National Poetry Competition

[1] It is run by UK-based The Poetry Society and accepts entries from all over the world, with over 10,000 poems being submitted to the competition each year.

Looking back, in 2007 she commented: "in those days, one was still called a 'poetess' – so it meant a lot, as a young woman poet, to begin to try to change that".

[3] Other prestigious names to have won the competition include Ruth Padel, Jo Shapcott, Sinéad Morrissey, Ian Duhig, Colette Bryce and the poet and novelist Helen Dunmore.

[5][6] The competition runs annually, opening in the spring and closing at the end of October.

A new team of judges (made up of three respected poets) is announced each year.