Guernsey Literary Festival 2024 Launches International Poetry Competition

Guernsey’s Literary Festival has launched an international poetry competition ahead of next year’s event.

Accessible to poets around the world, the competition is divided into three categories – Open; Channel Islands; and Young Poet for children aged 11-17. 

The winner in the Open class will win £1,000, the Channel Islands winner will claim £250 and the best Young Poet £250. 

There will also be prizes for second and third in each class. Entries must be no longer than 14 lines and must fit on a single A4 page. The competition deadline is 15 January 2024. Winners will be contacted by 5 March 2024.

All the winning entries and another selected 12 poems will be part of the ‘Poems on the Move’ display at Guernsey Airport, and other sites around the island, as well as on Guernsey buses.

Award-winning Irish poet and teacher, Paul Muldoon, will judge the entries. Mr Muldoon has won several awards including the Eric Gregory Award, the T S Eliot Prize, and the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. He is the author of 15 collections of poetry and currently lives in New York, having taught at Princeton University for 35 years.

The 2024 Guernsey International Poetry Competition is organised by the Guernsey Literary Festival and sponsored by Specsavers with the support of Guernsey Arts. 

For more information, visit PoemsontheMove.com.