Enter the Keats-Shelley 2025 Essay Prize

Essays may be on any aspect of the writing and/or lives of the Romantics and their circles.

Essay Rules

Essays should be no more than 3,000 words including quotations.

Entries must be original works. Plagiarism will not be accepted, including AI-generated work. All sources must be acknowledged. They must not have been published previously, either in print or online or in any other media, nor previously submitted to us.

Essay judge Professor Sharon Ruston writes: ‘I want to read a well-organised, lively, and well-expressed essay. It should be arguing a point and offer persuasive evidence in its case. We are also looking for someone who has a deep and creative interest in Keats, Shelley or their circle.’

Entry to the Essay Prize is free.

Prize Deadline: 10am (GMT) on Monday 2 February 2026

• All entries must be submitted via the website.

• Entries are open to anyone aged 18 or over on 1 September 2025.

• Please do not put your name on the entry. Poems and essays are sent to the judges anonymously.

Entries may be submitted from any part of the world but must be in English and in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

HOW TO ENTER

Click the green button below and complete the Entry Form.

Remember to attach your entry and click the box agreeing to the GDPR and Copyright conditions. To complete the process, click the green ‘Submit Prize Entry’ button.

Your ID number will appear. This is confirmation that your entry has been received. Please make a note of it.

Entrants to the Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize must also pay the £10 entry fee.

Have a question about 2025-26’s Prize? Email: prizes@keats-shelley.org

Your Details

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Your entry

The title of your essay

attachmentPlease upload your entry as a Word document or a PDF

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GDPR

In adherence with GDPR, your details will be held on a secure database and will not be released to any third party without your explicit and written consent. We may contact you by email once or twice a year with details of next year’s competition and any other relevant information about the Keats-Shelley Prizes. Read our Privacy Policy here.

Copyright

Please read carefully and tick the box to confirm your agreement: In consideration of our providing you with the opportunity to have your entry/entries published in the Keats-Shelley Review and on the KSMA website, you hereby grant to KSMA a non-exclusive, worldwide license to publish your entry/entries in this journal and on the website. Copyright remains vested in you.