The 2025 Bridgette James Poetry Competitors
Theme: “Nature and You” | Submission Deadline: Might 8, 2025 (Midday BST)
Entry Price: Free | Open to: Writers from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and their diaspora
Prizes
- 1st Place: $40 USD
- Runner-Up: $10 USD
- Prime 3: Revealed within the Penned in Rage Hardcover Journal
Ella’s Poems invitations poets to enter the second annual Bridgette James Poetry Competitors, now open by Might 8, 2025. This yr’s theme, “Nature and You,” requires poems that discover our private and collective relationship with the pure world.
To compete, writers should submit an authentic, unpublished poem (max 40 strains) written within the first individual. The theme will be interpreted broadly—deal with local weather change, cultural ecology, city growth, or ancestral connection to the land.
Use free verse or experimental types. Keep away from metered poetry and AI-generated content material; all entries will probably be checked for originality.
Learn how to Undergo the Bridgette James Poetry Competitors
- Write a 40-line max poem in non-metered type (free verse, haiku, prose poem, and so forth.).
- Format your poem in a Phrase doc (.doc).
- Submit one poem solely to:
- Use your actual identify in your submission. It’s possible you’ll embrace a pseudonym for publication, however it’s essential to disclose your authorized identify to organizers.
- Subscribe to www.ellaspoems.com to be eligible. Subscription is free—simply click on “Subscribe” on the homepage.
Observe: Solely profitable entries will probably be contacted. Winners will probably be introduced publicly on Might 30, 2025, on the official web site.
Extra Alternatives
On the similar time, Penned in Rage additionally welcomes:
- Flash Fiction (max 500 phrases)
- Non-academic essays and artistic nonfiction (max 500 phrases)
It’s possible you’ll submit work on any subject. Nevertheless, the journal doesn’t settle for work that offends any social group or consists of metered verse.
Publication & Awards for the Bridgette James Poetry Competitors
Successful entries will seem within the Nature & You Anthology 2025 and the annual hardcover version of Penned in Rage (revealed through Amazon KDP). The journal additionally publishes three downloadable PDF editions annually (January, April, October).
Judging Panel for the Bridgette James Poetry Competitors
Poet Pamilerin Jacob will decide the highest entries. His work has appeared in POETRY, Lolwe, The Rumpus, and extra. He brings sharp editorial perception and a deep dedication to showcasing daring, genuine voices.
Becoming a member of the studying panel is Anna Zgambo, PhD candidate in literature and creator of Peruse Each Poem. She has revealed broadly and brings a wealthy understanding of African poetics and lyric type.
Concerning the Founder: Bridgette James
Bridgette James, a British-Sierra Leonean author, based the competitors to amplify underrepresented voices. A former UK police constable with a background in literature and criminology, she attracts on lived expertise to craft emotionally resonant work.
Her writing has appeared in The Lake, Allegro, London Grip, Dreich, and Bristol Noir. In 2024, she received the Fiction Manufacturing facility Poetry Prize, and was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and Renard Press Poetry Prize.
Want a Increase Earlier than You Submit?
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