The Fenland Poet Laureate Award is now open for 2025 entries.
The prestigious Cambridgeshire competition, now in its seventh year, aims to find the next Poet Laureates of Fenland.
It is open to poets at all stages of their writing careers, including unpublished newcomers and established names.
The awards are organised in partnership with Fenland District Council and spearheaded by award-winning poet Elisabeth Sennitt Clough, who is also the chair of the council's culture, arts, and heritage committee.
The winners will be given the honorary titles of Fenland Poet Laureate and Young Fenland Poet Laureate, succeeding the current 2024 titleholders, Hannah Teasdale and Lacey Vinn.
They will have the chance to showcase their work and represent Fenland poetry throughout the year.
Councillor Elisabeth Sennitt Clough said: “The awards have been a huge success over the years, and it is growing even more, so I’m delighted to be launching our 2025 contest."
Entries can be submitted until the deadline of January 31, 2025, and will be read through an anonymised shortlisting and judging process.
This year's judges are Cllr Sennitt Clough and the current Fenland Poet Laureate, Hannah Teasdale.
Ms Teasdale said: “I was both shocked and delighted to have been awarded the honour of Fenland Poet Laureate for 2024 and look forward to reading the diverse and exciting entries for this coming year."
The competition is open to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Fenland, and is free to enter.
Applicants must be aged 18 and over for the Fenland Poet Laureate Award, and aged 17 and under for the Young Fenland Poet Laureate Award.
Poetry submissions must be no longer than 40 lines, the entrant’s own work, and previously unpublished.
Full details, including how to enter, are available on the Fenland District Council website.
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