PENZANCE’S Morrab Library will partner with the Dennis Myner Trust to host The Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry 2024 this May.  

Now in its second year, the international poetry competition will feature a new “Sonnet Prize” for the best poem written in this form as well as a children’s competition to celebrate young poetic talent.

Entries for the competition are open and will be closing on Friday, July 19. 

The competition is sponsored by the Dennis Myner Trust, which maintains the legacy of Dennis Myner, a Library member and invaluable contributor to its longevity. The name of the prize pays homage to Dennis’ sister, Patricia Eschen, a fellow Library supporter and patron of the arts.  

Librarian Lisa Di Tommaso explains: “When we launched the Poetry Prize in 2022, we did not envisage the number of entries or the truly international reach of the competition. It was phenomenal to see so many poems pouring into The Morrab from all over the globe. We were delighted by the impact of the competition locally in Cornwall too, with one entire school motivated to enter the competition. We can’t wait to see what 2024 will bring.”  

Award-winning poet Katrina Naomi returns to judge the overall ‘Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry 2024’. Katrina’s poetry collections have won an Authors’ Foundation Award and Saboteur Award, and she is a recipient of the Keats-Shelley Prize. Her new collection, Battery Rocks, is due out in July 2024.

Katrina said: “I'll know the winning poem when I meet it. The poem might be flashy and attention-grabbing, or it might be quiet but resonant.”  

She offers advice to those drafting their entries: “Don't write for the judge, don't try to sound like them or anyone else. Write for yourself, write what only you can write. Be as idiosyncratic as you wish. Be specific, be you. Once you've written, put the poem away for a couple of weeks, longer if you can, then edit. Check every word, check every idea, check every image and sound. Check that the poem rings out in some way, that it resonates. Then send it in. And good luck.”  

The competition does not have a theme and entries may be written in any form or style but to be eligible, they must be original and not previously published. The poems will be judged anonymously, allowing those penning their first poem to compete alongside poets more deeply established in their careers. The prize money for the overall competition has been increased in 2024 to: £2000 for first prize; £1000 for second prize; and £500 for third prize.  

The additional, “Sonnet Prize” will be judged separately and the winner will receive prize money of £1500.  

American poet Jodie Hollander will take on the judging of this new category. Jodie studied poetry in England and is the author of two full-length collections of poetry - My Dark Horses (2017) and Nocturne (2023), the latter of which was longlisted for the Laurel Prize in nature writing.

Jodie is looking forward to reading the sonnets entered into the competition and explains, “I'm looking for carefully crafted sonnets that delight or disturb, or perhaps do a little bit of each”.  

The children’s poetry competition is also open to international participants and is free to enter. There are two age categories: 4-11 and 12-17. The poems will be judged anonymously by a trio of judges: Annamaria Murphy, Dicky Souray and Keith Sparrow.  Annamaria is a teacher and writer and former creative director of The Writers' Block; Keith also runs workshops at The Writers’ Block and is a writer, illustrator and performer; Dicky is the founder of SproutSpoken, a spoken word poetry project raising the profile of the form across Cornwall.  

Whilst the competition is underway, the library is hosting a range of poetry performances and readings for adults and children.  

All will be available to attend in person and some will be shared digitally on the library’s website after the event. All shortlisted poets will be invited to a prize giving event in October.