Poetry competition open ahead of literature festival

The competition is open to people globally but there will be a prize for the best poem submitted in Wolverhampton

A worldwide poetry competition is open to entries for the eighth year running, as part of a city's literature festival.

Entries have opened ahead of the Wolverhampton Literature Festival, which will be held in venues across the city centre in January and February 2025.

While the competition is open to poets globally, there will be an additional prize of £50 for the best poem sent in by someone living in a WV postcode.

Poems can be sent in anytime between now and midnight on 31 December.

The competition has a £400 first prize, £150 second prize, and three third place prizes of £25.

Poet Holly Magill will judge the main competition, while the Wolverhampton postcode prize will be chosen by Dave Pitt, associate artist at the city’s Arena Theatre.

Ms Magill said: "I am thrilled to be judging the Wolverhampton Literary Festival Poetry Competition and am very much looking forward to reading what I’m sure will be an eclectic and exciting variety of work.

"It’s difficult to be specific in what I am looking for because great poems have a wonderful habit of zinging from the page to completely knock your socks off when least expected."

Poet Holly Magill is judging the competition this year

Anyone over 16 can enter the competition, and the fee is £4 for one poem, or three poems can be entered for £10.

The 2025 Wolverhampton Literature Festival will take place over the weekend of 3 January - 2 February.

The winners are due to be announced towards the end of the festival on 27 January.