Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation Young Poets Religious Poetry Competition 2025

The Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the Scottish Poetry Library and the Christian Arts Trust, is now open for submissions for their competition on religious verse.

Submissions of up to three poems are invited from poets aged 30 and under. They must be a resident, working, or studying in Scotland to be able to submit. Poems must be previously unpublished, must not exceed a maximum of 40 lines, and be on one of the following themes – a biblical quotation, character or event; a notable figure from Christian history; a response to a religious image.

There will be three monetary prizes of £500 (1st), £300 (2nd), and £200 (3rd). In addition, the judges may at their discretion award a high quality submission a ‘Highly Commended’ title. There will be an event in the 2025 Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts to celebrate the winning poems.

Submissions will be subject to a first round of scrutiny by staff at the Scottish Poetry Library. A short list of 10 submissions with then be judged by Robert Crawford and Christine De Luca.