Poetry (40 lines max)

1st prize: £1000. 2nd prize: £300. 3rd prize: £100

40 lines max.

Poems up to 40 lines. No theme. On whatever subject fascinates you. You can write less if you want to, but you have 40 lines to express yourself fully and catch the eye of our most astute judge.

Pascale Petit was a co-founder of The Poetry School, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She has judged many prizes and was Chair of the 2015 T.S. Eliot Prize.

Pascale has written eight collections of poetry: Heart of a Deer (1998), The Zoo Father (2001), The Huntress (2005), The Treekeeper’s Tale (2008), What the Water Gave Me: Poems after Frida Kahlo (2010), Fauverie (2014), Mama Amazonica (2017) and Tiger Girl (2020). She has also published a pamphlet of poems, The Wounded Deer: Fourteen Poems after Frida Kahlo (2005).

Pascale’s eighth collection of poetry, Tiger Girl (Bloodaxe, 2020), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize and for Wales Book of the Year. Her seventh, Mama Amazonia (Bloodaxe, 2017), won the inaugural Laurel Prize, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and was a Poetry Book Society Choice. Four previous collections were shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize.

So, send Pascale your poems. To be long listed (final 20) will be a peacock feather in your cap. To be shortlisted in the Top 10, or place second or third, or win will be a validation of your skills and get you published in our inaugural anthology.

The Prizes

First Prize: £1000

Second Prize: £300

Third Place: £100

Top 10

The 10 shortlisted entries will be published in The Plaza Prizes Anthology, which will be launched at our inaugural awards ceremony in 2023.

Terms and Conditions

Rules

Rules

Deadline: 31st May 2023
Writers can enter any number of times. (£11.00 Subsequent entry: £5.50)
Poems can be in any style or form, but must be in English, and written for adults.
Entries must be submitted online. No email submissions. In exceptional circumstances, postal entry may be accepted, as long as a cheque made out for the correct entry fee is sent to The Plaza Prizes Ltd. (Postal address is on Contact Form.)
Enter the correct version of your work. If you make a mistake, entry fees will not be refunded. (You will have to enter again.)

Eligibility

Read the rules carefully before entering the competition. Entry implies acceptance of all the rules and failure to comply will result in disqualification.

All entries are judged anonymously. Please do not include your name, address, phone number, email, website, twitter handle etc on the document or in the file name or it will be disqualified.

Entries will be disqualified if they are over the 40 line limit, and there will be no refund.

Entries must be entirely your own work.

Entries must NOT have been published traditionally because we will publish the 10 shortlisted in our inaugural anthology. Self-published poems ARE eligible for entry.

Entries must NOT have won in any other competition. If your entry was long-listed or shortlisted in other competitions it is eligible.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed but if an entry wins a prize elsewhere, is published or scheduled for future publication, prior to the date of prize giving, you must inform us to withdraw immediately. Entry fees will not be refunded.

Length

Maximum 40 lines.

Fees

£11 per poem. (Subsequent entry: £5.50)

Entries must be submitted online via Submittable. No email or snail-mail submissions.

Format

Entries must be typed in Times New Roman 12 pt font, SINGLE- or DOUBLE-spaced the poem’s title on the top of the first page. (Any minor formatting issues will not lead to disqualification. PLease just make sure your work is as easy to read as possible.)
Save as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF file with the title as the file name. Do not include your name in the file name as this will lead to disqualification.
Max 2MB file. Include the line count for the poem, top right, first page.
Do not add cover pages
No illustrated work

Judging

The judges’ decision is final. No individual correspondence can be entered into. Judges are unable to comment on individual entries. The Plaza Prizes reserves the right to change the judge without notice.

Copyright

Copyright remains with the author, but The Plaza Prizes reserves the right to publish poems in an anthology and use extracts from any of the 10 shortlisted poems for publicity purposes.

Results & Awards

The Poetry 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prize-winners will be announced on the website and social media in August 2023. The 10 short-listed entries will be published in The Plaza Prizes Anthology, which will be launched at our awards ceremony in 2023.

Bursary Scheme

In 2022-2023, we are offering 100 FREE ENTRY BURSARIES across all our competitions to poets on low incomes, and from underrepresented groups. You can apply for a bursary if low income, class, race, age, gender, sexuality, caring responsibilities, location, disability, or mental and physical health affects your writing. We want to encourage equality to discover quality new writing from diverse voices. Click here to apply for our Bursary Scheme.

Finally

The Plaza Prizes reserves the right to amend the rules where it deems necessary. Any changes to the rules will be posted on our website.

If you have a query about eligibility, please contact: hello@theplazaprizes.com