The Poet's Workshop Poetry Prize 2026

The Poet’s Workshop Poetry Prize 2026 is now open for entries! 

This year it's totally FREE to enter. Enter here.

All you have to do is subscribe to my blog, The Jotter. You can either subscribe here or let the prize entry form automatically opt you in. I’ve been running my blog since June and I’m keen to grow my subscribers, so I thought opening up The Poet's Workshop Poetry Prize for free would be a way of reaching more people with my posts. 

Please note, I’m only allowing one entry per poet, so please make sure you choose your best poem wisely. If you’re a paid monthly subscriber to my blog I’m letting you enter up to 5 poems (you can browse the subscription options to my blog here). 

Like last year, I’ll be judging the competition, and I’m delighted to be able to make it even more inclusive than last year by offering a free entry for all my subscribers.

Before you enter, though, please read the rules and submission guidelines below carefully. I’d also advise you to browse the tips and advice I give to poets on my blog here. You can also read last year's winning poems here.  

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Rules

• This competition is exclusively for subscribers to Andrew’s blog, The Jotter. Subscribe here.

• Entrants are allowed to enter one poem only, under one email address, unless they are paid subscribers, in which case they can enter up to 5 poems.

• The Judge, Andrew Jamison, will read all entries submitted with care and attention.

• The Judge’s decision is final and they will enter into no correspondence about their decisions.

• The competition is open, globally, to anyone aged 18 or over at the time of entering.

• The entry must be unpublished work written by the entrant.

• Poems must be written in English.

• Poems entered must not have been published elsewhere, including online or on social media. If a poem is found to have been previously published or plagiarised it will be disqualified.

• AI generated poems are not eligible.

• Poems must not be longer than 50 lines, excluding the title and spaces between stanzas.

• Under no circumstances can changes be made to poems once submitted.

• The Judge reserves the right not to award the prize if circumstances dictate such action.

• The deadline for entering is midnight on Saturday 31 January 2026. Poems received after this time will not be considered.

• Entries can be submitted here.

• Entries can be on any topic, theme or subject.

• Winners will be notified by Friday 28th February.

• The copyright of each poem remains with the author. However, authors of the winning poems, by entering the competition, grant Andrew Jamison the right in perpetuity to publish and/or broadcast their poem. Use of the poems elsewhere for one year from March 2026 is subject to permission from Andrew Jamison.

• Only winning, commended, longlisted or shortlisted poets will be contacted. If you have not heard from The Poet’s Workshop by the end of February, unfortunately, on this occasion your poem will not have made it through.

Submission Guidelines

• Entrants are required to subscribe to Andrew’s blog, The Jotter, to enter. Subscribing is free and is done automatically when you enter your poem through the form on the prize page.

  
  

• Entries to the competition are free, but entrants are limited to one poem, except for paid subscribers who can enter up to 5 poems. Become a paid subscriber here.

  
  

• Poems must be no longer than 50 lines, excluding the title and spaces between stanzas.

  
  

• Poems should be uploaded as a word document or pdf, in a legible size 12 font.

  
  

• Submissions should be labelled as such: Firstname_Surname_TPWPrize. For example: Joe_Bloggs_TPWPrize