News

August 2010
A film version of 'The Lammas Hireling' by Ian Duhig (first prize, NPC 2000) will be shown in October as part of the Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin. More information.

July 2010
Congratulations to Ian Pindar (second prize, NPC 2009), who has been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for best single poem, and Helen Oswald (commended, NPC 2008), shortlisted for best first collection.

April 2010The 2010 National Poetry Competition is open for entries and our judges have been announced. They are: George Szirtes, Deryn Rees-Jones and Sinead Morrissey.

March 2010
Congratulations to Helen Dunmore, who has been announced the winner of the 2009 National Poetry Competition with her poem 'The Malarkey'. Two runners up were also announced at the prize giving ceremony on March 30, along with ten commended poets.

January 2010
Congratulations to Philip Gross, winner of the 1982 National Poetry Competition, who has been awarded the T.S. Eliot Prize for his book The Water Table. Also on the Eliot shortlist was Sinead Morrissey, winner of the 2007 NPC.

Sponsorship

If you or your organisation is interested in sponsoring the National Poetry Competition, please click here.

 

The 2010 National Poetry Competition is open for entries!

Before entering please be sure to read the rules, and if you have any questions please see our Frequently Asked Questions. Last year's judges have very kindly provided us with some very handy tips towards making a successful entry.

Poems complete? Ready to submit them to our judges? Click here to enter.

The closing date for the competition is 31 October 2010. If you would rather print an entry form and enter by post, click here.

Prizes

First Prize: £5,000
Second Prize: £2,000
Third Prize: £1,000
Seven Commendations: £100

The winning poems will be published in leading poetry periodical Poetry Review and on the Poetry Society's website. The overall winner will be invited to read at Ledbury Poetry Festival in the summer of 2011.

Last Year's Winners

The winner of the National Poetry Competition 2009 was Helen Dunmore with her poem 'The Malarkey'. To read her winning poem, and other prize-winning poems from last year and previous years, please visit our history section.

About the National Poetry Competition

Established in 1978, the National Poetry Competition is one of the longest running and widely respected single poem poetry competitions. Winning has given an important boost to a plethora of now widely known poets, including current Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and 2009 T.S. Eliot Prize-winner Philip Gross. It is judged anonymously by a new set of judges each year.

2010 National Poetry Competition Judges

This year's 2010 National Poetry Competition judges are (left to right): Sinéad Morrissey, George Szirtes and Deryn Rees-Jones

 

 

2009: Poet and novelist Helen Dunmore wins the National Poetry Competition

From left to right: Ian Pindar (2nd), Ruth Padel (Judge), Neil Rollinson (Judge), Helen Dunmore (Winner), Daljit Nagra (Judge) and John Stammers (3rd).






Winners

The winners of the 2009 National Poetry Competition were announced at a prize giving ceremony on 30 March 2010 at the Savile Club in London's Mayfair. Click on the links below to read their poems and the poems of the ten commended poets. The top three winning poems were also published in the spring 2010 issue of Poetry Review. You can enter the 2010 National Poetry Competition here.

First Prize: ‘The Malarkey’ by Helen Dunmore
Second Prize: ‘Mrs Beltinska in the Bath’ by Ian Pindar
Third Prize: ‘Mr Punch in Soho’ by John Stammers

Commended Poems:
‘Jake Root’ by Jon Stone
‘M Trouvé’ by Neil Lockwood
‘Lifting the Lid’ by Valerie Laws
‘After the Washing’ by  J.P. Nosbaum
‘Burlap Man’ by Peter Kahn
‘Rain Delay’ by Sam Riviere
‘Evidence’ by Julie Collar
‘The Body in the Library’ by Jane Yeh
‘Searching for an Affordable Crossbow’ by Frank Ortega
‘Transparency’ by Cherry Smyth