Terms and Conditions

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Please read these terms and conditions before submitting your work. 

Competition Terms and Conditions 

  • The Disabled Poets Prize 2025 is open to deaf and disabled poets aged over 18 and resident in the UK. 
  • By deaf and/ or disabled poets we mean poets who have faced disablist and/or audist barriers in accessing their careers, and poets who consider themselves to be deaf or disabled. This includes: Deaf, deaf and hard-of-hearing people, blind and visually impaired people, people with mobility and energy-limiting impairments, chronic illnesses, mental health conditions or experience of mental distress, and/ or learning disabilities, neurodivergent people. We also include other people who have experienced barriers accessing the poetry world related to their experience as people living with chronic or long-term health conditions or impairments not otherwise discussed.
  • Entries for the best single poem should be original unpublished works of poetry of no more than 40 lines in length (does not include the title).
  • Entries for the best unpublished pamphlet should be original unpublished works of poetry of no more than 28 pages in length with 27 lines per page (does not include titles).
  • Entries must be the individual and original work of a sole author. 
  • Entries must be in English.
  • For each category the length of entries will be checked at longlisting stage. Entries longer than the stated line counts will be disqualified. There is no minimum length requirement.
  • The Prize has two categories: best single poem and best unpublished pamphlet. If eligible, poets can submit entries to both categories, but only one entry per category may be submitted. If multiple entries are received to any category by one entrant, only the first entry will be accepted and the other entries discounted. 
  • Entries for the best single poem category:
    • Must be the original, previously unpublished work of the entrant. 
    • Should not have been published online, in a physical format or have been broadcast on or before July 2025. Work found to be published online, in a physical format or have been broadcast will be disqualified. This includes pieces that are self-published on a blog or in a self-published book. 
    • Poems that are part of a pamphlet, collection or anthology which has secured a publishing deal, or been selected for broadcast, but have not yet been published, are ineligible.
  • Entries for the best unpublished pamphlet prize category:
    • Must be a debut pamphlet by the entrant.
    • Must be the original, previously unpublished work of the entrant.
    • No work contained in the submission should have been published online, in a physical format or have been broadcast on or before April 2026. Work found to include material published online, in a physical format or have been broadcast will be disqualified. This includes pieces that are self-published on a blog or in a self-published book. 
    • Entrants to this category must not have previously published a collection or pamphlet of their work.
    • Entrants to this category must not have a publishing contract for a pamphlet or collection of work in place at the time of entering (please let the Disabled Poets Prize know if you sign a publishing deal after you have entered the Prize, as this would render you ineligible).
  • For the purposes of the Prize, self-published poets are welcome to enter as long as the work you are entering is totally unpublished, including self-published. In addition, for the best unpublished pamphlet category, you cannot already have self-published a pamphlet or collection if the print run was over 50 copies. 
  • A judging panel of practising poets will select a short-list of entrants for each category. From that list the judges will select the winners, second and third placed and shortlisted writers for each category. 
  • The judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence about their decisions will be entered into. CRIPtic Arts and Spread the Word reserve the right to change the panel of judges without notice. 
  • Due to the volume of entries the Prize is expecting to receive, CRIPtic Arts and Spread the Word will be unable to provide feedback for any entries. We hope you understand and are sorry to not be able to provide this.
  • All entries will be judged anonymously. To that effect, please ensure that your entry does not contain your name on any of the pages or in its file name. Any entries with names or identifying information on will be disqualified.
  • If any of the reading and judging panels recognise an entry, they can participate in a discussion about the piece but will recuse themselves from casting a vote.
  • Entries can be submitted from 9am, Monday 9 September 2024. The closing date for entries is 1pm on Monday 4 November 2024. 
  • Entries that are simultaneously submitted elsewhere are welcome – but please let us know as soon as possible if a piece is to be published elsewhere or has won another prize so we can disqualify it from the Disabled Poets Prize. 
  • The Prizes on offer for shortlisted poets in each category include: First place prize of £500, second place prize of £250, third place prize of £100, and three highly commended prizes of £50 each.
