IMPORTANT UPDATE: This contest is now open to all groups that work with children in Plymouth. Parental submissions now welcome.
Details
The Inter-School Plymouth Poetry Competition or #plympoecomp (for short!) is a project aimed at promoting creative writing for children aged 5 to 16. It is being organised by Thom Boulton (Blaidh Nemorlith), Plymouth's Poet Laureate in a bid to spark the imagination of young writers and draw attention/praise to the future generation of Plymouthian poets. Every school in Plymouth is invited to enter. Poems need to be either emailed or sent via post by June 30th 2017. The postal address and email address can be found at the bottom of this page.
There are three age brackets for this contest...
Children aged 5 to 8 years old.
Children aged 9 to 12 years old.
Children aged 13 to 16 years old.
Poems should be written within a one hour period. This time should include giving the children the prompt and allowing them to explore the prompt before writing. This could be in the form of a class discussion, a picture board or their own personal study and reflection time. At the end of the session the poems should be collated by the teacher. You may if you wish use time after this period to edit the spellings and punctuation (or word process the poems to send them digitally) but no editing to the actual ideas, language or sentence structure should take place.
The prompts are...
5 to 8: somewhere safe
9 to 12: something scary
13 to 16: someone sullen
There are three age brackets for this contest...
Children aged 5 to 8 years old.
Children aged 9 to 12 years old.
Children aged 13 to 16 years old.
Poems should be written within a one hour period. This time should include giving the children the prompt and allowing them to explore the prompt before writing. This could be in the form of a class discussion, a picture board or their own personal study and reflection time. At the end of the session the poems should be collated by the teacher. You may if you wish use time after this period to edit the spellings and punctuation (or word process the poems to send them digitally) but no editing to the actual ideas, language or sentence structure should take place.
The prompts are...
5 to 8: somewhere safe
9 to 12: something scary
13 to 16: someone sullen
Meet The Judges
All entries will be judged and each judge will enter ten shortlisted pieces into the final. The finalists will then go on to perform at a venue in Plymouth some time in October 2017. The finalist performance will be judged by a new judge (yet to be announced). Below is a little bit about the judges.
Dan Morgan (aka Dorian Sounde)
Shortlist Judge for the aged 5 to 8 category. Dan has been writing and sharing poetry since he was sixteen. He has won many online poetry competitions (as well as hosting and judging some!), co-hosted the popular 'In The Darkly Woods' event during the Plym-Lit festival 2016, and plays weekly in his rock band throughout Devon and Cornwall. Dan, aka Dorian Sounde, has engaged in several workshops in schools, looking to promote writing, music and poetry through creativity and adventure. An active attendee of Cross Country Writers, Dan has enjoyed recent success with the vanity published poetry book 'Monsters' co-authored with Blaidh Nemorlith (Plymouth's Poet Laureate). https://twitter.com/DorianSounde |
Babs Horton
Shortlist Judge for the aged 9 to 12 category. Babs Horton is an award winning novelist. Her first book, A Jarful of Angels, (2003) won the Pendleton May prize and was short-listed for the Authors' Club 'First novel' award. Dandelion Soup was published in 2004, Wildcat Moon (2006.) Recipes for Cherubs (2009) and Holy Mackerel (2014) The Emporium of Dreams (2016) She was a contributor to Beryl Cook (UPP, 2009) and her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies worldwide. She was a teacher for many years, working with children with behaviour problems and for 10 years taught English in an adolescent unit for students with mental health problems. https://twitter.com/BabsHorton |
Sara Elizabeth Smiles
Shortlist Judge for the aged 13 to 16 category. Sara Elizabeth Smiles has a BA in English Literature and a MA in Creative Writing from Plymouth University. She has been a Writing Mentor to Plymouth University students at the Writing Cafe where she helped them develop their essay skills. As Secretary for CrossCountry Writers she's been involved in the local writing scene and ran workshops catering to poetry and prose. For the last two years she's judged the Athenaeum Flash Fiction Slam and was on the organising committee for PlymLit16. https://twitter.com/miho_mallace |
What Do We Want To See?
There are no restrictions to the style or type of poem entered into this contest. We do request a minimum of 12 lines and set the maximum at 40 lines (per poem!) with a limit on one poem per child. There is no restriction on how many pupils you enter, it could be a few or could be a whole cohort. Spellings and punctuation can be supported by the teacher(s) but we do request that the ideas, language and sentence structure are solely the child's independent effort. This works on an honour system basis.
Please note: As the entry is in the academic year 2016/17 but the finals are held in the academic year 2017/18, the entry will be taken as for the original school that submitted it. This means we will contact that school and hope for ex-students or students who have transitioned (such as Year 3/Year 7) to be contacted by that school to inform them they have been placed in the final. If we do not hear a reply from the school in regard to the child being notified then that entry will be replaced by the next shortlisted poem.
The judges have each given a statement of what they are specifically looking for...
"I hope entrants will be enthusiastic about writing, and that this shines through in their poems." Dan Morgan (judge for 5 to 8 category)
"Something fresh and challenging that makes me view the world differently.." Babs Horton (judge for 9 to 12 category)
"I'm looking for a voice that draws me in and makes me feel what they do." Sara Elizabeth Smiles (judge for 13 to 16 category)
Please note: As the entry is in the academic year 2016/17 but the finals are held in the academic year 2017/18, the entry will be taken as for the original school that submitted it. This means we will contact that school and hope for ex-students or students who have transitioned (such as Year 3/Year 7) to be contacted by that school to inform them they have been placed in the final. If we do not hear a reply from the school in regard to the child being notified then that entry will be replaced by the next shortlisted poem.
The judges have each given a statement of what they are specifically looking for...
"I hope entrants will be enthusiastic about writing, and that this shines through in their poems." Dan Morgan (judge for 5 to 8 category)
"Something fresh and challenging that makes me view the world differently.." Babs Horton (judge for 9 to 12 category)
"I'm looking for a voice that draws me in and makes me feel what they do." Sara Elizabeth Smiles (judge for 13 to 16 category)
Sending Your Entries.
For postal entries please ensure every poem has the child's first name only
and their age at the time of writing written on the back of the paper.
If sending by internal mail/post...
FTAO: Thom Boulton, Plymouth Poet Laureate
Plaistow Hill Infant and Nursery School
Roman Way
St Budeaux
Plymouth
PL5 2DT
For digital entries please ensure every poem has the child's first name only
and their age at the time of writing underneath the title or in the footer of the document.
If emailing digital copies...
FTAO: Thom Boulton, Plymouth Poet Laureate
[email protected]
and their age at the time of writing written on the back of the paper.
If sending by internal mail/post...
FTAO: Thom Boulton, Plymouth Poet Laureate
Plaistow Hill Infant and Nursery School
Roman Way
St Budeaux
Plymouth
PL5 2DT
For digital entries please ensure every poem has the child's first name only
and their age at the time of writing underneath the title or in the footer of the document.
If emailing digital copies...
FTAO: Thom Boulton, Plymouth Poet Laureate
[email protected]