The winning entries in the 2007 competition were announced at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature on October 7th. You can read them here.
Competition Details (now closed)
The John Betjeman Young People’s Poetry Competition was inaugurated in 2006 to celebrate the centenary of one of the nation’s best loved poets. Following its success, (see Centenary events), John Murray are now offering £1000 in prize money for the 2007 competition (£500 to the winner, and £500 to the English department of their school). The winner will also receive a full set of Betjeman’s works in print.
The competition is open to 11-14 year olds living anywhere in the British Isles and the Republic of Ireland. Entrants will be limited to one poem each about their local surroundings or any aspect thereof, whether it be a house, a street, a garden, a park, a city or a wider landscape. The spirit behind the competition is to encourage young people to understand and appreciate the importance of ‘place.’ We are not looking for pastiches of John Betjeman’s work.
2007 Judges
Hugo Williams the poet, journalist and travel writer has published ten volumes of poetry . He won the TS Eliot prize in 1999 and numerous other awards including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial prize, the Cholmondeley Award and the Eric Gregory Award.
Valerie Grove is a journalist. Her first biography was the acclaimed “Dear Dodie”, a life of the playwright and novelist Dodie Smith. She has also written “Laurie Lee: the Well Loved Stranger” and is currently at work on Sir John Mortimer’s biograpy.
Candida Lycett Green is the daughter of John Betjeman, and the author of 16 books. She is also a journalist and lyricist.
PRIZES
There will be a prize of £1000 donated by John Murray (Publishers). (£500 will go to the winner and £500 to the English department of their school) . The winner will also receive a full set of John Betjeman’s works in print. The prize will be presented at the Cheltenham Literary Festival in October. Travel expenses will be paid.