In celebration of the work of the Cornish poet Charles Causley, the Young People’s Poetry Prize 2019 aims to encourage and enable young writers to have a go at writing poetry themselves. Charles wrote prolifically for adults and for young people and much of his inspiration came from what was going on around him in his home town of Launceston in Cornwall.

With this in mind, we want the young poets of the future to be inspired to write their own poetry responding to this year’s theme of ‘Place’. You can enter through your school, as part of a group, or you can enter as an individual.

The competition is open to all young people aged between 5 and 18 years old who live anywhere in the UK and is free to enter. Poems will be judged by Patrick Gale and a panel of poetry judges with prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category – the awards ceremony will take place at the North Cornwall Book Festival in October 2019.

Deadline for entries is July 31st 2019.

Click the buttons below to download an Entry Form and the competition Rules.

The three entry levels are:

Category A – children aged 5 to 11yrs (KS1 & KS2 equivalent)
Category B – children aged 11 to 16yrs (KS3 &KS4 equivalent)
Category C – young people aged 16 to 18yrs (KS5 equivalent)

All poems should be accompanied by an entry form and sent to: The Charles Causley Young People’s Poetry Competition 2019, 2 Cyprus Well, Ridgegrove Hill, Launceston, PL15 8BT or emailed to info@causleytrust.org with YP Poetry Competition 2019 in the subject box.