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Bolton Poetry Competition

THE BOLTON POETRY COMPETITION 2018 IS OPEN FOR ENTRIES

An exciting poetry competition with three winning categories: an open entry competition for the public; a competition for University of Bolton students and staff; and a competition for VI form and college students in the Bolton area. In each category there will be a cash voucher prizes for the winners and runners-up; see the poster for more details.

The theme of the competition is a celebration of this year's National Poetry Day: 'Change'. We are specifically looking for poems that address the theme of change in Bolton and the surrounding area: what does change mean to you, in your neighbourhood and community? You may submit two poems, of up to 25 lines each, to boltonpoetry[at sign]gmail.com.

Entry is FREE. Poems should be included in the body of the email text or as Word document or PDF attachments only. The poem should be in a standard font, and you should indicate which competition you are entering. Staff/student entries need to be submitted from an @bolton.ac.uk email address; VI form/college entries need to list the institution at which the entrant is studying. The deadline for entries is 11.59pm on Friday 2 November 2018.

The competition is administered by the English and Creative Writing department, part of the School of the Arts at the University of Bolton, and the Bolton Library and Museum Services. It will be judged by two published poets based in the dept., Evan Jones and Ben Wilkinson.

The competition will be launched on National Poetry Day, Thursday 4 October 2018, with a poetry reading by the judges and open mic from Bolton CW students. This will take place 4.30pm-7pm in the SU bar (off Chancellor's Mall), at the University of Bolton.

The prize-giving will take place on Tuesday 11 December 2018 at the free Live Literature event in Lecture Theatre 1, Bolton Library and Museum, Le Mans Crescent, Bolton, BL1 1SE, at 6.30pm. The winners will receive their prizes and have an opportunity to read their winning poems alongside T. S. Eliot-shortlisted poet Caroline Bird. The winning poems will go on to be published on WRITING BOLTON, a growing digital writing map for the town.



The 2017 winners

Open category:

1st Place: Penny Boxall, 'A Flap-dragon'
Runner up: Michael Brown, 'The Soul of a Dog'

Staff/student category:

1st place: Shirley-Anne Kennedy, 'Moving On'
Runner up: Eileen Earnshaw, 'If I Could'

VI form/college category:

1st place: Matthew Trundle, 'Territorial Transitions'
Runner up: Areej Nadeem, 'Recur'

Many congratulations again to the winners and runners-up, and thank you to everyone who entered.



The 2016 winners

The winners of the Bolton Poetry Competition were announced at a special Live Literature event on 6 December 2016.

Open category:

1st Place: Phil Isherwood, 'The Tapestry Quilt'
Runner up: Christopher Fernie, 'Withdrawn from stock'

Staff/student category:

1st place: Jennifer Mills, 'Hottentot'
Runner up: Lauren Carroll , 'A Child's War'

Many congratulations again to the winners and runners-up, and thank you to everyone who entered.

BPC 2018, launch flyer

2016 winner Dr Phil Isherwood receives his first prize award
2016 winner Dr Phil Isherwood receives his first prize award
Kayo Chingonyi, guest reader at the 2017 prize ceremony
Kayo Chingonyi, guest reader at the 2017 prize ceremony
2017 winner and runner-up, Shirley-Anne Kennedy and Eileen Earnshaw
2017 winner and runner-up, Shirley-Anne Kennedy and Eileen Earnshaw
By benwilkinsonpoetImageAugust 27, 2016October 3, 2018
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