Winners of the 2021 competition

Frosted Fire First pamphlet awards

Ben Verinder — Breathe ..&.. Maeve Henry — Checkpoint
Both pamphlets will be published by Frosted Fire in autumn 2021

Highly Commended (shortlist)

Elena Croitoru
Iris Anne Lewis
Lucy Cotterill

Commended (longlist)

Ama Bolton
Christopher M James
Eleni Philippou
Frances Sword
Janet Dean**
Jude Willetts
Kathy Finney
Martin Rieser
Miriam Patrick
Rhiannon Berney
Roger Hare
Wendy Manning**

**has two entries longlisted

The 2021 contest offers two poets the prize of publication of their first poetry collection as a pamphlet book. Each prize includes 50 free copies, publication of some sample poems in wildfire words, and headline poet status in an international online Zoom event.

Plus! This year we offered a new competition
for poets who are 25 or less —
New Voices. DETAILS

Judges for 2021 Frosted Fire Firsts

Judges will be led, as in previous years, by Angela France who will decide the winners and commended poets. Angela will consider entries in a long list produced by two triage judges, who are the poets who won publication of their first pamphlet in the 2020 contest  — David Lukens and Lee Potts. All entries will be read by David or Lee at the triage stage. Every entry will be anonymous at all stages of judging.

Rules for Frosted Fire Firsts 2021

Closing date: 15 February 2021

The prize books will be published as a pamphlet of 32-pages (or less), containing up to 28 pages of poetry. Entries for the competition should be as a single file containing up to 10 poems that showcase the poet’s work.

• The contest is open to all poets who have not had a pamphlet or collection published by an independent publisher. A self-published pamphlet or collection does NOT exclude a poet from entering.
• All poems must be entirely the entrant’s own work. Individual poems in an entry may have been published online, in journals or magazines, or multi-author anthologies, provided the writer retains copyright.
• International entrants are welcome.
• Your entry file must contain no more than 10 poems, each of no more than 60 lines. Each poem in the file should start on a new page. (Winners will be invited to submit enough poems for a 32-page pamphlet.)
• You may submit up to three entry files, each of 10 poems, provided you pay an entry fee for each file of poems.
• Your entry’s title should appear on a separate first page. The title may relate to a key poem or suggest the collection’s theme if it has one.
• To maintain anonymous judging, there must be no identifying marks on any poem or title page.
• Each entry should be in one file in Word or Rich Text format.. Each poem should be on a separate page.
• Do not put any identification on the work. The competition administrator will match your entry title to your email address after the anonymous judging is complete.
• Simultaneous entries in other contests are accepted, but an entry must be withdrawn in the event of it winning a prize or publication elsewhere.. Entry fees are not refundable once an entry has been received.
• Work will not be returned, so please keep a copy.
• We are unable to give feedback on individual entries or on the results of the competition — the judges’ decisions are final.
• Results will be emailed to all winners by 31 March 2021 and published on this website shortly afterwards.
• The fee is £12 per entry. (The Early bard discounted fee ended on 22 January 2021.)
• All entries must be paid for, and entry files received, by the closing time of 11.59 pm on 15 February 2021.