The Annual Bridgette James Poetry Competition Returns on Wednesday April 1st 2026.
Names of Three (3) Judges to be Announced in January 2026.
Please Subscribe to Participate: https://ellaspoems.com/#subscribe-to-penned-in-rage-journal
Please familiarise yourself with the competition rules.
Simultaneous submissions NOT ALLOWED.
When the competition OPENS, please submit ONE poem ONLY on the topic: OUTSIDER. Only one poem can be submitted. However, I advise that you concentrate on drafting and redrafting your poem before submitting it. In the past grammatical errors have cost entrants a win.
RULES:
• Submitters MUST send in an original piece of work. (I do run checks for plagiarism and AI-generated content on all selected poems. Contestants have previously been disqualified for submitting an already published or AI-generated piece.
• All submissions must be in a Word.doc format please.
• You MUST enter under your real name. If using a pseudonym you MUST disclose your real identity to competition organisers.
• The competition is free to enter.
• Poems should be on the theme OUTSIDER, written in the first-person narrative.
• Poems must not exceed forty lines.
• Your work is accepted on the basis that this will be its first publication in Penned in Rage, Literary Journal, on my Social Media pages or this website.
• Poems cannot have been broadcast on any regional, national or online TV station or via any radio platform.
• Poems cannot have won any other competition.
• Poems must be written in English, but you can include phrases in your mother tongue or another language.
• You MUST NOT enter a poem written by more than one author
• Entries will be accepted from sub-Saharan Africa ONLY.
• Rejected competition entries are deleted. Please ensure you keep a record of all poems entered and send copies only.
• Entries will NOT be accepted any other way, except via email address: pennedinrage@outlook.com
• The judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into concerning his decision.
• All online entries must be received by midday BST on Thursday 30th May 2026. Late online entries will not be accepted under any circumstances.
• Due to the large number of entrants, I am unable to respond individually to submissions.
Rules: winners
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By entering this competition, entrants agree that their poems and data may be used by Ella’s Poems, including for educational purposes as material for Bridgette’s Writing School, Facebook.
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Due to the high number of submissions, only successful entrants will be notified. Details of the full winners list will be announced publicly on www.ellaspoems.com on May 30th 2026.
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The winners will be paid via Western Union ONLY.
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Photographs of winners will be displayed on www.ellaspeoms.com.
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The copyright of each poem remains with the author. However, by entering the competition, authors of the winning poems grant Ella’s Poems the right to publish and/or broadcast their poem, and to do this before anyone else.
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Authors of the winning poems will grant Ella’s Poems irrevocable, non-exclusive licence to republish the work in perpetuity, including (but not limited to): A winners’ anthology (to be published on Amazon; E-copies of which will be circulated FREE OF CHARGE).
The Following Poems Were Placed, Commended or Won a Special Prize
Entry 770822 - 'Big Lights Thunder' Matched to runner-up, Chukwuebuka Freedom Onyishi -$10 USD + Best Metaphorical Poem - $5
Entry 58622 - 'All of it' Matched to Solomon Hamza - $10 USD
Entry 50870 - 'Prayer' Matched to winner Osahon Oka - My Favourite Poem: $20 USD + $40 USD
Entry 46770 – 'The Path I Learned “Wilt”'Matched to Egharevba Terry - Judges' Favourite Piece- $10 USD
Entry 12977 – 'Sigh' Matched to Clement Abayomi - Third Place- $10 USD
Entry 30466 - 'House of Water' Matched to Daniel Jacinth - Fourth Place - $10 USD
Youngest Shortlisted Contestant - Fifteen-year-old Utaara Tjozongoro - $10 USD
Email Submissions from January 1st - 31st to:
Please Address Submission/s to Editor, Chukwuebuka Onyishi
Subscribe First: https://ellaspoems.com/#subscribe-to-penned-in-rage-journal
EDITOR’S NOTE | August–December 2025 Edition Theme: We Were Not Meant to Die Here. Sometimes, there are stories we inherit, and others we are courageously forced to carry. While some echo through silence, others are patterned enough to speak even in the midst of fire. This edition of Penned in Rage is able to gather those voices together with their beauty: amazing works shaped not only by the force of anger and grief, but also by the stubborn endurance of those who have vowed to let their voices be heard. Whether through verse, narrative, or meditative reflection, the contributors summon a shared language that moves through broken systems and fractured selves, each boldly reaching deeper for something so startlingly honest.
