Blake Poetry Prize

The Blake Prize is an open poetry prize that challenges poets, both national and international, in conversations concerning faith, spirituality, religion and/or belief.

The Blake Poetry Prize is an aesthetic means of exploring the wider experience of spirituality with the visionary imagining of contemporary poets. The Blake Prize takes its name from William Blake, a poet and artist of undoubted genius, who integrated religious and artistic content in his work. The Blake Poetry Prize challenges contemporary poets of disparate styles to explore the spiritual and religious in a new work of 100 lines or less.

The Blake Poetry Prize is strictly non-sectarian. The entries are not restricted to works related to any faith or any artistic style, but all poems entered must have a recognisable religious or spiritual integrity and demonstrate high degrees of artistic and conceptual proficiency.

Key Dates

Entries Open: 10am, Friday 18th September, 2025.

Entries Close: 9am, Monday 15th December, 2025.

Shortlist announcement: 20th March, 2026 via WestWords newsletter, socials and online.

Exhibition Dates: Saturday 25 April – Sunday 14 June 2026.

Launch and Winners announcement: Saturday 2nd May, 2026 at Liverpool Powerhouse, 1 Casula Powerhouse, Liverpool, NSW.