We are excited to announce that our 2022 Poet of the Year Competition will launch on March 1. Open to entries on any subject and in any format, we look forward to an array of poems from across the world! Poems must be no longer than 60 lines and entrants must be over 18. The first prize for the Poet of the Year is £200, second place receives £100 and third receives £50.

All entries must be accompanied by a completed entry form which can be downloaded here, and full Terms and Conditions can be downloaded here. Poems are judged totally anonymously.

A longlist of around 35 poems is chosen from the entries and these are included in the annual Poet of the Year anthology – available to purchase from the Festival Office and online from October. From the longlist, a shortlist of around 15 poems are selected and the poets are invited to read them at the Awards Evening on October 6 where the winners will be announced. We are delighted that this year’s event will be held by Zoom, allowing poets from around the world to attend.

The entry fee is £5 per poem with all proceeds supporting Canterbury Festival and its work. The deadline for entries is June 3, 2022. 

Contact Tina at [email protected] if you require any further information.