The Morecambe Poetry Festival Competition is back for a second year for the opportunity to be published and take part in the poetry festival this September.
The competition is open to poets from across the globe, and poems of no more than 50 lines on any and every subject are welcome. The winning poets will be invited to read their poems at Morecambe Poetry Festival and will also be included in this year’s festival anthology.
All the entries will be read by the judging panel chaired by John Hegley, along with Rachel Pantechnicon - a previous winner of the Glastonbury Festival Slam - and performance poet Francesca Beard. It’s the last chance to enter this week before the deadline of 6pm July 28.
John is appearing at the Morecambe Poetry Festival taking place September 12-14, along with a stellar line up featuring Michael Rosen, Clare Ferguson Walker, Henry Normal, Nigel Planer, Jan Brierton, Robin Ince and Luke Wright.
First prize is £300, with a second prize of £125, and three third prizes of £25 each. In addition, poems sent in by people living in the Morecambe LA3 or LA4 postcodes will also be eligible for the local prize.
Some P words which the judges suggest it might be pleasant to encounter in the entries, along with the Poetic - the Poignant, the Pungent, the Plucky, the Pondering, the Percussive, the Purple, the Pensive, the Practical, the Positive, the Passionate, the Playful, the Phenomenological, the Physical, the political, the Pets and any hand-crafted Pictures.
Poems must not have been previously published in any public forum (either in print or on a website), nor should they be currently submitted for future publication elsewhere. All the winners will be announced on 1 September 2025.
Festival founder Matt Panesh said: “The competition was so popular last year and the standard of entries was really high. I’m looking forward to seeing what John and his fellow poet judges pick out as our winners.”
Last year’s winner of the local prize, Trystan Lewis, said at the time: “I'd genuinely forgotten how much I love poetry and spoken word performance until I was at the Morecambe Poetry Festival [in 2022]. The festival was a massive inspiration to me and gave me a whole new direction so I'm really overjoyed to be the Local Winner of the inaugural Morecambe poetry festival competition.”
The competition is being run for the festival by the Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists collective. Full details of terms and conditions and how to enter can be found on their website: Morecambe Poetry Festival Competition 2025
Now in its fourth year, the seaside town’s festival will deliver three nights of wall to wall poetry with the nation’s favourites along with grassroots performances, family activities, workshops, poetry takeovers and open mics.
Weekend passes are available now at £65 plus booking fees for access to every single event and performance including a pre-fest meet up on the 11 September. The full schedule and event tickets will be released at a later date.
Morecambe Poetry Festival is supported by Waterstones, T S Eliot Foundation, Eden Project Communities, Wordsworth Grasmere and Morecambe Town Council.
Keep up to date on Morecambe Poetry Festival Facebook.
Tickets available from Skiddle at Morecambe Poetry Festival tickets
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Editors notes
The Morecambe Poetry Festival is an annual celebration of poetry and spoken word, held in the coastal town of Morecambe, UK. Established to promote literary arts and community engagement, the festival features performances from the best poets in the country, workshops and open mic sessions, attracting both emerging and established poets. It provides a platform for diverse voices, fostering creativity and connection among poetry enthusiasts. The event often includes collaborations with local artists, schools, and cultural organisations, enriching the town's vibrant arts scene. With its inclusive atmosphere and scenic seaside backdrop, the Morecambe Poetry Festival has become a cherished event, inspiring audiences and participants alike to explore the power of words.