  • In addition, the Prizes on offer for shortlisted poets in each category include:
    • An online professional development session with CRIPtic Arts and Spread the Word. 
    • One full year of membership to The Literary Consultancy’s Being a Writer community platform.
  • In addition, the Prizes on offer for winning poets include:
    • An online Editor one-to-one with The Literary Consultancy.
    • A place at two online masterclasses run by the Arvon Foundation.
    • The winner of the best unpublished pamphlet category will also be offered publication by Verve Poetry Press.
  • Entrants across all the Prize categories will hear the outcome of their submission and if it has made the longlist or shortlist by the end of January 2025
  • Shortlisted poets and the name of their work will be announced in the first week of February 2025 on the Prize, CRIPtic Arts, Spread the Word and Verve Poetry Press websites and associated social media channels. If you are a shortlisted poet you agree to not announce the news before the results are published on the respective websites.
  • Longlisted poets will be offered the opportunity of having a special mention on the Prize, CRIPtic Arts, Spread the Word and Verve Poetry Press websites. 
  • Shortlisted poets in each category will be emailed during the second week of February 2025 with the results of each Prize category and the overall winner. These will remain confidential until the public announcement of the winners at the online Prize announcement event on Saturday 29 March 2025. 
  • The winner, second and third placed, and highly commended poets will agree to any reasonable request by CRIPtic Arts, Spread the Word, Verve Poetry Press and Verve Poetry Festival to fulfil press and marketing obligations relating to the competition and their own entry, including attending and reading at events connected with the Prize.
  • Copyright will remain with the author.
  • The winner of the 2025 unpublished pamphlet category agrees to be published by Verve Poetry Press. 
  • CRIPtic Arts and Spread the Word reserve the right to publish the shortlisted entries on their respective websites and/ or in print.
  • Entrants wishing to enter both categories can use the same entry form to submit the respective entries.
  • Entrants can submit to the Prize online or by post.
  • Entries for the best single poem and best unpublished pamphlet prize categories when submitted online must be submitted as a text document [.doc, .docx, .pdf], typed in black and double spaced and submitted online via Submittable, or can be entered in the post with an entry form to the Disabled Poets Prize, Spread the Word, The Albany, Douglas Way, London, SE8 4AG. Postal entry forms can be downloaded from the Prize website: disabledpoetsprize.org.uk
  • Answers to the other submission questions (e.g. writers’ bio) may be provided in text or audio [.aac, .aiff, .flac, .mp3, .wav] format in spoken English, or video [.mp4, .mov, .wmv] format in spoken English or British Sign Language.
  • Unfortunately, we cannot return entries submitted by post but we will acknowledge receipt of entry via email.
  • Employees or Trustees of CRIPtic Arts, Spread the Word, Verve Poetry Press, Verve Poetry Festival, the Arvon Foundation, The Literary Consultancy and Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) or their close family members, judges or their close family members are not permitted to enter.
  • There may be extenuating circumstances that render the dates and timelines in this document flexible. CRIPtic Arts and Spread the Word reserve the right to alter these dates should it be necessary for any reason. 
  • CRIPtic Arts and Spread the Word reserve the right not to award any of the stated Prizes if there are insufficient submissions and/or if submissions are not taken forward by the judges for any of the Prize categories. 
  • These terms and conditions are the Competition Rules. Submission of an entry will be taken to mean acceptance of these terms and conditions. Entries that fail to comply with these rules may be disqualified. 

The Prize’s website is: disabledpoetsprize.org.uk 

If you are considering submitting an entry to the Prize, please make sure you have read the following documents, available on the Prize website in audio, BSL and Word document formats.

If you have a question about the Prize which is not answered through the Frequently Asked Questions, you can contact the Prize by email: [email protected] 

To support you in making your submission/s to the Disabled Poets Prize, we are running two FREE online and BSL interpreted workshops:

  • Wednesday 9 October, 6.30pm-8pm with Susie Wilson, Best Unpublished Pamphlet Prize winner 2024, on Putting Good Pamphlets Together. Book your place through this link: bit.ly/4e6X9Pj 
  • Thursday 10 October, 6.30pm-8pm with Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, Best Single Poem Prize winner 2024, on editing your poems. Book your place through this link: bit.ly/4dMlaLF 

The Disabled Poets Prize is a collaboration between CRIPtic Arts, Spread the Word and Verve Poetry Press. The 2025 Prize is supported by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).