Sonnet Writing Competition

2016 marks 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, and to celebrate this important year Writers & Artists together with The Arden Shakespeare and the Royal Society of Literature have a competition, open to published and aspiring poets alike. Free to enter

Take inspiration from Shakespeare, and pen your very own sonnet in response to a Shakespeare sonnet of your choice.

Please email your entry to competition@bloomsbury.com. The subject line of your email must be “Sonnets competition” and please mention the name of the sonnet you have been inspired by within the body of your email.

All entrants must register on www.writersandartists.co.uk before submitting your entry.

Deadline: midnight on Monday 31st May, 2016.

Prizes

The first, second and third-placed sonnets will all be published on writersandartists.co.uk alongside feedback from the judge, Ruth Padel. The winner will receive a leather-bound edition of Shakespeare’s Complete Works (RRP £99.99) and free membership to the Royal Society of Literature for a year, entitling them to:

• Attend RSL events – over 20 each year – free of charge
• Bring guests to events at a discount
• Enjoy priority booking to RSL/Man Booker masterclasses with a 50% discount
• Subscribe free to the bi-annual RSL Review
• Attend the RSL summer party and AGM
• Receive the RSL monthly e-newsletter

The winning entry will also be published in the Royal Society of Literature Review.

N.B. If the poet of the winning entry does not live in the UK and is unable to take advantage of the benefits of a Royal Society of Literature membership then an alternative prize of £50-worth of Bloomsbury titles will be offered. 

Second and third prize entries will receive a copy of On Shakespeare’s Sonnets: A Poets’ Celebration, and a gift edition of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

All entries must be original unpublished poetry.

Writers may submit one entry only.

Please include your email address and other contact details in the body of the email. Your entry can appear in the body of the email or as a Word/PDF attachment.