This year's Mslexia Women's Poetry Competition is now open. Categories: Single Poem (judged by Liz Berry) and Poetry Pamphlet (judged by Imtiaz Dharker).
We accept entries from all women of any age of any nationality from any country. This includes under-18s. You do not have to subscribe to Mslexia to be eligible.
Single Poem
This competition is open to unpublished poems of any length, on any subject. Your £10 entry fee allows you to submit up to three poems.
1st prize: £2,000
2nd prize: £500
3rd prize: £250
Plus an extra £250 for the best poem by an unpublished poet
Find out more
here
Poetry Pamphlet
Open to collections of up to 20 poems, of up to 24 pages, by poets who have never had a full collection published.
Entry fee: £20
1st prize: £500 + publication by Bloodaxe Books
Find out more
here
Deadline for both categories: 23.59GMT, 8 December 2025