THE CATERPILLAR POETRY PRIZE 2025 IS NOW
OPEN!
Have you written a poem you think would appeal to
children? Then why not enter The Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2025!
ABOUT THE PRIZE
The Caterpillar Poetry Prize is an annual prize for
unpublished poems written by adults for
children aged 7–11.
Every year since 2015, The Caterpillar Poetry Prize
has been awarded to a single poem by a single judge – among them John Hegley,
Chrissie Gittins, Roger McGough, Michael Morpurgo & Michael Rosen.
Previous winners include Louise Greig, Coral
Rumble, Laura Mucha, Carole Bromley and Ciara O’Connor.
2nd prize €500
3rd prize €250
The winning poems will be published in the Irish
Times online.
‘For the legendary Michael Rosen to have read my
poem is thrilling. For him to have chosen it is the stuff of dreams.' Ciara
O'Connor
'Winning The Caterpillar Poetry Prize brought me a
book publishing deal and many wonderful opportunities thereafter. Thank you
with all my heart.' Louise Greig
THE JUDGE
Kate Wakeling’s work
has been awarded the CLiPPA prize for children’s poetry and nominated for the
Carnegie Medal and has been praised as ‘clever, funny, inspiring’ (The
Sunday Times) and ‘both limpidly welcoming and profoundly meaningful’ (Guardian).
Her collections have variously been selected as Books of the Month in the Guardian, The Scotsman
and The Sunday Times.
‘A poet to watch, her work an April rainbow of freshness and surprise.’ Guardian
TESTIMONIALS
‘I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to have won
The Caterpillar Poetry Prize. I actually cried with joy when I got the email. I
have won a number of international poetry competitions with my poems for
adults, but I can honestly say this tops them all.’ Carole Bromley
I was astonished and delighted to hear that I had won The Caterpillar Poetry
Prize.’ Christine McBeth
‘The Caterpillar is such a unique and
inspired magazine. Winning The Caterpillar Poetry Prize is all shades of
wonderful!’ Coral Rumble
‘I think The Caterpillar Poetry Prize is an important award, particularly as
there are so few outlets for children’s poets, and it’s a huge honour to have
won it.’ Laura Mucha
‘Like all of us, I spend more of my life than I’d
like to reading emails. Recently I opened one from The Caterpillar.
Now all I want to do is write something that could make a reader feel half as happy
as reading that email made me.’ Fergal McNally
HOW TO ENTER
The Prize is open to anyone (over 16), as long as the work is original and
previously unpublished.
The poems can be on any subject.
The entry fee is €15 per poem. You can
ENTER ONLINE or send your poem(s) along with a cheque or
postal order (Irish only) made payable to ‘The Moth Magazine Ltd.’ with
an
ENTRY FORM or a cover letter with your name and contact details and the title
of your poem(s) attached to: The Caterpillar, Ardan Grange, Milltown,
Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland H14 K768.
**If you are concerned about formatting online, please go through the online
process and then email your poem as a Word attachment with your entry
number directly to enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com.**
Please remember to
READ THE RULES of the competition before you enter.
CLOSING DATE 31 MARCH 2025
The winners will be announced in June 2025.
Call 00 353 (0)87 2657251 or email
enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com for more details.
