A PRIZE of £1,000 is up for grabs in a poetry competition.

The Winchester Poetry Prize is open for entries for the 2022 competition.

Prizes include £1,000 for the winner, £500 for second place and £250 for third.

A prize from the Winchester stationery store, Warren & Son, will also be gifted for the best poem written by a Hampshire-based poet.

All winning and commended poems will be featured in a competition anthology.

Poet Jo Bell will be judging the competition. Previously, Jo was the inaugural Canal Laureate for the Canal and River Trust and The Poetry Society from 2013-2015. The Sheffield born poet was also director of National Poetry Day for six years.

The experienced poetry prize judge was awarded an honorary doctorate for her services to poetry in 2015.

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The Winchester Poetry Festival is a registered charity that hosts a biennial festival. The next full festival will take place in October 2023.

This year, a poetry day will take place to announce the winners of the seventh Winchester Poetry Prize, as well as workshops, walks and readings at The Arc (previously the Discovery Centre). The winner of the Hampshire Cultural Trust and Winchester Poetry Festival ‘Hampshire Young Poet’ competition will also be announced.

The closing date is July 31, 11.59pm before the winners will be announced on Saturday, October 8, 2022.

Entry fees for the poetry prize cost £5 and £4 for any subsequent poems.

For more go to, winchesterpoetryfestival.org/prize.

Entries should be submitted via email to entries@winchesterpoetryfestival.org.

The main sponosr for the event is Paris Smith Solicitors.

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