The Poetry Society

Poetry Society
press room

15 April 2005

The National Poetry Competition 2005 is Launched - make it your "moment of success".

Jon Sait has added his name to a long list of highly respected poets - including Carol Ann Duffy, Tony Harrison, Jo Shapcott, Ian Duhig, Ruth Padel and Philip Gross - by winning the National Poetry Competition 2004. Now the winning opportunity is open to all poets as the Poetry Society launches its National Poetry Competition 2005.

Established in 1978, "The National" is one of the biggest and most prestigious poetry competitions of its kind and offers the chance to get your poems read by some of our most distinguished contemporary poets. The judges for the National Poetry Competition 2005 are Alison Brackenbury, Bernardine Evaristo and Mark Ford. All entries are judged anonymously.

The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over and Poetry Society members are eligible for a free second entry. To use Jon Sait's words, it could be "a rare moment of success and financial reward" as there is a first prize of £5000, second prize of £1000, third prize of £500 and ten commendations of £50.

To enter online visit www.poetrysociety.org.uk or to receive a brochure and entry form send a SAE to Competition Organiser (PR), 22 Betterton Street, London, WC2H 9BX.

The deadline for the competition is 31 October 2005.

-Ends- 

For Further information call 020 7420 9895

Notes to Editors

• To find out more about the Poetry Society visit www.poetrysociety.org.uk 
• Alison Brackenbury's poetry has won an Eric Gregory Award and a Cholmondeley Award. BBC Radio has broadcast her work regularly and her poems have been widely anthologised , most recently in the Forward Book of Poetry 2005.
• Bernardine Evaristo was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2004 and won a NESTA Fellowship Award in 2003. She is a literature advisor to both the British Council and Arts Council London.
• Mark Ford is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books. He teaches at University College London.
• To read the winning poems from last years competition, visit www.poetrysociety.org.uk/comp/comp04.htm 
• 2004 National Poetry Competition winner, Jon Sait, was born in Cardiff in 1954. He has travelled extensively and has lived and worked in Spain, Seychelles and Germany. He published regularly in poetry magazines during the 1970s and 80s but has since submitted work rarely. His screenplay 'Wildwood' was produced by Feline Films for HTV. He is currently working on two screenplays and compiling a first poetry collection.

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