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Swanwick Writing for Children Competition - is poetry acceptable?

edited January 2018 in - Talkback Help Pages
Hello, I hope this is the correct place to be asking this question. I am looking to enter the Swanwick Writing for Children Competition. I mainly write humorous poetry aimed at children, so I am wondering if this would be the right competition for me? The title says writing, not short story or poem as the others do, so I am wondering if this encompases both please? Or if the Swanwick Poetry Competition would be a better fit for me, or if this has to be more serious poetry? Or indeed if both are acceptable? If someone could let me know it would be of great help.

Thank you for your assistance.
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Comments

  • Hello Xenia.

    Sure someone who's entered before will know for certain.

    But looking at the page on their website it says Children's Fiction, so I wouldn't consider that to mean any poetry.

    https://www.swanwickwritersschool.org.uk/win-a-place.html

  • Hi Xenia,
    It's difficult to tell as it's not specified. I am sure that for fiction for adults it wouldn't be allowed, however, it can be different for children. I seem to remember a Writing for Children competition advertised on This Morning being won by a rhyming story.

    Maybe contact them to clarify - or just bite the bullet and risk £5!
  • If the poem can be described as a work of fiction, it should be OK. If it's just descritive and not fiction, it probably won't.
  • Poetry is classed as non-fiction, so not sure about that...
  • Who classes it that way, Liz? If it's the competition organisers then it definitely can't be entered into a fiction competition.

    If it's anyone else, I feel they're wrong at least in some cases. Surely some narrative poetry is fiction?
  • It's all classed as non-fiction - clearly some of it is fiction, but as a genre, it is non-fiction. so if you want to know you MST ask the organisers.
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