2019 Competitions: It’s Time to Enter
April 1 2019
Spring is here – and so are the Festival’s hugely popular International Competitions. This year once again we are running four categories so there is a chance for all to get involved – wherever your particular talent lies, and whatever your age.
We have some eminent names on our judging panel and are confident of receiving an extremely high standard of entry to match.
Open Poetry Competition
Our Open Poetry judge is Simon Armitage, the award-winning poet who has become a household name. He writes extensively for television, theatre and radio and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. He was also elected Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford (2015-2019) and received the 2018 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. His latest collection is Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic
Short Story Competition
Our Short Story judge is the equally well-known Mark McCrum who began his career as a travel writer. With a string of brilliant best-sellers to his name, he then turned to crime. The first was entitled (rather worryingly!) The Festival Murders to be followed last year by its sequel Cruising to Murder. Both received rave reviews.
Book for Children Competition
Gill Lewis is our Book for Children judge. Her books have been published in more than 25 languages and have won prizes for environmental literature both in the UK and abroad, including the US Green Earth Book Award and the German Prize for Environmental Literature for Young People.
Prize money is these three categories is 1st £750, 2nd £300, 3rd £200 plus a special prize of £100 for the best local writer.
Young Poets Competition
We are also again running our exciting and inspirational Young Poets Competition to be judged by Miriam Nash – a poet, performer and educator. Her first collection of poems All the Prayers in the House was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2017. It won an Eric Gregory Award (2015) and was runner-up for the Edwin Morgan Award (2016). This competition is open to anyone aged between 16 and 22 inclusive, and prizes in this category are: 1st £150 and a year’s subscription to the Poetry Society, 2nd £75, 3rd £50
The Prize Giving plus a poetry reading will be held this year in a new location: Richie Hall in the beautiful grounds of Wells Cathedral School. This wonderful celebration of talent from all over the world will take place during the Festival on Sunday 20 October.
The 2019 International Competitions: Winners have been announced.