About Penned in Rage Journal
Penned in Rage magazine is focused on publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, flash fiction, experimental prose and hybrid works, written by underrepresented writers. Each quarter a submission is chosen as the featured piece. The journal aims to create a community of subscribed readers who enjoy contemporary creative writing styles. Penned in Rage invites submissions from underrepresented and marginalised writers.
Submissions: Closed until January 2026
The 'unthemed' submission window will reopen THURSDAY 01 JANUARY 2026 for the third online edition of Penned in Rage Literary Journal.
CLOSES 31 JANUARY 2026.
How to Submit
Submit Free of Charge, by Email - pennedinrage@outlook.com
Submissions: You may submit a 40-line poem for consideration. Styles accepted: free verse, haiku, Fibonacci, prose et cetera preferred over meters. Maximum lines 40. Flash Story - maximum 500 words; Fiction. Nonfiction and Non-academic essays accepted. We do not publish metered poetry of any shape or form, neither do we accept anything that offends other social groups. Flash fiction not exceeding 500 words on any genre or topic may be submitted, as may non-academic essays or creative nonfiction not above 500 words. Underrepresented writers from anywhere may submit a poem or flash fiction for consideration. We only consider submissions sent through our online submission portal https://www.ellaspoems.com/#subscribe-to-penned-in-rage-journal or by email. Please provide a brief 30-word third-person bio to accompany your submission. Only one poem not exceeding 40 lines and/or one story of not above 500 words will be considered.
Simultaneous Submissions & Withdrawals: We accept simultaneous submissions, but we must be immediately notified if a piece is accepted elsewhere. If you wish to withdraw your submission, please email me directly at pennedinrage@outlook.com with the title/s of the work(s) you are withdrawing.
Previously Published Work: Except for The Friday Poem, https://ellaspoems.com/#the-friday-poem we will not publish pieces which have appeared elsewhere, including social media sites.
Publishing Rights: We ask for first time worldwide rights for accepted pieces. Following publication, all rights revert back to the author.
Payment: Penned in Rage Journal was borne out of a small, self-funded project. At this time, we are not able to offer payment to our contributors for published works; however, the PDF version of the journal is widely circulated and published writers are promoted on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
How is the journal published?
Triannual Online Publication - Downloadable PDF January, April, August
listen, this poem reminds me of beautiful things.
beautiful things that abode in this country,
despite its striving grief. from the undulating hills
of Obanliku, adjoining each other like playful kids
locking arms to the many mountains that stood out
like a sea of heads in the Mambilla plateau. from
the grassy flatlands in Katsina that strain your
eyes to keep looking until all you see is the blue
& white sky kissing the Earth in harmonious
bliss to the damp saltiness that hovers above
impenetrable visible roots of creeks in the Niger Delta.
from the doting eyes on the Zuma rock that bid you
welcome to the Olumo rock whose bald hair glistens
from the sun's ray. these things would take your
breath away. i should stop here, but I'm reminded
of the mandrills & chimpanzees playing hide-and-seek
in the forest of Okwangwo. or the sound of fluttering
leaves & gurgling streams serenading the Owo or Udi.
the Iroko & Mahogany in Okomu dance to the flute
of the wind, but still refuse to bow when the show
is over. this is not arrogance, but resilience. the
same resilient spirit of any Nigerian. here, an
Anambra waxbill singing choruses in the sky or an
African mouse's roof beneath the soil means this
place belongs to us all. & i am in love with
all of it.
Solomon Idah Hamza’s poem was commended in The Annual Bridgette James Poetry Competition, 2025. He won the Ngiga Prize for Humour Writing 2025 and Afristories Prize for Horror Flash 2022. He was shortlisted for the Enugu Literary Society 2024 and was longlisted for the Kikwetu Flash Fiction 2023. He has been published in Brittle Paper, Salamander Ink Magazine, Isele Magazine, Olney magazine, RoadRunner Review, Shallow Tales Review, Illino Media, Agbowo, Kalahari Review, Afritondo and elsewhere.
From the Manuscript of Soil Unfurling from Stem
This Month's Featured Poet
Solomon Hamza
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