There are still 2 weeks left to submit! Deadline: midnight (BST) on Friday 31st July
The Stephen Spender Prize is an annual competition for poetry in translation that celebrates the creativity of young people across the UK and Ireland – and their teachers!
The 2026 Prize has categories for schools, teachers and individual young people, which welcome translations from all languages, as well as a special Polish Spotlight strand celebrating poetry from Poland.
Whether you’re an MLF, EAL or English teacher, and whatever the languages taught and spoken in your school community, the prize is a perfect way to engage students of all ages this summer term.
Ready to start working on your entries? Visit our Guide for Teachers page for all the key details about the prize at a glance, and explore our Stephen Spender Prize Resources hub for Teaching Resources and Student Resources to guide you and your pupils through every step of entering.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at prize@stephen-spender.org. We hope that many of you and your students will get involved this year!
Website: www.stephen-spender.org | X: @StephenSpender| Facebook: @StephenSpenderTrust | Instagram: @stephenspendertrust | Bluesky: @stephenspender.bsky.social