The Christopher Salmon Poetry Competition has launched with a call for people aged 19 and under in Wirral to enter poems they have written.
Christopher’s family said, “We started the original competition back in 2010 in memory of our youngest son Christopher. (pictured, main image) He was a student at Calday Grammar School who tragically died from a rare streptococcal infection in February 2009, aged just 15.
“After he passed away, we discovered a sheaf of poems he had written and hidden away in his room. This gave us the idea to launch a poetry competition in his name in order to encourage other young people to express themselves, with confidence, through the medium of poetry.”
The Christopher Salmon competition, for poems on the theme of Friendship, is open to those aged 19 years and under in full-time education in Wirral. The adjudication panel is Estelle Condliff, Mike Devitt, Celia Gentles, Alan Jennings, and Anna Saunders.
There is a £100 prize for each winner in five age categories. Entry is free and the closing date is Friday 28 May 2021. For full details and to enter, please go to the website, or contact Diane Mitchell at Wirral Libraries dianemitchell@wirral.gov.uk
Additionally, the organiser, Wirral Poetry Festival, has announced that the annual open poetry competition will go ahead in 2021.
This competition is to be adjudicated by distinguished Merseyside poet Brian Wake and will award four cash prizes with a top prize of £250. There will also be three special cash prizes for poets from Wirral, to be adjudicated by Wirral-based poet David Costello.
The closing date for all entries is Friday 28 May 2021 and the entry fee is £4 per poem or £10 for 3 poems.
For full details on the open competition and to enter please check the Wirral Poetry Festival website.
For full details on the free-to-enter 19s and under competition please check the Christopher Salmon page on the website.
