Following its successful inauguration in 2025, the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the Scottish Poetry Library, is pleased to announce a second competition for Scotland’s young poets of religious poetry. This will culminate at an event during the 2026 Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts.

RULES  

Submissions are invited from poets aged 30 and under on the closing date of entry. They must be resident, working, or studying in Scotland. There is no charge for submission, and competitors may submit up to three poems. These must be unpublished, and not under consideration for any other competition.  Poems may be written in English, Gaelic or any variety of Scots, 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.  

Submissions will be anonymized and given an identifying number. Complete anonymity will be preserved throughout the judging process.  

PRIZES and AWARDS  

There will be three monetary prizes, generously funded by Canonmills Church in Edinburgh.

1st Prize: £500  

2nd Prize: £300  

3rd Prize: £200  

In addition, the judges may at their discretion award ‘Highly Commended’ to high quality submissions that do not win a prize.  

JUDGING  

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

TIMETABLE  

The competition will open on 1st March 2026 with a closing date of May 1st 2026. The short list will be published by July 1st. The three prize winning poems will be announced, and read, at a poetry event with Robert Crawford and Christine De Luca during the Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts on Wednesday 19th August 2026. The winning poems will then be published on the Scottish Poetry Library website.  

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION 

Entries must not have been published, or have won or been placed in any other competition. Poems that have been long-listed or shortlisted in other competitions, but not won a prize, are eligible.

 Format 

• 40 lines max. Title not included in the line count. Lines between text / stanzas are not counted.  
• Entries must be typed using any font in 12pt. Handwritten submissions will not be accepted.  
• Single line spaced, except between stanzas where it should be double  
• If the poem runs to two pages, number both pages centre bottom  
• Save the file as a Microsoft Word document – .doc or .docx. We also accept file types .rtf, .pdf, .txt. Maximum allowed file size is 2Mb  
• The file name should be the title of the poem only.  
• For untitled pieces, save the document using the first line of the poem as the file name  

Identification  

• IMPORTANT: All entries will be judged anonymously. Your name, address, phone number, email, website, twitter handle, etc plus any dedication must not appear in the same document as the poem. Your personal details must appear on a separate document, which should include   
• The poem’s title (or first line).   
• Your name, email and telephone number, plus the following declaration:  

I confirm that I am resident/working/studying in Scotland (circle as appropriate) and that on May 1st 2025 I will be aged 30 or less.  

Signed__________________________________________  

All entries must include this declaration, and any poem which enables identification of the poet will be disqualified.  

Entries should take the form of two attachments – poem and identity/declaration emailed to reception@spl.org.uk with the subject line ‘Young People’s Religious Poetry Competition’.   

DEADLINE   FOR SUBMISSIONS 23:59 – May 1st 2026