Poetry Competition – Final Chance To Enter For 2020

Time is running out to enter the East Riding Festival of Words Poetry Competition for 2020. It will reach its climax with an online event on Saturday, 28 January 2021.

The event will celebrate the winning poets, hear from the judges, and listen to the winning poems. However, the closing date for entries to be submitted and paid for will be Saturday, 28 November 2020.

The theme of the competition this year is ‘My Companion, My Best Friend’. Entries will be judged by a panel consisting of Matthew Hedley Stoppard and Wendy Pratt, and James Booth of the Philip Larkin Society, and led by James Nash, local writer and poet, who shares his time between Leeds and Bridlington.

Poems are submitted anonymously so that each is judged purely on its merits. Entries are open now and cost £4 per entry and can be submitted online.

Prizes on offer for the winning entries include the £500 CollectionHQ prize (CollectionHQ are the leading collection performance improvement solution for public libraries); the £250 Philip Larkin Society Prize ( the Society was founded in 1995 to spread appreciation of his work, and to promote poetry); and the East Riding Gold Prize of £200 and the East Riding Silver Prize of £150.

Poetry Competition Has Dedicated Prizes For Young People

Also, there will be six Highly Commended prizes of £25 each (two for adults and two each for primary and secondary school pupils); a Prison Competition prize of a £100 voucher.

While there is a Young Poets’ Prize which school pupils could win £75. There are a total of four prizes for primary school pupils and four for secondary school pupils.

Councillor Shaun Horton, the portfolio holder for tourism, culture and leisure is certainly backing the competition, he said;

“The theme is particularly relevant this year. I believe that people will be appreciating a best friend or companion even more than before, or may have found an unlikely best friend or companion throughout this pandemic?”

“If you haven’t already submitted your entry, it’s not too late.”

Anyone who wants to enter can submit their entry online by clicking here.