CLOSED

The Annual Bridgette James Poetry Competition Returns on Wednesday April 1st 2026. Closes midnight BST on Thursday 30th APRIL 2026.

Links to Names of Judges are Displayed Below:

1. Mr Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto -

Https://ellaspoems.com/thebridgettejamescompetition#head-judge-chinua-ezenwa-ohaeto

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2. Mr Osahon Oka -

Https://ellaspoems.com/thebridgettejamescompetition#judge-osahon-oka

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3. Dr Jive Lubbungu

Https://ellaspoems.com/thebridgettejamescompetition#judge-jive-lubbungu

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Please Subscribe to Participate: https://ellaspoems.com/#subscribe-to-penned-in-rage-journal

Please familiarise yourself with the competition rules.

Simultaneous submissions NOT ALLOWED.

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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.

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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.

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• All submissions must be in a Word.doc format please.

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• You MUST enter under your real name. If using a pseudonym you MUST disclose your real identity to competition organisers.

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• The competition is free to enter.

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• Poems should be on the theme OUTSIDER, written in the first-person narrative.

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• Poems must not exceed forty lines.

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• 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.

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• Poems cannot have been broadcast on any regional, national or online TV station or via any radio platform.

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• Poems cannot have won any other competition.

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• Poems must be written in English, but you can include phrases in your mother tongue or another language.

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• You MUST NOT enter a poem written by more than one author

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• Entries will be accepted from sub-Saharan Africa ONLY.

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• Rejected competition entries are deleted. Please ensure you keep a record of all poems entered and send copies only.

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• Entries will NOT be accepted any other way, except via email address: pennedinrage@outlook.com or online. All emailed or online entries must be received by midnight BST on Thursday 30th APRIL 2026. Late online entries will not be accepted under any circumstances.

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• The judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into concerning his decision.

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• Due to the large number of entrants, I am unable to respond individually to submissions.

Rules: winners

• 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.

• 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.

• The winners will be paid via Western Union ONLY.

• Photographs of winners will be displayed on www.ellaspeoms.com.

• 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.

• 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).

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