The Definitive List of Poetry Competitions 2023
Are you looking for a poetry competition to enter? If so, you'll want to check out this comprehensive list of poetry contests for 2022. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, be sure to browse through the options to find the perfect contest for you!
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Register now for our free 7 Day Story Writing Challenges. Write a short story in a week, get extensive feedback on your entry, and compete for a £500 prize in each round.
New Writers Poetry Competition 2023
Prize: £1,000
The New Writers Poetry Competition 2023 is open for entries of up to 40 lines on any theme and from anywhere in the world (though entries must be written in English).
There's a £1,500 prize pool with £1,000 for the winner (2nd: £300 and 3rd: £200).
£1.00 from each entry will be donated to First Story, England's leading creative writing charity for young people.
Entry: £10
Deadline: 12th July, 2023
Anthology Poetry Award 2023
Prize: €1000
Entries are now invited for the Anthology Poetry Award. Established to recognise and encourage excellence in the craft of poetry writing and to provide a platform for publication, it is open to original and previously unpublished poems in the English language. Poems submitted must be on the theme of ‘Freedom’ and should not exceed 40 lines.
Entry: $18
Deadline: August 31, 2023
Gemini Magazine Poetry Open 2023
Prize: $1,000
For our 13th annual Poetry Open, we consider previously unpublished poems of any subject, style or length. Submit up to three poems. Six cash prizes plus online publication.Entry: $15
Deadline: January 03, 2023
Entry: $9
Hispanic Culture Review Contest 2023
Prize: $100
As the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once said, "the best that the world has is in the many worlds that the world contains." Therefore, this year we invite you to reflect on the following questions: How do you or your community celebrate these connections? How do you value those experiences with those people who leave a mark on your life? 1 work will be awarded in each category: 1) photography & visual arts, 2) poetry, and 3) narrative/essay/academic investigation.
Entry: free
Deadline: February 01, 2023
Annual Cultural Heritage Writing Contest (inc. Poetry) 2023
Prize: publication
Founded in November 2022, The Trailblazer Review is an international high school literary magazine dedicated to celebrating and honoring indigenous culture through creative writing. Its Annual Cultural Heritage Contest accepts submissions of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction under 4000 words from middle and high school students (13-18 years old) on the subject of native culture and heritage.
Entry: free
Deadline: February 20, 2023
Looking for more writing competitions to enter? Check out our ‘Big List of International Writing Competitions!’
Black Lawrence Press: The Big Moose Prize 2023
Prize: $1,000
Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Big Moose Prize for an unpublished novel. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes will be awarded on publication. The Big Moose Prize is open to traditional novels as well as novels-in-stories, novels-in-poems, and other hybrid forms that contain within them the spirit of a novel.
Entry: $27
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Third Wednesday Annual Poetry Contest 2023
Prize: $100
Each year Third Wednesday awards 3 $100 prizes in its annual poetry contest. For this year's contest, entries will be accepted from November 1, 2020 through February 15, 2021. We will accept contest entries of up to 3 previously unpublished poems of any style and subject matter. There is no limit on length.
Entry: $6
Deadline: February 15, 2023
Trio House Press Louise Bogan Award 2023
Prize: $1,000
The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence includes $1,000, publication, and twenty books. The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence is open to ALL poets, regardless of publication history.
Entry: $25
Deadline: April 30, 2023
Bridport Poetry Prize 2023
Prize: £5,000
You don't have to be Tennyson. Just talented. All we ask is that you please keep poems to 42 lines, max. You can, of course, write less. In addition to the prize money, the top three poems are automatically entered into the Forward Prize For Poetry’s best single poem competition, with the chance to win a further £1000. This exclusive award is not open to the public. You can write about absolutely anything but whatever your rhyme or reason, we want to read your poetry.
Entry: $15
Deadline: May 31, 2023
Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition (inc. Poetry) 2023
Prize: $5,000
Enter our 91st Annual Writing Competition for the chance to have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection. [$20 for a poetry entry, $30 for a manuscript entry]
Entry: $20
Deadline: May 5, 2023
Crazyhorse Swamp Pink Prizes (inc. Poetry) 2023
Prize: $2,000
From January 1st to January 31st, submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication.
Entry: $20
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships 2023
Prize: $50,000
The Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships are $50,000 awards given to honor poets of literary merit appointed to serve in civic positions and to enable them to undertake meaningful, impactful, and innovative projects that engage their fellow residents, including youth, with poetry, helping to address issues important to their communities.
Entry: free
Deadline: February 17, 2023
Association of Writers & Writing Programs: The Kurt Brown Prizes 2023
Prize: $500 scholarship
AWP will offer three scholarships of $500 each to be awarded to three first-place winners in the genres of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. These scholarships must be used to attend a writers’ conference, center, retreat, festival, or residency at one of the AWP member programs in the Directory of Conferences & Centers. All winners and six finalists will also receive a one-year individual membership.
Entry: $10
Deadline: Mar 31, 2023
Aesthetica Creative Writing Award for Poetry 2023
Prize: $3,000
The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award is a celebration of innovative new writing from across the globe. Each year, the competition invites submissions of poetry that redefine the parameters of form, concept and technique.
Entry: $15
Deadline: September 08, 2023
NOWW 25th International Writing Contest 2023
Prize: $150 CAD
A Canadian contest with an international flair. As part of our 25th anniversary celebration, we have increased the prize total to $1800 over six major categories: poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, crime fiction, literary critical writing, and The Bill MacDonald prize for prose (A Northwestern Ontario setting must be central to the work).
Entry: $10
Deadline: February 28, 2023
Minds Shine Bright Writing Competition 2023
Prize: $1,000
As we adjust to new realities, inflationary pressures, geo-political tensions, environmental challenges and more it’s time to imagine and explore. The Minds Shine Bright writing competition Confidence 2023 is open and calling for entries of short stories, short scripts, flash fiction and poetry which explore the theme of confidence in some way.
Entry: $4
Deadline: February 28, 2023
The Anne Marie Gracie Memorial Poetry Competition 2023
Prize: $118
The contest is a loving tribute to Anne Marie Gracie, who died of cancer. All profits from the competition will go to Ayrshire Cancer Support.
Entry: £3
Deadline: April 30, 2023
FanStory.com Inc. 2-4-2 Poetry Contest 2023
Prize: $100
Share a 2-4-2. What's that? That's a poem with only three lines that has 8 syllables total! So the first line of your poem will have two syllables. The second line will have four. And the final line will have two again. Cash prize to the winner.
Entry: $10
Deadline: July 11, 2023
The Nervous Ghost Press Book Prize 2023
Prize: $1,000
The 2021 Nervous Ghost Press Book Prizes are open to outstanding works of poetry and prose by anyone living in the United States of America. All work and all writers, from any point in their careers, are welcome to submit their work and get a chance of publication. Please submit a completed a manuscript (50,000-100,000 words for prose, 48-128 pages for poetry).
Entry: free
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Ever thought about writing stories?
Register now for our free 7 Day Story Writing Challenges. Write a short story in a week, get extensive feedback on your entry, and compete for a £500 prize in each round of the challenges.
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