The theme of 2025-26’s Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize has been chosen to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man. Entrants are invited to submit poems on the subject of either “Dystopia” or “Utopia”.
Poetry Rules
Poets can interpret “Dystopia” or “Utopia” freely. Poems can be serious or comic, experimental or traditional, but the judges advise that works drifting too far from the theme will not be considered.
Poems must:
• be no more than 30 lines of text in length.
• fit onto a fit onto a single side of A4 paper.
Entries must be original and contemporary in style. Plagiarism will not be accepted - including AI-generated entries. The poem must not have been published previously, either in print or online or in any other media, nor previously submitted to us.
Poetry judge Deryn Rees-Jones writes: ‘For me good poems adhere to no rules… except the one necessary to their own creation. Often a poem will stand out because of its precision and its ability to harness and also liberate a particular kind of energy. The poem will be able to say something that only it can say.’
Entry to the Poetry Prize: £10 per entry.
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.
• Please put the title of your poem or essay at the top of the page.
• Entries may be submitted from any part of the world but must be in English and in Microsoft Word or PDF format.
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