The Bangor Poetry Competition: Now Closed

One Poem: 10th Bangor Poetry Competition

£4.00

Three poems: 10th Bangor Poetry Competition

£10.00

The Tenth Annual Bangor Poetry Competition is now open. We are accepting poems on the theme of ‘Strength’!

We are now accepting poems on the theme of ‘Strength’.

You can email your poems to thebangorliteraryjournal@hotmail.com with the heading ’10th BANGOR POETRY COMPETITION- Your name’ .

You can enter up to six poems per person. The submission fee for poems is as follows: One poem £4/ Three poems £10. Please pay the submission fee by following the PayPal link above and include your PayPal transaction number in the body of the email.

All poems must be in English and previously unpublished (they should not have been published online, in print, on social media or blogs).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 stanza breaks) and can be in any style. (Traditional right through to experimental)

Please attach your poems in a separate Word document with no trace of your name. All submissions are read anonymously by the editorial team. Please title your documents as ’10th Bangor Poetry Competition’. Please use Times New Roman size 12, single space.

In the body of your email, please attach a 50 word third person biography and attach a photograph of yourself, which will be used for publication if you are selected, alongside your PayPal transaction number and contact details.

Interpret this theme as you may- we love to see exciting takes on the theme. We do advise against titling your poem ‘Strength’ — instead go for something original.

The deadline for submissions is extended: midnight 15th September 2022. Within two weeks of the deadline a shortlist of 10 poems shall be announced. These 10 poems will then be displayed on our website and voted on by the public as part of Aspects Literary Festival. (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 Aspects Literary Festival. Sunday 2nd October 2022, 3pm-4.30pm at Bangor Castle, County Down, NI.

This year’s prizes are:

First Place: £100 cash; a writing book and pen; a framed certificate; reading opportunities and your poem shall hang for one year at The Blackberry Path Art Studios. Plus, a special feature in issue 19 of The Bangor Literary Journal.

Second Place: £50 cash; a writing book and pen; a framed certificate, publication in The Bangor Literary Journal.

Third Place: £30 cash; a writing book and pen; a framed certificate, publication in The Bangor Literary Journal..

Highly Commended: £10 cash and a certificate, publication in The Bangor Literary Journal.

Commended: £10 cash and a certificate, publication in The Bangor Literary Journal.

There are shall be five shortlisted certificates issued.

Guidelines:

Please email your submissions to thebangorliteraryjournal@hotmail.com with the heading (10th BANGOR POETRY COMPETITION-Name)
Submit a maximum of six previously unpublished poems (we consider it published if it has appeared on: social media, on line or in print) no longer than 40 lines long.
Poems should be single spaced and in New Times Roman, size 12.
Poems should be in a separate Word document attached to the email. 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 body of the email, with your PayPal transaction number.
We accept all forms of poetry, but it must be your best work.
Work cannot be changed once it has been sent to us.
We do not 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!
All work must be your own original work.
You must be 16 years or older to enter.