Buxton Poetry Competition
The theme for this year’s Buxton Poetry Competition is ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’, and will be judged by Ann and Peter Sansom – directors of The Poetry Business.
Poets are invited to use their imagination to interpret the theme – which could refer to a time, a place, a person, a feeling ... or whatever else you can imagine. Poems should be 40 lines or less, but do not have to be connected to Buxton or any other location or event.
There are three categories: Children’s Poetry – open to children up to the age of 11 (age at 1st April, 2010); Young People’s Poetry – open to those aged between 12 and 18; and Open Poetry – for those aged 19 and over.
There will be five finalists from each category, selected by a panel of judges. The first three winners from the Open Category will each receive a cash prize (£300, £200 and £100 respectively); whilst the first three winners from the Young People’s and Children’s Categories will each receive Waterstone’s book tokens. The fifteen finalists will have their work exhibited in the Devonshire Dome during Buxton Festival 2010, as well as being announced in the local media and listed on the University and Festival’s websites, as well as being invited to an Awards Event at the Devonshire Dome during the festival. Whilst the three first-place poems will be published in the 2010 Festival programme, and the writers of those will have an opportunity to read their poems at the Awards Event.
The closing date for entries is 1st April 2010. There is a charge of £5 per poem, and all poems must be accompanied by a completed entry form, and may not be submitted by email. Full rules can be found, and the entry form can be downloaded from the Poetry Business website at:
