Last chance for children & young adults to submit poems for Brighton Festival 2018’s Peacock Poetry Prize

The Peacock Poetry Prize is an annual competition to encourage young writers to explore the written word from a creative point of view. The aim is to get young people writing right across Sussex and encourage them to engage with the theme of ‘hard work’, a subject inspired by Guest Director David Shrigley’s book of the same title.

The competition is open to residents of Brighton & Hove, East and West Sussex aged 11 - 19. Submissions are divided into four age groups: 11-13 years, 14-16 years 13-16 years and 17-19 years.

Whether completing an assignment, building a relationship or breaking a habit, we all work hard on aspects of our daily lives. Each budding writer may submit up to three poems with a maximum length of 20 lines per poem.

Pippa Smith, Brighton Festival’s Children and Family Producer, says:

"The Peacock Poetry Prize offers a great opportunity for young people to have their writing seriously appraised and appreciated. Our panel of judges reads and discusses every poem and it is always a struggle to decide which of our many talented entrants will be invited to the finalists’ award party where the winners are announced."

William Baldwin, Principal of Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College, says:

"BHASVIC is proud to be sponsoring the Peacock Poetry Prize. Poetry is imaginations language, helping us understand and appreciate the world around us. A great poem can describe what we ourselves have no words for. As poetry is such a universal vehicle of human expression it is vital that we continue to nurture a love for it in the younger generation."

The competition is open to residents of Brighton & Hove, East and West Sussex. Each budding writer may submit up to three poems with a maximum length of 14 lines per poem. Entries must be emailed, together with full name, age and date of birth to [javascript protected email address] or posted to Peacock Poetry Prize, Brighton Festival, 12a Pavilion Buildings, Castle Square, Brighton BN1 1EE.

The deadline for entries is Mon 16 Apr 2018. Finalists and their friends and relatives will be invited to a reception in Brighton Dome when the winners of each age category will be announced.