Find guidelines below for all types of entry to the 2020 Wigtown Poetry Prize. Further information about the competition and other poetry-related news can be found on our Facebook page. 

More information can be found on the prizes here. 

By entering the competition you agree that your entries comply with the 2020 Competition Rules:

Rules - Wigtown Prize, Wigtown Scottish Gaelic and Wigtown Scots categories

• Entries for all categories can only be submitted through this website.
• Poems must not be previously published, accepted for publication or currently entered into another competition.  If a poem is published elsewhere between being submitted for this competition and 31 August 2020,  when winners will be notified, it must be withdrawn from Wigtown Poetry Prize by emailing: mail@wigtownbookfestival.com.
• All poems are judged anonymously and the name of the poet must not appear on the manuscript.
• Each poem must be entered as a separate Word Document.
• Those entering Wigtown Scottish Gaelic and Wigtown Scots categories can also submit their poems to be considered for the Wigtown Prize free-of-charge.
• Poems must not exceed 40 lines (not including the title).
• Entrants must be 16 years of age or over.
• Entries may be in English, Scottish Gaelic or Scots.
• The competition is open to anyone throughout and outside the United Kingdom.
• There is no restriction on the number of poems submitted by each applicant to each category of the competition, providing the appropriate fee is paid.
• Alterations cannot be made to poems once they have been submitted.
• All Wigtown Prize entries will initially be read by a team who will sift entries prior to the final judging.
• Closing date for entries is 29 May 2020.
• A shortlist will be announced with writers names published on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website.
• Winners will be notified by 31 August 2020 and invited to read at the Wigtown Poetry Prize-giving event on 3 October 2020.   
• Winners will be announced on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website and through other Wigtown Festival Company channels from 11 September 2020. 
• Winning and runner-up poems will be published on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website and winning poems in Southlight Magazine.  
• No employee or board member of Wigtown Festival Company, Scottish Poetry Library, or StAnza, Scotland's International Poetry Festival may enter the Wigtown Prize category.
• No employee or board member of Wigtown Festival Company or The Gaelic Books Council may enter the Wigtown Scottish Gaelic category.
• No employee or board member of Wigtown Festival Company or the Saltire Society may enter the Wigtown Scots category.
• The copyright of each poem remains with the writer.  The winners and runners-up must grant Wigtown Festival Company the right to use their winning poems, including in Southlight Magazine, for one year from 11 September 2020.

Fee Structure

• The first poem submitted costs £6.50
• Multiple entries: the first three poems cost a total of £17.00
• Each subsequent entry after the first three costs £5 or a total of £12 for every additional block of 3, ie: 1 poem £6.50; 2 poems £13; 3 poems £17; 4 poems £22; 5 poems £27; 6 poems £29; 7 poems £34; 8 poems £39; 9 poems £41; 10 poems £46; 11 poems £51; 12 poems £53 etc.

Rules - Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voice Prize

• This will be awarded to a poet living in or from Dumfries & Galloway who has never professionally published a full-length collection but shows promise. 
• The winner of this category will be offered a package of professional support, including mentoring and a week long retreat at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre in 2021.
• Entries for this category can only be submitted through this website.
• Entries must be submitted as one Word Document. 
• Writers may submit as much or as little work as they feel is appropriate.
• There is no entry fee.
• Entrants must be 16 years of age or over.
• Entries may be in English, Scottish Gaelic or Scots.
• Closing date for entries is 29 May 2020.
• Entries will be read by a judging panel. 
• Wigtown Festival Company reserves the right to invite writers who have not entered the award to be considered. 
• The winners will be notified by 31 August 2020 and invited to read at the Wigtown Poetry Prize-giving event on 3 October 2020. 
• Reasonable travel expenses will be covered to attend the event in Wigtown.
• The winner will be announced on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website and through other Wigtown Festival Company channels from Friday 11 September 2020. 
• The judges will select one of the winning poems to be published on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website and in Southlight Magazine.
• No employee or board member of Wigtown Festival Company or Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre may enter the Dumfries and Galloway Fresh Voice Award.  
• The copyright of each poem remains with the writer.  The winner must grant Wigtown Festival Company the right to use their winning poems, including in Southlight Magazine, for one year from 11 September 2020.

Rules - Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize

• Writers can submit 8 – 12 poems, with a limit of 12 A4 pages.  25% of the poems must be unpublished with entrants owning the copyright of previously published poems.
• The prize for this category is the production of a pamphlet set by Gerry Cambridge.  The winner will receive 30 copies of the pamphlet for their own use.  Copies will also be available in the Festival Bookshop and at Number 11 (Wigtown Festiival Company’s shop) during Wigtown Book Festival.  Attendees at the Wigtown Poetry Prize-giving event will receive a complimentary copy.
• Entries for this category can only be submitted through this website.
• Entries must be submitted as one Word Document.
• The entry fee is £15 per submission.
• Entrants must be 16 years of age or over.
• Entries may be in English or Scots.
• Closing date for entries is 29 May 2020.
• Wigtown Festival Company reserves the right not to award the prize in the event that no suitable submission is received. 
• The winner will be notified by 31 August 2020 and invited to read at the Wigtown Poetry Prize-giving event on 3 October 2020.   
• The judge will select one of the winning poems to be published on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website and in Southlight Magazine.
• No employee or board member of Wigtown Festival Company may enter the Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize.
• The copyright of each poem remains with the writer.  The winner must grant Wigtown Festival Company the right to use their winning poems, including in Southlight Magazine, for one year from 11 September 2020.

 A winner from one or more categories will be invited to read at StAnza 2021 at the discretion of  StAnza, Scotland's International Poetry Festival and Wigtown Festival Company.