********A chance to write your name in your stars********

    Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2012 opens for entries!

Judges: Helen Mort and Christopher Reid. Deadline for Entries: 31st July 2012. Enter online here

Download Press Release

"Entering the Foyle Young Poets of the Year competition was one of the best things I’ve ever done; judging it is a dream I didn’t think would come true. It proves what a good idea dreaming is! I’m looking forward to reading poems that move, surprise, intrigue and inspire me, poems that pull away my chair while I’m not looking.”
                                                                                   Former Foyle Winner and 2012 Judge, Helen Mort

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is an opportunity for any young poet aged 11-17 to accelerate their writing career. Since it began 15 years ago the Award has kick-started the career of some of today’s most exciting new voices, including this year’s judge Helen Mort, a highly successful poet whose next collection is to be published by Chatto & Windus. With entries from over 7,200 young people last year across from the UK and worldwide, it is the largest competition of its kind and its importance is widely attested.

Each year 100 winners (85 Commendations and 15 Overall Winners) are selected by a team of high profile judges, and receive their awards at an annual prize-giving event on National Poetry Day. Thanks to funding from the Foyle Foundation the competition remains completely free to enter and we are able to offer a wide range of prizes, opportunities and resources to young people and schools across the UK. Overall  Winners from the 15 to 17 age category attend a week-long intensive residential Arvon course where they develop their creative writing skills alongside fellow poets. Winners aged 11-14 group benefit from poetry residencies at their school followed by distance mentoring.

These winners are among the most promising young literary talent in the UK, and the ceremony is the first step in an ongoing process of developing this potential; many of our former winners have gone on to publish work with major publishing houses such as Faber & Faber and Carcanet, and we support them through a number of initiatives helping them to establish themselves in the literary and publishing world.

How to enter:

The competition is free to enter. Individuals may enter more than one poem, however we strongly advise that you concentrate on drafting and redrafting your poems and send only a small selection of your very best (we suggest no more than 6-8 maximum). Remember, quality is more important than quantity! Please read the full rules carefully.

Individuals: Enter online here or download a postal entry form

Teachers:  Download a Class Set Entry Form here and you can also request a Class Set of Anthologies, Poster and Entry forms below

The Foyle Winners 2011 Anthology: Fools for Love and Salt

We are delighted to launch the  Foyle Winners anthology Fools for Love and Salt featuring the top fifteen winning poems of the 2011 competition and artwork by James Brown (along with the names of the commended poets). It will be distributed over March and April 2012  free to over 24,000 Poetry Society members, schools, libraries, arts organisations, publichers, past entrants and individuals right across the UK. The anthology also has an entry form inside for postal entries and includes further info on the Award. 

Individuals If you live in the UK and would like to receive a FREE anthology please simply email fyp@poetrysociety.org.uk with your full name and postal address and 'FYP 2012 Anthology Request' in the subject header. These are available to anyone with a healthy curiosity about poetry and great writing - but particularly if you want to go ahead and enter yourself this year! (Please note this is for UK only, we are no longer able to send anthologies outside the UK due to prohibitive postage costs - See our online version of the Anthology instead)

Teachers - All UK teachers are invited to request a free class set of 15 x anthologies, a gorgeous A2 display poster and entry form - a fantastic way to inspire creative writing in the class room - simply email fyp@poetrysociety.org.uk with your full name, teaching position, and school address and postcode.

International Schools: Do have a look at our online version of the Anthology and download a printable A4 Poster to use in schools and other institutions (Please note we are no longer able to send anthologies outside the UK due to prohibitive postage costs). We endeavour to send out all requests within 10 days, whilst stocks last.