poems, decided monthly.
- A participation certificate reaches every poet who submits, regardless of result.
- Winners are exempt from the fee in the following month's contest, as is any poet who has entered three months in succession.
- The month's ten best poems are named on the public leaderboard for anyone to read.
Ghazal, nazm, azad nazm, rubai, qata, geet, marsiya, a standalone sher or free verse are all accepted, in Urdu, English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi or Saraiki.
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
Can I send an Urdu ghazal in Nastaliq rather than transliteration?
Yes, submit it in the script you wrote it in. Urdu and every regional language of Pakistan are accepted directly, and no Roman version is needed.
How is a ghazal scored against a poem from a completely different tradition?
Every entry is measured against creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme rather than against one house style, and the five figures are released to the poet in their profile, so the verdict is visible instead of assumed.
What are the fees for poets in Pakistan?
One poem costs $5, two cost $8 and five cost $15, charged in US dollars. If you win you enter free the next month, and entering three months in succession earns a free entry as well.
How soon after the deadline are results out?
Entries stop on the 25th and the result is published on the 30th, with the next month's contest opening immediately afterwards.
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By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.
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