The Poet of the Year Competition is open for 2025.
Submission Guidelines
- Open to adults over the age of 18.
- Welcoming national and international entries.
- Multiple submissions accepted.
- Any theme, any style, not exceeding 60 lines in length, excluding title and line breaks.
- Poem must be original and previously unpublished.
Entry fee: £5 per entry.
Judges
- Luigi Marchini (Chair, SaveAs Writers Group)
- Kerry Rawlinson (Joint Winner, Poet of the Year 2024)
- Gary Michael Studley (Joint Winner, Poet of the Year 2024)
Prizes:
The Awards Evening will take place on Thursday 2 October 2025 via Zoom when the winning poems will be announced.
- First place: named Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year and £300.
- Second Place: £150
- Third Place: £75
Deadline: Monday 2nd June 2025.
All submissions go via the Canterbury Festival website. See for further info.