To celebrate the work of Charles Causley and to encourage young writers to follow in his footsteps, the Charles Causley Trust is again organising this popular annual prize for 2018. It’s free to enter and is open to all young people, aged 5-18, living in Cornwall.
Often described as ‘the greatest poet laureate we never had,’ Charles Causley was a poet of place and people. He spent most of his writing life among the scenes of his childhood in and around the small Cornish town of Launceston where he was born. Known for charity and a penchant for rhymes, his poems were popular with a huge and varied readership making him, in the words of his friend and fellow poet Ted Hughes, ‘one of the best-loved and most needed’ poets of the last 50 years.
Read Charles Causley’s poetry and be inspired to write your own poem on this year’s theme, ‘the Cornish countryside.’
There are three entry levels:
Category A for children aged 5 to 11
Category B for young people (in Secondary education) aged 11 to 16
Category C for young people aged 16 to 18
The Prizes
All commended entries will be displayed in a public exhibition, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize-winners in each category will bag for themselves some very attractive book prizes as well as a signed certificate. In addition, the winner in each category will be awarded a two-hour poetry workshop with a professional writer for their class or group to be organised by the Charles Causley Trust in association with KEAP and Endelienta.
Closing date:
Friday 20th July 2018
How to enter
All entries should be accompanied by an entry form and posted to: The Charles Causley Trust, 2 Cyprus Well, Ridgegrove Hill, Launceston, PL15 8BT (with the envelope clearly marked ‘Causley Trust Poetry Prizes’).
Download the entry form here Download the rules here 
