We are now accepting poems on the themes of:

Root | Essence | Journey.

You can enter up to THREE poems per person.     This year, our competition is part of A Poet in Every Port Celebration with Southbank Centre and Aspects Literary Festival. There will be NO ENTRANCE FEE this year.

All poems must be in    English    and    previously unpublished    (they should not have been published online, in print, on social media or blogs).     They should be    no longer than 40 lines    (not including title or stanza breaks) and can be in any style. (Traditional right through to experimental!)

Please submit your three poems using the form below.

Interpret the themes as you may- take them literally or turn them on their head. We do advise against titling your poems after any of the themes or heavily relying on the use of these actual terms within your work— instead go for something original.

*The deadline for submissions is: 12 midnight Sunday 6th September 2026.    *     Within two weeks of the deadline    a shortlist of 10 poems shall be announced.     These 10 poems will then be displayed on our website in an online gallery and voted on by the public as part of Aspects Literary Festival’s Poetry in Every Port Celebration.     (Strictly one vote per person, which will be checked carefully.)

The winners will be announced at The Bangor Literary Journal Launch event which is part of the prestigious Aspects Literary Festival: Sunday 27th September 2026 at 7pm.     All shortlisted poets will be invited to attend and read their poem. All shortlisted poets who attend on the day, will be presented with a framed certificate. The 10 shortlisted poems will be published in Issue 24 of The Bangor Literary Journal. A Longlist will also be announced, but these poems will not be published.

There are no cash prizes this year, however the winner will be included in our special ‘A Poet in Every Port’ feature; and will be invited to read at a future event.

    

Guidelines:

• Please submit your work via the form below.
• Submit a maximum of THREE previously unpublished poems on this year’s themes (we consider it published if it has appeared on: social media, on line or in print) no longer than 40 lines long (not including title or spacing or stanza breaks).
• Poems should be written in English. Exceptions to English are other language words used for effect within the poem, which has a main body of English language.
• Poems must be your OWN work. Please DO NOT use AI.
• Poems should be single spaced and in New Times Roman, size 12 unless the poem is a shape/ concrete poem and does not adhere to these conventions.
• Poems should be in a separate Word document attached to the form. There should not be any traces of your name within the document, as work is read anonymously.
• Include a brief note, author’s    bio (no more than 50 words), contact details and an author photo in the form.
• We accept all forms of poetry: traditional to experimental, but it should be word based.
• Work cannot be changed once it has been sent to us.
• Unfortunately,    we cannot accept simultaneous submissions- Please DO NOT send us poems that you have also sent (at the same time) to other competitions/ journals.
• You retain the rights to your work, however we can use your work in upcoming features etc.     Please credit us in future with first publication of the piece.
• You can enter from anywhere in the world.
• We welcome established, emerging and first time poets!
• You must be 18 years or older to enter.

SUBMIT YOUR THREE POEMS HERE:

Get your free tickets to this year’s special celebration event HERE!

The 13th Bangor Poetry Competition and Launch of Issue 24 of The Bangor Literary Journal | Aspects

Join Paul Daniel Rafferty and Amy Louise Wyatt for the 13th Bangor Poetry Competition and launch of Issue 24 of The Bangor Literary Journal.

As part of the Southbank Centre’s A Poet in Every Port Project, this year’s winners will be included in a focus feature on The Bangor Literary Journal’s website.

The themes for 2026 are:    Root | Essence | Journey.

Ten shortlisted poems will be selected and will be available to read on the online gallery and open to public vote. The ten shortlisted poets will read their poems at the Aspects Festival event.

Poetry Competition deadline:    Midnight Sunday 6 September 2026.