Maidstone LitFest Poetry Competition 2026
We're delighted to launch the very first Maidstone LitFest Poetry Prize, celebrating outstanding poetry from writers across Kent.​
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Whether you're an experienced poet or entering a competition for the first time, we invite you to share your work with us. Our aim is to discover fresh voices, celebrate exceptional writing, and showcase the richness of Kent's literary community.
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Closing date: 7 August 2026
Competition Details
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Open to: Writers aged 18 or over who live in Kent.
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Entry fee: £3
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Maximum length: 40 lines per poem (titles, epigraphs and dedications are not included in the line count).
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Entries: Submitted exclusively through our online entry form.
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Judging: All poems are judged anonymously.
Please ensure your poem does not include your name or identifying details, as any entries that do will be disqualified to preserve anonymous judging.
Eligibility
To be eligible, your poem must:
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be entirely your own original work.
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be written without the use of AI or AI-generated text.
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be unpublished in any format, including blogs, websites, social media, online forums or anthologies.
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not have won or been placed in any previous competition.
Simultaneous submissions to other competitions are permitted. However, if your poem wins elsewhere or is published before the Maidstone LitFest prize-giving, it must be withdrawn immediately from our competition.
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Please note that concrete or shape poetry cannot be accepted.
A word from
our judge
If you are writing about huge themes, try to render your ideas in new and sophisticated ways that have not been articulated before. The best poems plumb the depths of a moment, hold an experience up in a new light, speak to the human experience, and make that moment universal or relatable for the reader. To do this, they do away with abstractions and vagueness. Instead, they are specific and create lasting images, thoughts and words that stay with the reader.
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Strong and unusual images and metaphors jolt us out of our habits and ruts of language. Remember the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile textures – these make a poem visceral and immersive.
Listen to the rhythms and musicality of language. Have fun playing with words, but try to avoid low-level rhyme.
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Go beyond what might be predictable, and always read your work aloud before submitting it. Are there any lapses in sophistication? Any snags or rhythmic glitches? Watch out for unexpected changes in theme, voice or pace. Above all, surprise us. We want to read poems that stay with us long after we've reached the final line.
Rules of the competition
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The poetry prize is open to writers living in Kent who are aged 18 or over on the closing date.
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Entry fees are £3 for each poem.
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Poems must be no longer than 40 lines for publishing purposes.
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No concrete or shaped poetry.
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Entries must be saved as either a Word document or a PDF.
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Entries must be submitted either via the online entry form on the website or by email to info@maidstonelitfest.org with the subject line: Poetry Competition 2026.
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Do not include your name on the same page as your poem. This will ensure entries can be judged anonymously.
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Entries must be entirely your own work and must not be generated or written using AI. Any evidence to the contrary will result in immediate disqualification.
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Entries must not have been published, self-published, posted on any website, blog or online forum, broadcast, or have won or been placed (including runner-up or highly commended) in any other competition.
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Entries that have been longlisted or shortlisted elsewhere remain eligible, provided they have not won a prize and have not been published.
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Simultaneous submissions are permitted. However, an entry becomes ineligible if it wins a prize elsewhere, is published, or is scheduled for publication before the prize-giving date. Entry fees will not be refunded.
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Entrants must notify us immediately if an entry is published or wins a prize elsewhere.
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Entries received after the deadline will not be considered.
Our Judge
Dr Dorothy Lehane
Dr Dorothy Lehane is the author of the following poetry publications: Eight Songs of [Mothering] & [Capacity] (Guillemot Press), House Girl (Aquifer Press), I’m Very Interested in Falling in Love With You (Run Amok Press) Bettbehandlung (Muscaliet Press), Umwelt (Leafe Press), Ephemeris (Nine Arches Press) and Places of Articulation (dancing girl press).
She has a PhD in Poetry, Text as Practice in the Medical Humanities field from the University of Kent where, until the summer of 2023, she was a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing. Since 2021, she has been funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme, Society of Authors, and the Arts Council to write about caves.
She has performed her work at institutions such as Columbia, Exeter, Birkbeck, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, the Science Museum, the Barbican Arts Centre, Turner Contemporary, BBC Radio Kent, the Magnetic South Arts & Music Festival, and voix outré at the Union Chapel.
Dorothy is now a freelance consultant and editor for fiction, non-fiction and poetry manuscripts. Her substack on the practice of writing can be found here and her website can be found here.