In a few days’ time Write Out Loud will be launching a big poetry competition to mark our 20th anniversary year. We’re very excited about it! The theme of the competition will be ‘Echoes’ – and it will be judged by Neil Astley, the hugely-regarded editor of Bloodaxe Books. The competition’s launch date is Monday 10 February – and that’s when we’ll be revealing full details of how to enter, how to check the rules, the entry fees, and so on. The competition will close on 11 April.

Our judge Neil Astley has over the years edited a series of anthologies – the Staying Alive series - that many people feel great affection for, including those who may not have many other books of poetry on their shelves. It seems hard to believe now, but back in the day some members of the poetry establishment accused Neil of being populist and “selling poetry out”. Now, looking back, it’s clear that those anthologies played a big part in changing attitudes, introducing thousands of readers to contemporary poetry, and bringing others back to poetry who had previously felt excluded from it.  

That’s why we’re so happy to have Neil as our judge – because that’s exactly what Write Out Loud feels about its own mission, ever since we set up this website 20 years ago. As our banner says, we aim to help change lives through poetry  - whether by sharing your poems with others on the blogs, learning about other poetry already out there through our news and reviews, and perhaps most important of all, finding out where live poetry is taking place through our Gig Guide.

So get ready for our competition launch date of Monday 10 February – and start thinking about what poems you might write on the theme of ‘Echoes’!

Background: How we started Write Out Loud - Julian Jordon looks back 

PHOTOGRAPH: PAMELA ROBERTSON-PEARCE