The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for a single unpublished poem. The prize is open to anyone, as long as the poem is previously unpublished, and each year it attracts thousands of entries from new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.

1^st PRIZE €6,000

3 RUNNER-UP PRIZES OF €1,000

8 COMMENDED PRIZES OF €250

The prize is judged anonymously by a single poet. Past judges include Claudia Rankine, Marie Howe, Deborah Landau, Daljit Nagra, Leontia Flynn, Billy Collins, Nick Laird, Warsan Shire, Hannah Sullivan and Nobel Laureate Louise Glück.

Past winners include Aniqah Choudhri, Michael Lavers, Natalya Anderson, Lee Sharkey, Ann Gray (whose poem was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem) and Abigail Parry (who was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection).

The winner of The Moth Poetry Prize 2023 was American poet Lance Larsen for his poem, ‘Things I’m Against’.

‘Talk about being caught off guard! I was just happy to be among the shortlisted and commended poets. So much to learn from them. It feels great to be struck by lightning. I certainly have more confidence in this poem now, and the book manuscript it’s a part of. Thank you!’ Lance Larsen

The Judge

Fiona Benson is the author of four poetry collections: Bright Travellers, Vertigo & Ghost, Ephemeron and Midden Witch (forthcoming). All three of her published collections have been shortlisted for the T S Eliot prize, and her books have won the Forward Prize, the Seamus Heaney Prize, the Roehampton Poetry Prize and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. At the time of writing, Infamous Offspring, a collaboration with the Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus, is in production across Europe with the company Ultima Vez. In 2024 she received a Cholmondley Award from the Society of Authors. She lives in mid-Devon with her husband and their two daughters.

How to Enter

The Prize is open to anyone (over 16) from anywhere in the world, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished.

There is no line limit, and the poems can be on any subject.

The entry fee is €15 per poem. You can ENTER ONLINE or send your poem(s) along with a cheque or postal order made payable to ‘The Moth Magazine Ltd.’ with an ENTRY FORM or a cover letter with your name and contact details and the title of your poem(s) attached to: The Moth, Ardan Grange, Milltown, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland H14 K768.

**If you are concerned about formatting online, please go through the online process and then email your poem as a Word attachment with your entry number directly to enquiries@themothmagazine.com.*

 Please remember to READ THE RULES of the competition before you enter.

CLOSING DATE 31 DECEMBER 2024

You will need to subscribe to our mailing list if you wish to be notified of the results

The shortlist will be announced in March 2025 and the four shortlisted poems will appear in the Irish Times online.The overall winner of €6,000 will be announced at a special award online in the spring of 2025.Call 00 353 (0)87 2657251 or email enquiries@themothmagazine.com for more details.