Write Out Loud’s 2025 poetry competition – to mark this website’s 20th anniversary – is open for entries! The judge is celebrated Bloodaxe Books editor and anthologist, Neil Astley, pictured, and the theme is ‘Echoes’- a theme that is open to your own interpretation. The first prize is £500, second place £250, and third place £50. Entries are via the website only, and the cost of entry is £5 for one poem, £10 for two poems, and £12 for three poems. Any additional poems will cost £4 each. The deadline for entries is 11 April at 23.59 BST. Here’s how to enter your poems.

We are honoured to have Neil Astley, who has done so much to open the gates of poetry to all kinds of readers, as our judge of a final longlist of 100 poems, which will have been first sifted by filter judges.

What kind of poem will Neil be looking for? He said: “I am most interested in subject matter, breadth of vision, engagement with language, and a lively interplay of intellect and emotion.

“I want to be grabbed by a writer doing something different. Not just well written but an original voice.”

We will be adding our own helpful tips, plus some from other leading figures in the poetry world, during the competition entry window. Here’s an early one, which may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised …

Titles are important. Whatever you do, don’t title your poem simply ‘Echoes’. It won’t help it to stand out from the crowd!

Here’s the link to more details about the competition and its rules. We look forward to reading your entries!