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Cambrian Mountains Poetry competition

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 Full details 

Poetry competition 2025

Welcome to the second international Cambrian Mountains Poetry competition.  Our theme this year is Springs and Sources celebrating the many rivers, both major – the Wye, Severn, Towy and Teifi – and smaller – the Irfon, Elan, Rheidol, Ystwyth, Cammarch, Brefi, Pysgotr and others too numerous to list, which rise in the Cambrian Mountains.

The competition this year is kindly sponsored by Charcroft Electronics Ltd and James James Ltd.  As before, we are offering six prizes in total:

  • Best Welsh poem: – 1st prize £150; 2nd prize a £20 book token.
  • Best English poem: – 1st prize £150; 2nd prize a £20 book token.
  • Best poem in either language from a contributor resident in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion or Powys: – 1st prize £100; 2nd prize a £10 book token.

A poem can only win one of the prizes.

cambrian-mountains-moorland-waterfall

Judges

Entries will be judged by local poet Cyril Jones, who won the Crown competition in the Ceredigion National Eisteddfod of 1992 and teaches creative writing modules at the University of South Wales as well as giving creative writing sessions to primary school children.  He is a published poet, has written a book that serves as an introduction to Welsh literature, for learners of the language at all levels, and also lectures on Welsh and English poetry.  Cyril is a staunch believer in the importance of experimenting with crossing the boundaries of languages, poetic forms and themes.

Conditions and fees

The competition is open to persons from anywhere in the world aged 16 and over.  The poem must be written in English or Welsh, and be no longer than 40 lines (excluding the title).

The poem must be new and not already published, either in-print, online or via social media.  The full rules are available here in Welsh and English.  The deadline for submissions is 30 November 2025.

Judging will commence in December 2025 and the winners will be notified in January 2026.  We will be holding a prize giving where winners will be invited to read their poems, on Cambrian Mountains Day (28 February) 2026.

The competition is free for Cambrian Mountains Society members.  (You can join here for £15.) For non-members the entrance fee is £3.50 for a single entry,  £6 for two entries, and £8 for three entries. Payment is accepted via PayPal, and a PayPal account is not required to facilitate payment.

The competition can be entered via an online submission or by post.

Online submission

For online submissions:

Postal submission

For a postal submission the entrant must include:

  • A covering letter that includes their name, address and a contact telephone number
  • A separate page for each poem being submitted.
  • A cheque payable to the ‘Cambrian Mountains Society’ for the entrance fee

The letter should be addressed to:

Secretary
Cambrian Mountains Society
Penybont Uchaf
Llanwrtyd Wells
Powys LD5 4TN

Rules

Please see our full rules of entry here: https://www.cambrian-mountains.co.uk/poetry-competition-rules

 

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