Poetry Prize

1st Prize: CHF 100 | 2nd Prize: CHF 75 | 3rd Prize CHF 50*

All shortlisted poets are invited to the  Writing Workshop, the Winner’s Reception and will receive a copy of The Anthology

Submissions:

Poems can be submitted from Sunday, 16th October, 2022 until 18.00, 10th April 2023

Shortlisted students will be contacted at the end of April and invited to the Workshop and Reception to take place on the 14th May 2023

Submission is free, but is limited to two poems per student. Students may submit to both the Poetry Prize and the Short Story Prize.

Theme

Poetry judge Michelle Bailat-Jones  has chosen the theme, “Voice” for this year’s competition

What is Michelle looking for in a poem?

What is your voice? Where does it come from? What does it sound like? What about other voices? What about the physical spaces or locations where many voices can be heard? How do those spaces differ from the places where a single, raised voice can be heard? What can you write about the places where voices are silent…or have been silenced?

Is a poem’s voice the same as the poet’s voice? Do rocks, trees, oceans have voices? Do sidewalks have voices? Do houses and buildings have voices? Do books have voices?

A poem is a place where language works differently, where the meanings of words can shift and change, where the order of the words doesn’t have to follow grammatical conventions. Poems are open spaces, places for experimentation, for trial and error, for letting the words make up their own rules and their own world. Poems do not have to be autobiographical – but they can be. A poem’s “voice” can be so many different things.

I can’t wait to hear your “voices”.

Line Limit

Try to keep your poem to around 25 – 30 lines.

Entry requirements: The Poetry Prize is open to any student high-school-aged student in Swiss public upper-secondary education. There are currently no age divisions, however students must note whether they are mother-tongue English speakers, or following a bi-lingual study programme, and whether they are studying for the Maturity Certificate. The competition is not open to students from schools where the teaching is primarily in English, such as international schools, or students studying for international examinations.

Please read the rules before submitting.

*Prizes are paid in 50% cash/50% book tokens