Deadline: 31 July 2012
With entries from over 7,200 young people last year across from the UK and worldwide, Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is the largest competition of its kind and its importance is widely attested. Poems can be entered by anyone aged 11-17 from anywhere in the world.
THE FOYLE YOUNG POETS OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is an opportunity for any young poet aged 11-17 to accelerate their writing career. Since it began 15 years ago the Award has kick-started the career of some of today’s most exciting new voices, including this year’s judge Helen Mort, a highly successful poet whose next collection is to be published by Chatto & Windus.
Each year 100 winners (85 Commendations and 15 Overall Winners) are selected by a team of high profile judges, and receive their awards at an annual prize-giving event on National Poetry Day. 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 to young people and schools across the UK.
Overall Winners from the 15 to 17 age category attend a week-long intensive residential Arvon course where they develop their creative writing skills alongside fellow poets. Winners aged 11-14 group benefit from poetry residencies at their school followed by distance mentoring.
These winners are among the most promising young literary talent in the UK, and the ceremony is the first step in an ongoing process of developing this potential; many of our former winners have gone on to publish work with major publishing houses such as Faber & Faber and Carcanet, and we support them through a number of initiatives helping them to establish themselves in the literary and publishing world.
FOYLE YOUNG POETS- THE PRIZES:
There are 15 Overall Winners and 85 Commended Poets.
- The 15 Overall Winners aged 11-17 will have their poems printed in the winners' anthology and all Commended Poets will have their name published inside - 20,000+ of these are sent out across the UK and beyond.
- 15-17 year olds in the Overall Winners category will attend a week-long residential course at one of the prestigious Arvon Centres - take a look at a previous course here
- 11-14 year olds in the Overall Winners category will win a short residency in their school by a leading poet followed by distance mentoring
- All 100 winners (Overall and Commended) receive a year's Youth Membership and the opportunity to contribute to our brand new YM magazine
- All 100 winners (Overall and Commended) will be invited to a prestigious Awards Ceremony in London in October 2011
- All 100 winners (Overall and Commended) will receive prizes including books published by Faber & Faber, Bloodaxe Books, Carcanet, Picador, Seren, and tall-lighthouse
- Extra goodies to be supplied courtesey of Divine Chocolate
- Each Winner receives a beautiful Paperblanks notebook for their future scribblings
- The 6 schools who inspire the most entries will receive a special selection of books from Carcanet, Faber & Faber, Bloodaxe Books tall-lighthouse, Seren Books and Picador for their libraries
- Each year we award we select a small group of new Teacher Trailblazers who have demonstrated outstanding innovation and commitment to inspiring young people to write poetry who will be invited to and celebrated at the award ceremony in London on National Poetry Day, 4th October 2012
RULES:
You must be aged 11-17 on the closing date of the 31st July 2012 (i.e. Under 18 years old) in order to enter. The competition closes at midnight on the 31st July 2012.
FYP is about what you want to write. So you can enter poems written in class, or poems you've written at home, from exercises or from your own imaginings. The competition is free to enter and poems can be of any length and on any theme. 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 (we suggest no more than 6-8 absolute maximum) of your very best. Remember, quality is more important than quantity!
Please take a moment to read the full rules carefully:
- Each poem must be the original work of the author, and must not have been previously published (online on any website, blog or on social media i.e. Twitter or Facebook), broadcast on TV or radio or have won another competition.
- Entrants must be aged 11-17 on the closing date of the 31st July 2012.
- Poems must be in English and can be entered by anyone aged 11-17 from anywhere in the world (however please note that we are unable to cover the travel fees for any Top Fifteen International Winners invited to the Arvon Course).
- Competition entries cannot be returned under any circumstances so please make sure you make note of all poems entered and send copies only.
- Please note that entries sent in by e-mail (as attachement or written in the body of email) will not be accepted under any circumstances. If you would like to enter online only entries through the formal online form at http://foyleyoungpoets.org/entry will be accepted.
- Due to the large number of entrants we are unable to respond individually to submissions.
- No acknowledgment of receipt can be made for postal entries unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included with the entry. Please ensure the correct postage is used as late entries cannot be accepted. NB online entries will receive an email notification if a correct email address is provided.
- The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into concerning this decision.
- All online entries must be received by midnight on the 31st July 2012. Late entries will not be accepted under any circumstances.
- All postal entries must be post dated on or before the 31st July 2012.
- Winning poets will be notified directly between the 13th and 20th September 2012.
- Unsuccessful applicants will not be notified, but full winners will be announced publicly on the website on the 4th October 2012.
- The copyright of each poem remains with the author. Authors of the winning poems will grant the Poetry Society permission to publish or broadcast the poems.
- All 100 winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony on National Poetry Day, the 4th October 2012, in London.
HOW TO ENTER:
The competition is free 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 small selection of your very best (we suggest no more than 6-8 maximum). Remember, quality is more important than quantity!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: fyp@poetrysociety.org.uk
For submissions: enter online here
Website: http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk