THE MOTH POETRY PRIZE 2021 IS NOW OPEN!
The Moth
Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for a single unpublished
poem. The prize is open to anyone, as long as the poem is previously
unpublished, and each year it attracts thousands of entries from new and
established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
The prize is judged anonymously by a single poet. The judge only learns who the
shortlisted poets are following the selection of the winning poems. Past judges
include Claudia Rankine, Marie Howe, Deborah Landau, Daljit Nagra, Leontia
Flynn, Billy Collins and Nick Laird.
Past
winners include Michael Lavers, Natalya Anderson, Lee Sharkey, Ann Gray (whose
poem was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem)
and Abigail Parry (who was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best
First Collection).
The winner of The Moth Poetry Prize 2021 was the American poet Michael Lavers.
You can watch him read his poem ‘Chaos Soliloquy’
here.
THE JUDGE
Warsan Shire, a Somali-British writer and poet, served as the first Young Poet
Laureate of London and is the youngest member of the Royal Society of
Literature. Shire wrote the poetry for the visual album Lemonade and
the film Black Is King in collaboration with Beyoncé
Knowles-Carter. She also wrote the short film Brave Girl Rising, highlighting the voices of
Somali girls in Africa’s largest refugee camp. Her first full collection, Bless
the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head, will be published by
Chatto & Windus in March 2022 (with a limited edition coming out with flipped
eye publishing).
HOW TO
ENTER
The Prize is open to anyone (over 16), as long as the work is original and
previously unpublished.
There is no line limit, and the poems can be on any subject.
The entry fee is €15 per poem. You can
enter online or send your poem(s) along with a
cheque or postal order made payable to ‘The Moth Magazine Ltd.’ with an
entry form or a cover letter with your name
and contact details and the title of your poem(s) attached to: The Moth,
Ardan Grange, Milltown, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland H14 K768.
**If you are concerned about formatting online, please go through the online process
and then email your poem as a Word attachment with your entry
number directly to enquiries@themothmagazine.com.
**
Please remember to read the
rules of the competition before
you enter.
CLOSING DATE 31 DECEMBER 2021
The shortlist will be announced in March 2022 and the four shortlisted poems
will appear in the spring 2022 issue of The Moth.
The overall winner of €6,000 will be announced at a special award ceremony
at Poetry Ireland in Dublin in the spring of 2022.
Call 00 353 (0)87 2657251 or email enquiries@themothmagazine.com for more
details.
