Conditions for Entry
(a) The following persons, and their immediate family members, are ineligible to enter the Blake Poetry Prize 2025 (the Prize):
(i) Competition judges;
(ii) Current Liverpool City Councillors and current Liverpool City Council employees (including casuals); and
(iii) Current WestWords employees (including casuals); and
(iv) Directors, staff and Board Members of sponsor organisations.
(b) All entries must demonstrate recognisable engagement with the themes of:
(i) Spirituality;
(ii) Religion; and/or
(iii) Belief.
(c) All entries must have been created no earlier than two years before 18th September 2025. (Entry Open Date).
(d) Entry Forms must be completed and submitted by 9:00am, Monday 15th December, 2025.
(Entry Closure Date).
(e) Late or incomplete Entry Forms will not be accepted.
(f) Eligible entries must:
(i) Have only one (1) author;
(ii) Not be longlisted for any other literary prize;
(iii) Be between one (1) and a hundred (100) lines in length (not including the title but including footnotes and subheadings);
(iv) Be in either PDF or Word format; and
(v) Not include any identifying information (including the name, pseudonym, or contact details of the author).
(g) The author warrants that the submitted poem is original and does not infringe on the copyright, moral rights, or other rights of any other person.
(i) Work must be original and solely authored by the applicant. By entering a submission, the entrant hereby declares that no Generative AI tools (large language models) were used in the creation or editing of their submission.
(h) Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords Ltd (WestWords) reserve the right to request a Statutory Declaration from any author regarding the works originality, its production within the specified timeframe and/or that it does not in any way infringe upon the rights of any other person as detailed at clause 1(h).
(i) Entries may have been published elsewhere, including in a literary journal, online, or in a self-published book or collection.
(j) If an entry to the Prize becomes longlisted for a prize elsewhere, the entrant must notify WestWords in writing that entry has been longlisted for another prize. Following, the entrant will have twenty-four (24) hours to decide whether they will:
(i) Withdraw their entry from the Prize by notifying WestWords in writing; or
(ii) Withdraw their entry from the other prize.
(iii) In the event that the entrant fails to notify WestWords, or that the entry is longlisted in another prize and is not withdrawn within twenty-four (24) hours, the entry will be disqualified for consideration for the Prize.
(k) Eligible entries using or referring to Aboriginal content and/or entries from writers of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent or who identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander must be in accordance with the Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their heritage (ICIPR) guidelines and to the Aboriginal protocols of the region where they have been produced https://www.artslaw.com.au/
(l) Entrants may enter a maximum of five poems.
(m) By submitting an entry into the Prize, the entrant grants permission for WestWords and/or Liverpool Powerhouse and/or Liverpool City Council to print and display the entries all shortlisted entries, in full or in part, online or as part of the Blake Prize Exhibition, Saturday 25 April – Sunday 14 June 2026.
Selection and Notification Process
(a) All eligible entries will be considered.
(b) Not all entries will be shortlisted for exhibition.
(c) The selection of six (6) shortlisted entries and of the winner of the Prize from that six (Prize Winner) will be made by an independent panel of judges with extensive artform knowledge and/or relevant academic qualifications (Judging Panel).
(d) The selection of six (6) shortlisted entries and of the Prize Winner will be undertaken through individual assessment of unidentified copies of all entries.
(e) The decision of the Judging Panel will be guided by:
(i) The terms and conditions for entering the Prize;
(ii) Entry eligibility; and
(iii) The degrees of artistic and conceptual proficiency of each entry.
(f) The Judging Panel will determine the six (6) shortlisted entries by way of a unanimous decision.
(g) The Judging Panel decision is final, and no discussion will be entered into between the Judging Panel and any author regarding their decision during or following their determination.
(h) By submitting an entry into the Prize, the entrant grants permission for Liverpool Powerhouse and/or Council to print and display the entries of the six (6) shortlisted entries in full or in part online or as part of the Blake Prize Exhibition, April-June, 2026.
Notification
(a) Shortlisted entrants will be notified by WestWords by close of business on 19th March, 2026.
(b) Shortlisted entries will be listed on the Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords websites by close of business on 20th Mar, 2026 via WestWords newsletter, socials and online.
(c) After notification, preselected finalists will be provided with any further instructions and information.
General
(a) Any person who enters the Prize agrees to the terms and conditions as set out herein.
(b) All submitted details on the Prize entry form are final.
(c) Any questions or uncertainties from a submitting poet will be directed to WestWords Ltd.
(d) Any response received sent or decision made by WestWords Ltd will be final, including in relation to issues on entry eligibility the judging of entries.
(e) Entering to the Prize does not transfer from the author the ownership of, or copyright in, any of the work they produce. However, the author agrees that the work may be photographed or reproduced by Liverpool Powerhouse and/or WestWords in whole or in part for their records, critical review, publicity archives, reports and/or any other purposes.
(f) Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords does not condone and/or endorse the photography of the author’s work by any other person, including the work’s reproduction, modification or distribution, without the written consent of the author. Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords will not be held liable for any deliberate infringement to copyright by any other person.
(g) The Exhibition Period may be changed as a response to unforeseen circumstances and health restrictions. In the event that NSW Health restrictions prevent Liverpool Powerhouse from presenting a physical exhibition all together, Liverpool Powerhouse reserves the right to document and publish submitted artworks in an online presentation. You may be contacted to advise of any safety procedures that have been in place.
(h) Entrants may enter a maximum of five poems.
(i) Only one poem will be chosen as winner of the Prize.
(j) The Prize is non-acquisitive.
(k) The Prize Money will be paid by Liverpool Powerhouse to the Prize Winner of the details identical to those to the Prize Winner’s Entry Form.
(l) Payment of the Prize Money will be made by way of electronic funds transfer, following receipt of an invoice issued by the Prize Winner to Liverpool Powerhouse.
(m) In the event the Prize Winner is unable to issue an invoice to Liverpool Powerhouse, payment may be made by way of bank cheque at the discretion of Liverpool Powerhouse.
(n) Prize Money equals the sum of $5,000.00