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Education » Competitions
Competitions can be a great way to get into writing poetry. This section lists a selection of current and annual writing competitions for children and young people and highlights some recent winners in competitions. We'd like to thank everyone who is sending in entries for The Gathering 2009. Sadly, we can't personally acknowledge receipt of each entry, but we're delighted to find entries coming in from across Scotland, from England, France and the Netherlands, from Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Ghana, Brazil, and twelve American states so far.
SPT Bang on Bard Competition This Robert Burns themed competition was launched in January to coincide with the start of Homecoming Scotland 2009. More than 300 pupils from primary and secondary schools across Glasgow entered and SPT's poet-in-residence for the Subway, John Rice, had the tough task of choosing just three winners in each age category. 5-8 years: 9-12 years: 13-15 years: All the winning Bang on Bard poems will be on display during SPT's Subway Festival on May 23-24. Old Possum's Children's Poetry Competition Congratulations to Lewis Miller of Dunbarton, who won first prize in the 9-11 category for his poem Soldier Boy. Lewis went to London to receive his prize. His Mum, Vicky, said of the experience, 'Winning this competition has given Lewis such a confidence boost and meeting Michael Rosen and Andrew Fusek Peters is an experience that none of us will forget. They have been such an inspiration to Lewis and gave him such encouragement that he has been reading and thinking about poetry and writing in general ever since.' Inspired? Get writing! Nine hundred and twenty seven people submitted prose or poetry to this creative writing competition, all inspired by works of art from the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland which includes paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and photography. You can hear the winning entries read aloud in front of the pieces that inspired them by coming along to the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre on Thursday 7 May:
A second volume of top winning entries from years three and four of this competition will be published in October 2009. The winners this year are: Under 12 Winner: Jessamy Cowie, Nairn 12-15 years Winner: Georgia Gage, Edinburgh 16-18 years Winner: Philippa Carter, Musselburgh Unpublished adults Winner: Rachel Torrubia, Penicuik Published adults Winner: Morgan Downie, Perth Well done to all!
The Gathering 2009 Poetry CompetitionThe Gathering 2009 is a signature event of Homecoming Scotland 2009. On 25th and 26th July Holyrood Park in Edinburgh will host people from 140 clans, coming from all over the world to take part in the event. The Scotsman, The Gathering 2009 and the Scottish Poetry Library are hosting a competition to find poems that express this essence of coming together. Poems are invited from children, young people and adults, from Scotland and from around the world, that will bear the title The Gathering - but which may interpret the subject in any way imaginable. Entries are invited in the following categories:
The winning poems will be published in The Scotsman in June and winners will receive a volume of Scots poems from The Scottish Poetry Library and a Gathering 2009 Commemorative Award. Winners and runners-up will also receive two tickets to The Gathering 2009 in Holyrood Park on either 25th or 26th July. How to Enter
For more information about The Gathering 2009, visit www.thegathering2009.com
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year AwardNow open for entries! Young poets aged 11-17 should pick up their pens and get writing. There's a huge array of exciting prizes from publication in the Foyle Young Poets anthology to a week-long writing course at the Arvon Centre in Shropshire with this year's judges Lemn Sissay and Selima Hill, plus a poet visit to the winner's school, books, Poetry Society membership and Young Writer magazine subscription. To enter, go to www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/competitions/fyp If you are a teacher and have some budding young poets in your class, the Poetry Society has many resources to help you, including video lesson plans. To order your free class sets of 2008 anthologies featuring winners' poems to inspire your class to get involved email The Pushkin Prizes in ScotlandThe Pushkin Prize Guidelines are sent each August to every local authority secondary school in Scotland, inviting pupils in S1 and S2 to begin preparing their folio for the December deadline.
How to enterFor further information, please contact the Director, Lindsey Fraser. Email: lindsey.fraser@tiscali.co.uk Further details: www.pushkinprizes.net The Pushkin Prizes in Scotland were founded by the current Chair, Lady Butter CVO, the great great granddaughter of the Russian writer and poet, Alexander Sergei Pushkin. Inspired? Get Writing! Creative writing competitionThe competition is run by the National Galleries of Scotland, English-Speaking Union, and Scottish Poetry Library, and supported by The Scotsman. Write a short poem or piece of prose inspired by one of the works in the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland. The work may be selected from any of the NGS galleries (The National Gallery of Scotland, The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, The Dean Gallery, The Royal Scottish Academy, Duff House and Paxton House). Images of many of the works can be accessed through the NGS website, www.nationalgalleries.org in the section 'Online Collections'. Please ensure that the work selected is part of the NGS permanent collection (unfortunately a number of entries were disqualified last year on this account).
