The 2026 Oxford Poetry Prize is now open. The competition, awarded for a single poem in the English language, carries a top prize of £2,000, with £1,000 for the runner-up and £500 for the second runner-up. All prize-winners will be offered publication in Oxford Poetry, one of the oldest and most prestigious poetry journals in the English-speaking world. This year’s guest judge is acclaimed poet Rowan Ricardo Phillips.

THE DETAILS

  • Submission window: 1 May – 31 August 2026 (midnight UTC)
  • Entry fee: £10 per poem
  • Length limit: Maximum 60 lines per poem (excluding titles, epigraphs, and blank lines)
  • Format: PDF only, submitted via Submittable
  • Blind review: Do not include your name or identifying information in the uploaded file
  • No limit on the number of poems submitted, each poem must be in a separate file

ELIGIBILITY

The competition is open to poets 18 and older, anywhere in the world. Poems must be original, unpublished (in print or online, including blogs and social media), and must not have been generated with the aid of AI tools.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Submit through Oxford Poetry’s Submittable page. Read the full Terms & Conditions here.