PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS OF ENTRY CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SEND US YOUR POEMS.
ENTRIES THAT DON'T COMPLY WITH THEM MAY BE DISQUALIFIED WITHOUT REFUND.
Maximum length of each poem entered, excluding title and any blank lines, is 40 lines.
Each entered poem, including its title, should be typed single-spaced one side of a single A4 sheet (in a standard 10 or 12 point font is recommended) Do not include unnecessary visual design elements such as images, colours or unusual fonts. It is important that the poem is on one single A4 sheet, not running into 2 pages.
Your name should not be on your poem. The poems are judged anonymously, to ensure the integrity of the judging process. Please ensure your name is on your entry form.
Poems must not have been published anywhere in the world prior to 28 March 2025
Poems must not have been awarded any poetry prize anywhere in the world prior to 28 March 2025.
Poems must be the original work of the entrant.
Each postal entry (of one or up to a maximum of six poems) should be accompanied by a postal entry form which you can download from the website.
You may enter up to a maximum of six poems in total. No entrant may win more than one prize.
Online Entry fee: £5.00 per poem. Card payment will be taken as part of submitting your online entry.
Postal Entry fee: £6.00 per poem. Cheques must be in pounds sterling, drawn on a UK bank and made payable to 'The Plough Arts Centre'.
Please keep a copy of your work, as we cannot return entries.
Please check your entry before you send it: ensure that poems fully comply with the rules - particularly that it is 40 lines max on ONE side of A4, does not include your name - and that your entry is the correct one with no mistakes. Once uploaded or sent with entry fee, they cannot be altered or refunds given and we cannot respond to further email or phone correspondance. You may withdraw any poem from entry after it has been submitted, but the entry fee is not refundable.
Employees and trustees of The Plough Arts Centre are not permitted to enter the competition, and nor is anyone involved in the administration of the competition.
Entries close at 5pm (UK time) on 28 March 2025. Entries received after this deadline will not be accepted for any reason. If entering by post, please leave enough time to ensure delivery of your entry before the deadline. If delivering your entry by hand, please check the opening hours of the Plough box office on 28 March, as we can only accept entries when the building is staffed; entries posted through our letterbox after this time will not be recorded as received until the next day, and so will not be entered into the competition.
The judge's decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. Results, including long and short listings, will be published on this website by 27 May 2025.
You retain all copyright, publishing rights and any other intellectual property rights to your poem(s). By entering your poem(s) you grant to us - on a non-exclusive, non-commercial, royalty-free basis - the right to publish, broadcast, perform and reproduce your poem(s), worldwide and in perpetuity, for the purpose of promoting the Prize.
