Guernsey International Poetry Competition 2027
Judged by Clare Pollard
Competition deadline
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Competition deadline 15 Jan 2027
Our Judge for 2027: Clare Pollard
Clare Pollard is an award-winning poet, novelist and playwright based in London.
She published her first poetry collection, The Heavy-Petting Zoo, at the age of 19 and has since published six collections with Bloodaxe Books, most recently Lives of the Female Poets.
Clare’s play The Weather premiered at the Royal Court Theatre. She has translated numerous works, including Ovid’s Heroines and The Sea-Migrations by Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf, which received a PEN Translates Award.
Clare is Poetry Editor of The Idler and former editor of Modern Poetry in Translation. Her acclaimed novel Delphi was followed by The Modern Fairies, winner of the 2025 Tadeusz Bradecki Prize. Her children’s novel, The Othernauts, was published by Bonnier in June 2026, with a second edition scheduled for publication in February 2027. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Filter Judge Jonathan Edwards
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Jonathan Edwards, our filter judge, is the author of My Family and Other Superheroes (Seren, 2014), which received the Costa Poetry Award and the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award. It was shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. His second collection, Gen (Seren, 2018), also received the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award, and in 2019 his poem about Newport Bridge was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. His third collection, Talk of the Town, is published in October 2026.
Jonathan received the Troubadour Poetry Prize in 2022. He has been a judge for the National Poetry Competition and the Wales Book of the Year and a Literature Wales mentor of emerging writers. He lives in Crosskeys, South Wales, and is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Cardiff University.
Poetry Winners’ Reading at the Guernsey Literary Festival
Set against Guernsey's spectacular coastline and vibrant cultural scene, the Guernsey Literary Festival is one of the Channel Islands' leading literary events.
The 2027 Festival runs from 23 April to 2 May, offering an exciting programme of authors, poets, workshops, performances and family events.
We invite you to join us for the International Poetry Competition Winners' Reading during the Guernsey Literary Festival.
For more information visit guernseyliteraryfestival.com.
Categories & prizes
Open Poetry
Open to poets worldwide.
Entry: £5 per poem or 3 poems for £12
1st prize £1000
2nd place £500
3rd place £250
Channel Islands
Aged 18 and over who were born in or are resident* in the Channel Islands.
Entry: £5 per poem or 3 poems for £12†
1st prize £250
2nd place £50
3rd place £30
Young People’s
Aged 11–17.*
Entry: FREE†
1st prize £250
2nd place £50
3rd place £30
Poems on the Move Exhibitions 2027
The three prize winners in each category will have their poems displayed on Guernsey buses, with nine finalist poems also exhibited at Guernsey Airport.
A further 12 poems will be selected for display in public locations across the island including at Guernsey Harbour.
With thanks to Guernsey Arts, Guernsey Ports and Stagecoach Guernsey for supporting the displays.
2026 Winners
Judge: John Agard
Open Poetry
Channel Islands’ Poetry
Young People’s Poetry
Guernsey Exhibitions
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Bold Helen Goff
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The Bus Window Kushi Kumari
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I want to write a poem where I say I love you Jenny Chu
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The Letting Go Tawhida Aalifa
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My son believes his late aunt is a butterfly Alanna Rice
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Offshoot Jack Cooper
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Rocky Immy Crawford
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Sand speaks on this boiling day in August Sandra Noel
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Sonnet to Father Noah Adeoye
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Spring Clean Rachel Burrows
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Statues Esther Morgan
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Wallaby in the Garden Adam Elms
Read poem