The guidelines below are for entering all categories of the 2023 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 2023 Competition Rules.  Entries for all categories can only be submitted through this website.

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

• 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elsewhere between being submitted for this competition and 31 August 2023, when judging should be ending, it must be withdrawn from Wigtown Poetry Prize by emailing: mail@wigtownbookfestival.com.
• All poems are judged anonymously; the name of the poet must not appear on the manuscript.
• Each poem must be entered as a separate Word Document.
• Poems may be on any subject.
• Those entering Wigtown Scottish Gaelic and Wigtown Scots categories can also submit their poems to be considered for the Wigtown Prize free of additional 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 Worldwide entries. 
• There is no restriction on the number of poems submitted by each entrant 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 in preparation for the final judging.
• Closing date for entries is 31 May 2023.
• A shortlist will be announced with writers names published on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website by 1 September 2023.  Please check the website for this announcement as notifications may not be sent out.
• Winners will be announced at the Prize Giving event at Wigtown Book Festival on 30 September 2023. All those shortlisted will be invited to attend in person or online. Winners will be invited to read during the Prize-giving event.  
• Winners will be announced on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website and through other The Wigtown Festival Company channels from 1 October 2023. 
• 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 The Wigtown Festival Company, the Wigtown Poetry Prize organising committee, Scottish Poetry Library, or StAnza - Scotland's International Poetry Festival may enter the Wigtown Prize category.
• No employee or board member of The Wigtown Festival Company, the Wigtown Poetry Prize organising committee or The Gaelic Books Council may enter the Wigtown Scottish Gaelic category.
• No employee or board member of The Wigtown Festival Company, the Wigtown Poetry Prize organising committee 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 The Wigtown Festival Company the right to use their winning poems, including in Southlight Magazine, for one year from 1 October 2023.

Fees

• Each poem submitted costs £7.00.

Rules - Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voice Award

• 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 2024.
• All entries are judged anonymously; the name of the poet must not appear on the manuscript.
• Entries must be submitted as one Word Document. 
• Entrants must submit 3 - 6 poems, with each poem not exceeding 40 lines (not including the title).  
• There is no entry fee.
• Entrants must be 16 years of age or over.
• Entries may be in English, Scottish Gaelic or Scots.
• Poems can be on any subject.
• Closing date for entries is 31 May 2023.
• Entries will be read by a judging panel. 
• The Wigtown Festival Company reserves the right to invite writers who have not entered the award to be considered. 
• The winners will be announced at the Prize Giving event at Wigtown Book Festival on 30 September 2023. All those shortlisted will be invited to attend in person or online. The winner will be invited to read one of their submitted poems during the Prize Giving event. 
• The winner will be announced on the Wigtown Poetry Prize website and through other Wigtown Festival Company channels from 1 October 2023. 
• 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 The Wigtown Festival Company the Wigtown Poetry Prize organising committee 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 The Wigtown Festival Company the right to use their winning poems, including in Southlight Magazine, for one year from 1 October 2023.

Rules - Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize

• All entries are judged anonymously; the name of the poet must not appear on the manuscript.
• Entrants must 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, at Number 11 (The Wigtown Festiival Company’s shop) and through their website during Wigtown Book Festival and thereafter.  Attendees at the Wigtown Poetry Prize-giving event will receive a complimentary copy.
• Entries must be submitted as one single Word Document.
• Poems can be on any subject.
• 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 31 May 2023.
• The 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 2023. 
• The winner will be announced at the Prize Giving event at Wigtown Book Festival on 30 September 2023. All those shortlisted will be invited to attend in person or online. The winner will be invited to read one of their submitted poems Prize-giving event.
• 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 The Wigtown Festival Company or the Wigtown Poetry Prize organising committee may enter the Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize.
• The copyright of each poem remains with the writer.  The winner must grant The Wigtown Festival Company the right to use their winning poems, including in Southlight Magazine, for one year from 1 October 2023.

A winner from one or more categories will be invited to read at StAnza 2024 at the discretion of  StAnza, Scotland's International Poetry Festival and Wigtown Festival Company.