Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is one of the most recognisable international opportunities for poets aged 11–17. It is administered by The Poetry Society, with long-term support from The Foyle Foundation, and forms part of a wider talent-development ecosystem that includes publication, mentoring, workshops and the Young Poets Network. The award is therefore not simply a school poetry competition: its purpose is to identify emerging voices and help young writers understand poetry as a serious artistic practice. The open-entry format is one of its strengths. Students can submit new poems on any theme without needing to be nominated by a school, making it accessible to young writers in the UK, Ireland and internationally. The award encourages quality over quantity, and that is an important editorial clue for families: the best preparation is not to send every poem a student has written, but to select work with a distinctive voice, revise it carefully and make sure the final version is intentional in sound, image and form. Its influence comes from the combination of scale and follow-through. The Poetry Society describes it as one of the biggest and most prestigious poetry competitions for this age group, while the programme gives recognised poets opportunities to be published, mentored and connected with the wider poetry community. The 2026 award is judged by poets Rachel Long and John McAuliffe, so students are submitting into a literary rather than a purely school-based context. We rate the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award at Intermediate Level. Entry is free and open, but the standard is selective and the strongest work usually shows several rounds of editing. It is particularly suitable for students who are already writing independently and want serious feedback or recognition, while remaining accessible to younger poets building their first portfolio. Even without selection, preparing a small, carefully revised portfolio can teach the most transferable lesson of the competition: developing a voice also means learning what to remove.