Deadline
18th July 2019

Who may enter
The competition is open to anyone.

Description 
The Ledbury Poetry Festival is the biggest poetry festival in the UK.

The Ledbury Poetry Festival takes place over ten days each July. We are the biggest and best poetry festival in the UK, featuring poets from all over the world. If you think you know what poetry is, come along and we’ll surprise you. There are live readings, performances, workshops, open mics, music, exhibitions, films, family events, street events, a slam and much more. 

Each year we organise a prestigious competition for new poetry in partnership with Ty Newydd the National Writers’ Centre for Wales. It attracts entries from all over the globe. There are three categories: Adults (18+), Young People (12-17) and Children (under 12).

All poems must be the original work of the entrant and should not have been previously published, accepted for publication by a magazine, nor entered in other competitions.

The length of each poem must not exceed 40 lines.

The Judge of the 2019 Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition is Daljit Nagra.

Entry fees
Adults: £5.75 for first poem, £3.50 for each subsequent poem.
Children/Young People: First poem free, £1.75 for each subsequent poem.

Prizes
Adult Competition Prizes:
• First Prize: £1,000 cash and a course at Tŷ Newydd, The National Writers’ Centre for Wales www.tynewydd.wales
• Second Prize: £500 cash
• Third Prize: £250 cash

Young Persons’ prizes
• First Prize: £100 cash
• Second Prize: £50 cash
• Third Prize: £25 cash

Children’s Prizes
• First Prize: £25 book token
• Second Prize: £15 book token
• Third Prize: £10 book token

Website
Please visit https://www.poetry-festival.co.uk/ledbury-poetry-competition/ to learn more about the competition.