The Poetry Society

Competitions and Awards

With its comprehensive list of competitions and prizes, the Poetry Society celebrates the achievements of poets working all over the world, whatever stage of their career they are at. With nearly £15,000 given in monetary prizes each year, along with courses, books, membership and publication, these competitions and prizes are a central part of the Poetry Society's work. To find out more about each of the awards read the brief introductions below, clicking on the links to find out more. Competitions are organised in order of their closing date.

SLAMbassadors UK
The SLAMbassadors championship, open to 12-18 year olds, showcases some of the best up and coming performance poets the UK has to offer. Winners join a master class weekend at the Poetry Society and perform live at a prestigious London venue. Currently accepting entries.

Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry
Awarded annually to a living UK poet, working in any form, who is judged to have made the most exciting contribution to the art form between 1 January and 31 December. Prize: £5,000. Poets are put forward for the award by Poetry Society and Poetry Book Society members. Recommendations for the 2011 award are currently being accepted.

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award
Open to poets aged 11-17, this competition is supported by the Foyle Foundation. The top fifteen winners aged 15-17 spend a week on an Arvon residency course with their judges. Winners in the 11-14 age range win a poet visit to their school. The competition will reopen in 2012.

Stanza Poetry Competition
An annual competition exclusively for Poetry Society members who are also Stanza members. The winner receives a free Poetry Prescription or a year's Membership, and the top 3 will be published on our Stanza Competition page online and featured in Poetry News. Open to Stanza members selected for Poetry News. The next competition will run in 2012.

National Poetry Competition
Established in 1978, this is one of the world's biggest single-poem poetry competitions. All poems are judged anonymously by a new set of judges each year. First prize £5,000, second £2,000, third £1,000. Open to anyone over the age of 17. The competition will reopen in 2012.

Geoffrey Dearmer Prize
An annual award for a poem published in Poetry Review  by a poet who is yet to publish a first collection. Open to poets published in Poetry Review. The next winner will be announced 2012.

The Hamish Canham Poetry Prize
A £300 award to the best poem by a Poetry Society member published in Poetry News each year. Open to members whose poems have been selected for Poetry News. The next winner will be announced in 2012.

Corneliu M Popescu Prize for European Poetry Translation
A biennial prize run by the Poetry Society in conjunction with The Ratiu Foundation for published collections of poetry translated from a European language into English. The prize is named after Corneliu M Popescu, a young Romanian translator killed in an earthquake in 1977. Prize: £1,500. The prize will next accept submissions on 2013.

The Norman Hidden Prize Competition 
This competition is open to Youth Members of the Poetry Society aged 11-18. Three young poets will win prizes of £300. This generous dontaion is made by Joyce Hidden, widow of distinguished Poetry Society member Norman Hidden and marks their enthusiasm for young peoples' engagement with poetry. Not currently running.

Seeing Further: Poems on the Underground Competition
In 2010, to help the Poems on the Underground explore the relationship between poetry and science, and to celebrate the Royal Society’s 350th birthday, Poetry Society Youth Members and Foyle Young Poets aged 19 or under were invited to submit poems on the theme of science. Competition now closed.