Theme for Hampshire Young Poets 2026: Food

 

Hampshire Young Poets is an annual competition run by Hampshire Cultural Trust and the Winchester Poetry Festival. It aims to inspire creativity and encourage a love of poetry, writing and words in young people across Hampshire.  

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The rustle of a bag of crisps in a silent movie theatre. The disastrous birthday cake that lives on in family folklore. The feeling of biting into the crunchiest of carrots. The comforting aroma of sizzling spices. The stink of a rotten apple long forgotten in your schoolbag. The chaos of baking with your baby brother. How warm rotis feel between your fingers.  

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Through this year’s theme we invite you to explore the world of food through your senses, your memories, your traditions and your emotions. Write a poem of no more than 14 lines and submit it for a chance to be one of this year’s winning poets.

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Write a poem of no more than 14 lines on this theme and send it to us for a chance to be one of the winning poets announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday 10 October 2026, at The Arc, Winchester as part of Winchester Poetry Day

Judge: Damian Kelly-Basher (Hampshire Poet)

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Open: now

Competition closes: Friday 22 May 2026​

(Winners contacted: Friday 31 July 2026)

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First prize in each category:
£50 National Book Token

plus £50 P&G Wells Book Token for your school/education provider to spend on poetry books

Second prize in each category:
£25 National Book Token

plus £25 P&G Wells Book Token for your school/education provider to spend on poetry books

Third prize in each category:
£10 National Book Token

plus £10 P&G Wells Book Token for your school/education provider to spend on poetry books

 

Additionally, certificates will be awarded to three commended poems and three poems with the best line in each age category. ​

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Hampshire Young Poets is a partnership between Hampshire Cultural Trust and Winchester Poetry Festival.

Prizes kindly sponsored by P&G Wells and Paris Smith

 

 

 

How to enter

 

Online

Submit your poem here:

 

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At P&G Wells bookshop

You can write and enter your poem by visiting The Poetry Desk, in the Children's sections at P&G Wells bookshop, College St, Winchester. Here you will find everything you need to write your poem, including some prompts hidden within the desk itself.

This desk is set up for the duration of the competition, and the poems will be collected and forwarded on to judge when it concludes.

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Competition rules

• The competition is open to any young person in the three specified age categories who lives or studies in Hampshire

• Entry is free, with submissions online only

• The poem should be no longer than 14 lines, in English, be the entrant’s own work and should not have been published elsewhere, including online, and not have won any other competition. You may only enter one poem

• Closing date is midnight GMT 22 May 2026

• No changes can be made once entries have been submitted

• The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into

• The winners will be contacted by email and announced at a ceremony at The Arc, Winchester, on Saturday 10 October 2026. Unfortunately, we are unable to contact entrants who have not been successful

 

You can visit the competition page on Hampshire Cultural Trust website 

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DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES for teachers and teaching assistants

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