Frequently Asked Questions

The Environmental Poet of the Year prize

General FAQs

How do I enter?

All entries must be through our Entry Portal. There, you will enter all of your information and be able to upload your portfolio. You will be able to preview your entry before you submit it. Please note that you will not be able to save your entry to return to it another time.

Is this prize for UK residents only?

Yes, the prize is open only to poets living in the UK

Can I enter more than one portfolio?

Yes, you will be able to upload more than one portfolio at the same time, when you fill out the entry form

How will I know that you have received my entry?

You will reach a page of our Entry Portal that says ‘Success!’ and tells you that your entry has been received.

When will winners be notified?

Winners will be notified by 30th November 2023.

Can I enter work that has been previously published?

Individual poems may have previously appeared in magazine, anthologies, newspapers etc. However, the portfolio of poems you submit must not have been published before as a series of poems, and individual poems must not already have been published in a full collection. The series also must not be part of a collection that is scheduled for publication before December 2024. You will find more detailed guidance about this type of query in our Submissions Rules and Terms and Conditions

If I win, will I be expected to travel to both London for the event in December and to Grasmere?

If you win, we hope you’ll enjoy being a part of these events, which will celebrate your work. There will be options to attend events virtually.

Will there be any prizes for commended work?

No, there will only be one winner. We may publish online a selection of other work that stood out to the judges.

I am a previous winner of a Michael Marks Award. Can I still enter?

Yes, all entries are anonymous

Poetry

What do you mean by ‘the environment and the place of the human within it?

It is up to you to interpret this creatively! You may want to submit poems that primarily focus on nature and wildlife, with only indirect references to ‘the human’. On the other hand, you may submit poems that foreground people, with the natural world a presence that surrounds them. However, the theme of the environment must be clear. See our information on the Environmental Poet of the Year Prize page for more ideas about this.

I like to include illustrations with my poems. Is that ok?

Please don’t include illustrations or pictures of any type in your poetry portfolio. The judges will focus on the poems and nothing else.

There is a minimum and maximum line count, but it doesn’t say how many poems I can enter. Does this mean that I can enter a single poem, or lots of short ones?

Please remember that you are submitting a portfolio which must be able to fill several pages of a pamphlet. We have not specified the number of poems because long series of short poems such as haiku are eligible, and may require space on each page. Similarly, a longer single poem in the epic tradition would be considered.

How should I present my poetry portfolio?

Your portfolio must comprise no less than 150 lines of poetry and no more than 200 lines of poetry. This does not include spaces, contents pages or other pages. You must save all of your poems to a single .doc or .docx file. The title of the file must be the title of the portfolio. Your name must not appear anywhere in either the body of the portfolio or the title of the file. You may provide a Contents page and title page if you wish but these are not essential.