This competition is now closed.

Thank you so much to all entrants. The longlist, shortlist and winners will be announced over the next few months. Keep checking our ‘Competitions’ section here on our website for more details.

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‘Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance’
– Carl Sandburg

The London Magazine has been home to some of the most prestigious poets in its long publishing history, from John Keats to Sylvia Plath. Our annual Poetry Prize seeks out new voices in poetry, providing a platform for publication in the UK’s oldest literary journal.

All poems submitted must be previously unpublished and no longer than 40 lines. We have no criteria as to theme, form or style but are looking for diverse work which is not afraid innovate and startle. This competition is open to international entries.

Prize information

Opening date: 1st May 2016
Closing date: 30th June 2016

First Prize: £300
Second Prize: £200 
Third Prize: £150

The winning poems will be published in future issues of The London Magazine and there will be an award ceremony held in London for the winners.

Judges

Andrew McMillan was born in South Yorkshire in 1988; his debut collection Physical was the first ever poetry collection to win The Guardian First Book Award. The collection also won the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize,  was shortlisted the Dylan Thomas Prize,  the Costa Poetry Award and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. It was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation for Autumn 2015.  In 2014 he received a substantial Northern Writers’ Award. He currently lectures in Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University and lives in Manchester.

 

 Rebecca Perry’s pamphlet, little armoured, was published by Seren in 2012 and won the Poetry Wales Purple Moose prize and was a Poetry Book Society Choice. Her first full collection, Beauty/Beauty, was published by Bloodaxe in January 2015 and is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, and was shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh Prize for Best First Collection and the T S Eliot Prize. She co-edits the online journal Poems In Which and is Writer Fellow at Manchester University.

 

 

How to enter

You will be able to enter using the below link to our Submittable portal from the opening date of the competition (now closed).

Postal: Please download and fill out the below form and send it with your entry to:

TLM Poetry Prize 2016
The London Magazine
11 Queen’s Gate,
London SW7 5EL

Word doc: Poetry Prize entry form 2016
PDF: Poetry Prize entry form 2016

Please remember to include a cheque or alternative payment details.

N.B. If you are submitting via Submittable you do not need to fill out an entry form.

Entry Fee

First entry: £7 
Subsequent entries: £5 (per poem)

Please only submit one poem per entry. There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit.

If submitting via Submittable payment can be made online. Entry fees for postal submissions can be paid by PayPal, cheque or card. Please state your method of payment on the entry form.

Important:

• Please read to competition rules carefully before entering. All rules must be adhered to.
• Make sure to include your completed entry form with your submission if submitting by any means other than Submittable. This can be downloaded from our website and sent to us by email or post.
• Any questions should be sent to competition@thelondonmagazine.org.

We look forward to recieving your poems.

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