Poetry Contest Saudi Arabia 2026, Enter Online
Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest open to poets across Saudi Arabia, from Riyadh to Jeddah. Any language welcome, cash prizes, certificates and five criteria scores.
Arabic poetry has one of its oldest addresses in Saudi Arabia. The Mu'allaqat, the odes associated with Imru' al-Qais, Antarah ibn Shaddad and Zuhayr, come from this ground, and Souq Okaz near Taif, where poets once competed before an audience, has been revived as a festival. Nabati verse carried the tradition through the desert centuries, and modern voices such as Ghazi Al-Gosaibi and Muhammad al-Thubaiti moved the line again.
Writory adds a short and repeatable international deadline to that inheritance. Entries run from the 1st to the 25th each month and results are declared on the 30th. Cash prizes go to winners, a participation certificate goes to everyone who took part, and each poem is returned with five scores, for creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Poets from 40 countries have entered so far.
Writory is a monthly international poetry contest open to poets anywhere in Saudi Arabia, writing in Arabic, English, Urdu, Tagalog or any other language, with cash prizes and a certificate for every entry.
Why enter
- A qasida in classical Arabic and a short English lyric are marked against the same five criteria, with no house preference for either.
- Submission is entirely online, so a poet in Abha, Tabuk or Al Ahsa stands on the same footing as one in Riyadh or Jeddah.
- Nabati poetry is welcome as a written entry and does not have to be performed to count.
- The contest is open from age 13, which brings school and university writers into a genuinely international pool.
- Writory is indexed by Duotrope, Reedsy and Christopher Fielden's list, so an entry from the Kingdom sits inside a verifiable international competition.
What winners and entrants receive
- Cash prizes are awarded to the winning poems at the close of every cycle, and the top ten are shown on the public leaderboard.
- Participation certificates go out to the entire field, not only to the winners.
- The five criteria breakdown is delivered to every poet, so the result is never a bare yes or no.
- A win clears the next month's fee, and three months of unbroken entry clears one as well.
Classical qasida, nabati verse, ghazal, the prose poem, spoken word and free verse are all accepted, in Arabic, English, Urdu, Tagalog or any other language.
Key facts
- Entries open the 1st, close the 25th at 11:59 PM IST, results on the 30th.
- One poem costs $5, two $8 and five $15. In India: Rs 150, Rs 220 and Rs 450. Optional add-ons are shown separately before payment.
- Every poem scored by human judges on five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance.
- 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 poets based in Saudi Arabia take part, and write in Arabic?
They can, and Arabic is a first class entry language here rather than an accommodation. English, Urdu, Malayalam, Tagalog and Bengali entries are equally accepted, from citizens and residents alike.
What does the judging actually look at?
Five things and nothing else: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Each is scored per poem and the poet receives the full breakdown in their profile, so the outcome can be examined rather than merely accepted.
What is the cost of entering from the Kingdom?
US dollar pricing applies: $5 for a single poem, $8 for two, $15 for five. Winners are not charged the following month, and a poet who enters three months consecutively also receives a free entry.
What is the schedule each month?
The 1st opens submissions, the 25th closes them and the 30th brings results, and the pattern repeats through every month of the year.
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By the Writory editorial team. Updated September 2026.
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