The competition is organised by the Poetry Society.

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is an opportunity for any young poet aged 11-17 to accelerate their writing career. Since it was founded in 1998 the Award has kick-started the career of some of today’s most exciting new voices, such as Sarah Howe, Phoebe Power, Richard Osmond, Jay Bernard and Helen Mort. With entries from over 6,000 young people last year from across the UK and worldwide, it is the largest competition of its kind and its importance is widely attested.

The competition welcomes poems on any theme and any length. Entries must be written in English.

Poems must be the original work of the author and cannot have been published anywhere.

The competition is free to enter.

The top 15 winners will have their poems printed in the winners’ print anthology, 25,000 copies of which are distributed to school libraries and poetry enthusiasts.

The top 15 winners will be invited to attend a life-changing residential writing course at one of the prestigious Arvon Centres, or receive mentoring from a professional poet (age dependent).

The 85 commended poets will have their work published in an online anthology and their names in the print anthology.