PRESS RELEASE 30 January 2025
Wirral Poetry Festival Annual open poetry competition includes special Wirral prizes Final Chris Salmon Poetry Competition for Young People
Wirral Poetry Festival is delighted to announce that the 15th annual Wirral Poetry Festival Open Poetry Competition is open for entries until 30 May 2025.
The Open Poetry Competition will be adjudicated by distinguished poets Helen Ivory and Martin Figura, while special Wirral prizes for poets from Wirral will be adjudicated by well-known Merseyside poet, Pauline Rowe.
Eight cash prizes will be awarded altogether: a top prize of £250 and four runner-up prizes of £25 for the open competition, and a £100 Wirral prize plus two Wirral runner-up prizes of £25 each.
The closing date for all entries is Friday 30 May 2025 and the entry fee is £4 per poem or £10 for 3 poems. For full details and to enter please check the web site:
https://wirralpoetryfestival.org.uk/open-poetry-competition-2025/
In partnership with the Christopher Salmon Foundation and Wirral Libraries we support the delivery of the annual Christopher Salmon Poetry Competition. This year’s Christopher Salmon Poetry Competition will be the last one in the series, which began in 2010, to commemorate Wirral pupil, Chris Salmon, who passed away very suddenly aged just 15, from a streptococcal virus and pneumonia.
Poems on the theme of ‘hope’ can be submitted to the Christopher Salmon Competition by young people aged 19 years and under in full time education in Wirral. There is a £100 prize for each winner in five age categories. Entry is free and the closing date is 7 March 2025 at 12 noon. For full details and to enter, please go to the web site at: wirralpoetryfestival/ChristopherSalmon or contact Diane Mitchell at Wirral Libraries E: dianemitchell@wirral.gov.uk
ENDS
Contact: Judy Ugonna OBE, Coordinator, Wirral Poetry Festival Open Poetry Competition 2025
E: poetrycomp@wirralpoetryfestival.org.uk
M: 07702803953
Notes: The Wirral Poetry Festival was established as an offshoot of Wirral Festival of Firsts in 2019 to serve the active poetry writing and poetry appreciating audiences in Wirral. It is directed and managed by a Planning Team chaired by Kemal Houghton.
