The Word Exchange competition
Are you a budding poet aged 16 and over? Fancy performing one of your poems at next year’s London Literature Festival?
Well we’ve got good news, because that’s the prize on offer for the Word Exchange, our national competition celebrating poetry, language and dialects.
The Word Exchange competition is part of A Poet in Every Port, our national project celebrating poetry in coastal communities. It’s all about nurturing the languages and dialects found across the UK, from the isles of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall, to show that poetry is for everyone.
We’re asking people across the country to submit their own Word Exchange poems, using the unique words and phrases from their local area, with the winner given a platform to perform their poem live on stage at the London Literature Festival in 2027.
What is a Word Exchange poem?
Word Exchange poems are short poems that celebrate the words, sayings, languages, accents and dialects from where you live. The ‘exchange’ happens when you:
- compare words you use with those used by your parents, carers, grandparents or younger people
- reflect on words passed down to you from older generations that you still use today
- revive lesser-used words from the past by giving them a new home in your piece of writing – a Word Exchange poem recognises your dialect as part of the history of language
- think about new words you’ve discovered in recent years.
Need inspiration?
You’ll find useful tips on how to write a Word Exchange poem in our A Poet in Every Port activity guide, which is also available in Gaelic and Cymraeg.
How to enter
Our Word Exchange competition is free to enter for anyone aged 16 and over living in the UK. Whether you’ve been honing your craft for a while or you’re completely new to writing, we want to hear from you.
- Create your poem
Write your Word Exchange poem responding to our activity guide. - Post a video
Record yourself reading your poem and post it on Instagram or TikTok. Make sure to tag @SouthbankCentre and use the hashtag #APoetinEveryPort. - Complete the entry form
Fill out the online entry form to confirm your entry.
For inclusion in the competition your poetry video must:
-
- be posted on Instagram or TikTok
- include @SouthbankCentre and #APoetinEveryPort in the caption
- not exceed three minutes in length.
The deadline to enter is Monday 30 November 2026 at 11.59pm.
Please read our full competition terms and conditions before entering.
Don’t forget the form
Don’t forget to complete the entry form to ensure your posted poem is seen by our judges.
Once you have created your Word Exchange poem and posted your video on Instagram or TikTok, please complete this form.
Your entry form must be submitted before the deadline of Monday 30 November 2026 at 11.59pm.
The prize
The winner, chosen by our panel of judges, will receive the opportunity to perform their Word Exchange poem at our London Literature Festival in Autumn 2027.
This includes
- a performance slot at which they’ll share their winning poem
- travel and accommodation to ensure they can attend their performance
- two online sessions with an established poet to hone their craft
- two complimentary tickets for guests to attend their performance.
For more information about the prize, please read the terms and conditions.
A poet in your port?
Don’t miss the opportunity to see our A Poet in Every Port mobile library as we travel to coastal communities across the UK. We might be parking up near you soon!