The competition is open to all. Entries will be placed in one of five categories, as follows:
You should enter in the published category if your work has been published by a third party in a book, magazine, pamphlet or newspaper. How to enterEntires should be submitted by email where possible to development@esuscotland.org.uk Post ONLY IF YOU DO NOT HAVE EMAIL, to: Each submission should state clearly both within the email message AND on a separate final page of the attachment:
Entries cannot be returned and participants are strongly advised to keep a copy of their original work. Entrants consent to National Galleries of Scotland, English-Speaking Union and Scottish Poetry Library using the winning entries for any publicity or promotional activities. The competition has now closed for 2008-9
Christopher Tower Poetry CompetitionFunded by a bequest from the late Christopher Tower to Christ Church, the annual Tower Prizes form a significant part of an ongoing programme to encourage sixth-form students in every educational environment to enjoy reading poetry and to gain the confidence to discover and develop their own writing skills. The Christopher Tower poetry competition offers young people the opportunity to win a £3,000 first prize and gain a place at the popular Tower Poetry Summer School, where they can develop their writing skills alongside top poets and tutors.
How to enterThe competition is open to all 16-18 year-olds in full or part-time education in UK secondary schools and colleges, and all submissions are free. Students and schools can obtain entry forms and further information about the competition via the Tower Poetry website, www.towerpoetry.org.uk, by e-mail to info@towerpoetry.org.uk, or by calling 01865 286591. Further details: www.towerpoetry.org.uk
Old Possum's Children's Poetry Competition Michael Rosen, the Children's Laureate, is to chair the judging panel for this worldwide poetry competition for 7-11 year olds. The Competition is organised by the Children's Poetry Bookshelf, a poetry book club for young people run by the Poetry Book Society. To link with National Poetry Day on Thursday 9 October, children will be asked to write a poem in English no longer than 25 lines on the theme of ‘Work'. The competition is open to both individuals and schools. £250 for first prize, £100 for second and £50 for third will be awarded, along with books and CPB memberships, in two age groups, 7-8 year-olds and 9-11 year-olds. Entries will be accepted from Thursday 11 September, up until the closing date of Monday 20 October. The winners will be announced at a gala celebration in London in December. How to enter
T S Eliot Prize Shadowing Scheme The T S Eliot Prize, set up in memory of one of our greatest poets, continues to reflect Eliot's commitment to encouraging young people to read and enjoy poetry. This year's T S Eliot Prize judging panel is chaired by Andrew Motion, in the final year of his laureateship, and comprises Lavinia Greenlaw and Tobias Hill. The Shadowing Scheme The Shadowing Scheme enables students to shadow the judging panel as they deliberate on the shortlist. Students will be able to read the work of the shortlisted poets and to decide on their own choice of winner. Open to 14-19 year olds. The shortlist will be announced on 30th October. Three poems from each of the shortlisted collections will be available on www.poetrybookshoponline.com from the 4th November. Copies of the shortlisted titles can also be ordered through the website. Students will be asked to take part in a poll on the English and Media Centre's website, www.englishandmedia.co.uk, to vote for their choice of winner. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony on 12th January 2009. Run in partnership with the English and Media Centre, the Shadowing Scheme will be featured in emagazine , the Centre's subscription magazine for A Level English students. Teachers will be invited to participate in the scheme by encouraging their classes to read a selection from the ten collections on the shortlist and to vote for their favourite.Competition for Sixth Year studentsThere will also be a competition for individual Sixth Year students, to find the best 500 word rationale for their choice of poet. The winning student will receive:
The winning rationale will be published both in the February issue of emagazine and on Guardian Online. The T S Eliot Prize Shadowing Scheme and Competition are run in partnership by the Poetry Book Society and the English and Media Centre. For further information please contact:
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