Open Poetry Competition
Here’s a chance for poets worldwide to show off their talents and enter our Open Poetry 2025 competition. There’s a top prize of £1,000, with prizes of £500 and £250 for second and third-placed winners. There is also £100 for the best entry in the category for a local poet. Competitions opened on 1 April and closed on 30 June.
Open Poetry Judge 2025
Camille Ralphs
Camille has just had her first full collection of poems published by Faber & Faber, titled After You Were, Here I Am. Her work embodies themes of miracles and magic beginning with a reimagining of the Common Book of Prayer. In Malkin she gives voice to the women accused of witchcraft in the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612, while a third section revisits Elizabethan occultist John Dee. Camille is poetry editor of the Times Literary Supplement and teaches at the University of Oxford.
Competitions open 1 April 2025
Competitions opened 1 April and closed at 5pm on 30 June 2025.
The Prize Giving and Poetry Reading will take place on Monday 20 October starting at 2pm as part of the Festival.