UK LGBT+ History Month Poetry Competitions 2026

The points listed below are for teachers/youth leaders to explain to the groups and/or individuals entering the competition.

General

• The competition is free to enter and is only for schools, colleges, and youth groups.
• A winner will be chosen from each of the three categories. Each category winner will receive a £100 Love to Shop gift voucher, and a book (either ‘What does LGBT+ Mean?’ or ‘Have Pride’). The winning poem from each of the three categories will be published on our website and social media.
• Each institution/organisation may submit one entry per each of the categories below.

• Tertiary institutions (FE Colleges, youth groups etc) should also enter one overall selected winner.
• Organisations can submit one entrance to category 1 (age 7-11 / KS 2), one entrance to category 2 (age 11-16 / KS 3&4), and one entrance to category 3 (age 16-19 / KS 5).

Content

• The poem should embody the theme for 2026 and could include highlighting LGBT+ people in history or the present.
• The poem should be no more than 400 words.
• The poem should be no more than 30 lines.
• The poem should be written primarily in English.
• The poem must have been created by the credited author.
• Poems must not have been created with any input from AI.
• The poem must be submitted in written form as a PDF or word documents. If the original poem was not produced in this way, the work may be transcribed from an original hand-written or spoken poem either by the entrant or a teacher, support worker, or youth worker.

By entering this competition you are agreeing to abide by the following rules:

• This competition is only for schools, colleges, or youth groups.
• All schools, colleges, and youth groups wishing to enter must submit their entry using the online form including the poem(s) and accompanying information attached before the deadline of 5pm 6^th March 2026.
• Entries must be clearly labelled with category (1-3), entrant’s age, name and organisation details.
• Plagiarised entries will be disqualified.
• Only one entry per category per organisation.
• The competition will be judged in March by a panel of judges from Schools OUT and special guest judges, whose decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding their decision.
• A winner will be chosen from each of the three categories. Each category winner will receive a £100 Love to Shop gift voucher, and a book (either ‘What does LGBT+ Mean?’ or ‘Have Pride’).
• All winners will be informed by the end of March 2026, and the prizes sent to the school/organisation to be presented to the winners in April 2026.
• The poem must be submitted in written form as a PDF or word documents. If the original poem was not produced in this way, the work may be transcribed from an original hand-written or spoken poem either by the entrant or a teacher, support worker, or youth worker.
• The poem must not have won another competition. The poem must not have been published in association with another competition.
• The copyright of the poem remains with the author, however by entering the competition authors of the winning poems grant permission to Schools OUT the right to publish and/or broadcast the winning poem, and to do so before other parties.
• Authors of the winning poems grant Schools OUT the irrevocable and non-exclusive licence to re-publish the work in perpetuity, included but not limited to publication of the work on our website and social media, and publication (in print or online) of the work as part of an anthology or as an educational resource.
• Your school/organisation is responsible for seeking permission from the young people’s legal guardians for their names to be made public. Should a young person wish to remain anonymous, only the school/organisation and age category will be publicised.
• All entries must be made through the nominated adult contact at the school/organisation involved. No direct contact will be made with entrants, and you cannot enter the competition outside of a school/organisation. If you have any questions regarding this, you can email admin@schoolsoutuk.org.

Please read the submission guidelines below before entering the competition.

General

• The competition is free to enter and is open to any adult (aged 18+) resident in the United Kingdom.
• A winner will be chosen for two categories: unpublished writers and published writers. Each category winner will receive £100 love to shop voucher. The winning poems and a selection of shortlisted entries will be published on our website and social media.
• Each person may submit only one entry to one of the following categories:
  • Unpublished writers: Writers who have not previously had their work published in a magazine, anthology or collection. Self-publication on a website, blog or social media profile is okay; self-published books are not.
  • Published writer: Writers who have had their work published in a magazine, anthology or collection. Self-publication on a website, blog or social media profile does not count; self-published books do.

Content

• The poem should embody the theme for 2026 and could include highlighting LGBT+ people in history or the present.
• The poem should be no more than 400 words.
• The poem should be no more than 40 lines.
• The poem should be written primarily in English.
• The poem must have been created by the credited author.
• Poems must not have been created with any input from AI.
• The poem must be submitted in written form as a PDF or Word document (docx).
• Entrants may write using a pseudonym or alias.
• Please provide a short author biography of up to 150 words with your submission.

By entering this competition you are agreeing to abide by the following rules:

• This competition is only for adults (aged 18+) resident in the United Kingdom.
• Only one entry will be accepted per person.
• The poem must be submitted in accordance with the submission guidelines above.
• The poem must not have won another competition.
• The poem must not have been published in any form.
• All entrants must submit their entry using the online form including the poem and accompanying information attached before the deadline of 5pm, 6th Mrach 2026.
• Entries must be clearly labelled with one of the two categories (unpublished/published), the entrant’s name, and the entrant’s contact details.
• Plagiarised entries will be disqualified.
• The competition will be judged in March by a panel of judges from Schools OUT UK and special guest judges, whose decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding their decision.
• A winner will be chosen from each of the two categories. Each category winner will receive a £100 Love to Shop Voucher
• All winners will be informed by the end of March 2026, and the prizes sent to the winners in April 2026.
• If there are insufficient entries to declare a winner in one of the two categories, the judges reserve the right to declare only one overall winner. If there are insufficient entries to declare a winner in either category, the judges may declare no winner instead.
• The copyright of the poem remains with the author; however, by entering the competition authors of the winning poems grant permission to Schools OUT UK to publish and/or broadcast the winning poem, and to do so before other parties.
• Authors of the winning poems grant Schools OUT UK the irrevocable and non-exclusive licence to re-publish the work in perpetuity, included but not limited to publication of the work on our website and social media, and publication (in print or online) of the work as part of an anthology or as an educational resource.
• If you have any questions regarding the competition, you can email admin@schoolsoutuk.org.