McLellan Poetry Competition 2021: (Deadline 4 July 2021)

Apply for McLellan Poetry Competition 2021. The McLellan Poetry Prize is awarded by the Arran Theatre and Arts Trust as part of the annual McLellan Arts Festival. The 2021 Poetry Competition is going ahead and is now open for submissions. The judge this year will be the poet Luke Wright (recent winner of the Saboteur Award 2021 for the Best Spoken Word Performer).

Now in its fourteenth year, past judges have included Kathleen Jamie, Robert Crawford, Jackie Kay, Peter and Ann Sansom, Michael Laskey, Simon Armitage, David Constantine, Maura Dooley, Sinéad Morrissey, and Sean O’Brien. No competition was held in 2020 due to COVID restrictions. A decision has sadly been made that due to continuing restrictions on indoor events; the Live Arts Festival will be postponed until 2022.

Prizes

McLellan Poetry Competition has the following prizes

• 1st prize: £1,500
• 2nd prize: £300
• 3rd prize: £150
• 6 commendations of £25

Competition Rules

• The competition is open to anyone except members of the McLellan Festival Team. You may enter any number of poems and on any subject.
  Poems should be of no more than 89 lines (excluding title), in English and your own original work (no translations).
• Poems must not have won a prize in any other competition or have been published, self-published or accepted for publication in print or online at the time of the closing date.
• Entrants must notify the organisers promptly of any change in circumstances that occurs after the date of entry.
• Each poem should be on a separate sheet in black Times New Roman 12 point font; in A4 format (one side only). Poems will be judged anonymously and must NOT include the poet’s name or any other distinguishing mark.
• No alterations may be made once an entry has been received, nor fees refunded.
• The entry fee is £6.00 for the first poem and £5.00 each for subsequent poems submitted on the same form.
• If payment has not been made already online, please send cheque (in pounds sterling) from a UK bank made payable to Arran Theatre and Arts Trust Ltd.
• Copyright remains with the author but Arran Theatre and Arts Trust reserves the right to publish winning and shortlisted poems for two years from the date the results are announced.
• The judge’s decision is final. Neither the judge nor the organisers will enter into any correspondence. Entry implies acceptance of all the rules and failure to comply will result in disqualification.
• Prizewinners will be notified individually before the end of July and invited to read at the award ceremony with Luke Wright on the Isle of Arran on Friday 27th August 2021.
• Electronic copies of the winning poems will be required from the winners. Furthermore, the results of the competition with copies of the poems will be published on the festival website within one week of the award ceremony.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND APPLY