Poetry Competition - Win £100-£200
We are delighted to announce the King's English Society's next poetry-writing competition themed 'Bird(s)', to be judged by our Poet in Residence Dorothy Pope.
The competition is open to all. There is an entry fee of £5.00 per poem, payable by direct bank transfer with reference 'Poetry Competition' – bank details below. Entry is free to KES subscriber-members.
The winner will receive a prize of £200 and the runner-up £100.
Each entrant may submit up to two poems not previously published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere. Please keep copies as those submitted will not be returned.
The entry fee of £5 per poem should be paid by direct bank transfer
The King's English Society
CAF Bank
Sort Code 40 - 52 - 40
Account No. 00092513
Poems should reach Dorothy Pope by 15 September 2026, by post to 10 Runnelfield, Harrow on the Hill, Middx HA1 3NY, or by email to
Poems sent by post should each be typed on a separate sheet with contact details on the reverse. Each emailed poem must be in Word or similar format (no PDFs, please) and must be sent separately with contact details well separated from the poem. Every poem must be headed 'King’s English Society Poetry Competition' and must be a maximum of 20 lines in the author’s choice of form.
Results will be announced on the Society's website and other social media platforms on 5 October 2026 and the winning poem and the runner-up will be published in the winter 2026 issue of Quest.
Though she finds the poems a delight to read, please note that due to the sheer volume of work Dorothy Pope is unable to provide feedback other than on the two winners.
Dorothy Pope is the author of three books, The Fourth Man, The Summerhouse Poems and A Mile of Kite String. A retired English teacher, she started writing poems at the age of 53 and has since had 530 poems published, about 20 of them prize-winning including several firsts, notably the Poetry Society’s Hamish Canham award. She is Chair of Herga Poets.
Photo: Mehdi Sepehri