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P=Poetry, N=Nonfiction, F=Fiction
- This event has passed.
P – Waltham Forest Poetry Competition 2025 Theme: Weather
Rules
Poems must be 40 lines maximum, not including the title.
Send no more than 6 poems in total.
Entrants should pay for entry (either by Eventbrite, cheque or directly into our bank account), then email or post their poems.
Poems should be on the theme of WEATHER (or WHETHER) – we’ll leave it to you how you interpret the theme.
The judge will read all poems entered into the competition. The judge’s decision is final and neither the judge nor anyone associated with the running of the competition will enter into any correspondence.
Poems are judged anonymously, so please don’t put your name or any identifying information on your poems.
Under no circumstances can alterations be made to poems once entered.
No one associated with the running of the competition is eligible to enter.
Poems must be typed, in English, and the original work of the entrant. Poems generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not be be accepted.
Poems must not be previously published or self-published (including online), broadcast, accepted for publication elsewhere, or the translated work of another poet. If your poem is currently appearing on your social media pages, please delete it before submitting it to our competition.
Simultaneous submissions are NOT accepted. Please don’t send us your poems if you have already sent them to another competition or publication and you’re waiting for the result.
Due to the sheer volume of entries, only successful entrants will be notified. Details of the full winners list will be announced publicly on our website after the awards ceremony in December 2025.
- Main prize: 1st £400, 2nd £200, 3rd £100.
- Waltham Forest prize (sponsored by The Stow Brothers): 1st £50, 2nd £30, and 3rd £20.
How to enter
- The easiest way for Adults to pay is via our EVENTBRITE page.
- Then put all your poems in one document, making sure your name is nowhere on the document and email your entry to poetrycompetition@yahoo.com with COMPETITION in the subject line. (We accept Word, odt, or pdf documents).
- Type FUNNY in the top right hand corner of each poem that you wish to be considered for the FUNNIEST POEM prize. There’s no additional fee.
- Include in the body of the email:
- your name
- your address
- title/s of your poem/s
- add ‘LOCAL’ if you live, work or study in the borough of Waltham Forest
- add ‘YOUNG POET’ if you’re under 18
If paying by cheque, address your envelope to Waltham Forest Poetry Competition, 82 Somers Road, London E17 6RS. Entries to the Adult competition should be accompanied by a cheque payable to ‘Forest Poets’. We can’t accept debit/credit card payment. Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you would like confirmation that we have received your poems. On a separate piece of paper from the poem/s, enter your name, address, daytime contact number and email (if you have one), and the poem title/s. This will ensure that poems are judged anonymously. Please don’t use staples on your manuscripts and don’t put any identifying details on the poems.
You can also pay directly into our bank account – please use reference WFPoetryComp.
Account Name: Forest Poets
Account Number: 51602934
Sort Code: 40-02-02
If required (e.g. for sending money from outside the UK), the IBAN and BIC/SWIFT codes are as follows:
IBAN GB11HBUK40020251602934
BIC/SWIFT HBUKGB4105P
Any questions? Email poetrycompetition@yahoo.com