Competitions, Writing

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award [For Young Poets 11 to 17 Years Old]: Submit Entries by July 31!

Saheb Nanda

Jul 17, 2023
5 min read

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Submissions are invited for the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award for young poets 11 to 17 years old. Submit entries by July 31, 2023!

About the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is an opportunity for any young person aged 11-17 to accelerate their writing career. Since it was founded in 1998, the Award has kick-started the career of some of today’s most exciting new voices, such as Sarah Howe, Jay Bernard, Helen Mort, Richard Osmond, Caroline Bird, Phoebe Stuckes and many more poets from across the world. With entries from over 6,600 young people last year from across 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 top Winners) are chosen by two high-profile poets, and receive their awards at an annual prize-giving event in October. 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. Winners receive amazing prizes including membership of The Poetry Society and a stack of poetry goodies. Winners also get the chance to receive mentoring and develop their creative writing skills alongside fellow poets, or benefit from poetry residencies at their school or online writing workshops.

You can read last year’s top 15 winning poems in our anthology Lullabies of Distant Traffic, which were selected last year by poets Anthony Anaxagorou and Mona Arshi.

These winners are among the most promising young literary talent in the UK; many of our former winners have gone on to publish work with major publishing houses such as Faber & Faber, Carcanet and Chatto & Windus and won prestigious competitions including the Ted Hughes Award, Forward Prizes and the T.S. Eliot Prize. We support them to establish themselves in the literary and publishing world through a number of initiatives, such as editorial opportunities and showcasing events.

Deadline

Midnight, July 31, 2023 (BST).

Judges

Jonathan Edwards.
Jane Yeh.

Important Details

Free to enter.
Open to everyone aged between 11-17 on July 31, 2023.
Poems must be written in English, but you can include phrases in your mother tongue or another language.
If you would like to enter an entry in British Sign Language or Braille then please contact fyp[at]poetrysociety[dot]org[dot]uk.
Please read the rest of the rules.
If you require this information in an alternative accessible format please contact fyp[at]poetrysociety[dot]org[dot]uk.

Rules for Participating

General Rules

You must be aged 11-17 on the closing date of July 31, 2023 in order 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 selection of your very best. Remember, quality is more important than quantity.
The competition is free to enter and poems can be of any length and on any theme.
Your work is accepted because it will be its first publication anywhere in the world. This includes anthologies, magazines, solo collections, school prints, and school newsletters; online, blogs and magazines; social media such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram; poems cannot have been broadcast on any regional, national or online TV station or via any radio platform.
Poems cannot have won any other competition.
Poems must be the original work of the author (we do run checks for plagiarism on all selected poems).
Poems must be written in English, but you can include phrases in your mother tongue or another language. If you would like to enter an entry in British Sign Language or Braille then please contact fyp[at]poetrysociety[dot]org[dot]uk.
You may not enter a poem written by more than one author.
Entries will be accepted from anywhere in the world. (Please note that we are unable to cover international travel fees for winners to attend the award ceremony.)
Competition entries cannot be returned under any circumstances. Please make sure you keep a record of all poems entered and send copies only.
Entries will NOT be accepted via email. If you would like to enter online, please continue through the online system on this website or email fyp[at]poetrysociety[dot]org[dot]uk if you are having problems with your submission.
By entering this competition, entrants agree that their poems and data may be used by The Poetry Society, including for research purposes. Occasionally The Poetry Society works with academic and cultural partners to produce academic research. By entering this competition, you are also agreeing that your anonymised data and poems can be used in such research.
If you are 11-12, your parent or guardian will need to give permission for you to enter. Without this permission we are not allowed to keep information about you, such as your contact details. This is because of data protection rules. Permission can be given online or by sending in the parent or guardian permission form.
Teachers, librarians and youth leaders do not have to use the permission form but should comply with their organisation’s GDPR policy. If you have any questions please get in touch with The Poetry Society on fyp[at]poetrysociety[dot]org[dot]uk or 020-7420 9885 and they will be happy to help.
The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into concerning this decision.
All online entries must be received by midnight BST on July 31, 2023. Late online entries will not be accepted under any circumstances.
All postal entries must be post-dated on or before July 31, 2023. Late postal entries will not be accepted under any circumstances.
Due to the large number of entrants we are unable to respond individually to submissions.
No acknowledgement of receipt can be made for postal entries unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included with the entry.

Rules for Winners

All 100 winning poets (top 15 and 85 commended) will be notified in September 2023 and invited to an award ceremony in October 2023 (date TBC). All winners will be required to provide a biography, photograph, permission form and proof of age.
Due to the sheer volume of entries, only successful entrants will be notified. Details of the full winner’s list will be announced publicly on The Poetry Society website in early October 2023.
The copyright of each poem remains with the author. However, by entering the competition, authors of the winning poems grant The Poetry Society the right to publish and/or broadcast their poem, and to do this before anyone else. If you allow your winning poem to be published after the winners’ announcement in early October 2023, you agree to acknowledge The Poetry Society by using the words “First published by The Poetry Society for the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2023” and include a hyperlink to www.foyleyoungpoets.org.
Authors of the winning poems will grant The Poetry Society irrevocable, non-exclusive licence to republish the work in perpetuity, including (but not limited to):
- Publishing the work online, including The Poetry Society website. The Poetry Society will notify the writer if a third party requests permission to use their work in any way;
- Production of reprints;
- Publication (in print or online) of the work as part of an anthology or as an educational resource.

All the rights mentioned above cover distribution or publication anywhere in the world.