*** VER POETS OPEN COMPETITION 2026 ***

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Adjudicator: Vanessa Lampert         

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Congratulations to the winners  Elsa Braekken Payne, Thea Smiley and Natalie Ann Holborrow, and all those selected. Also thank you to everyone who submitted their poems or supported the competition.​

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If you wish to order a copy of the anthology, click here.

To enquire about Ver Poets membership, click here.

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These are the results of the competition:​

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FIRST PRIZE:         That Boy         Elsa Braekken Payne
 
SECOND PRIZE:  She Watches for the First Swallow     Thea Smiley
 
THIRD PRIZE:       Listening In   Natalie Ann Holborow

Highly Commended:

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• Incident at the Destinations Board   Terry Jones

• March day, Keswick    Diane Granger

• A Personal Elysium      Stephen Boyce

• Brian                                   Beda Higgins

 
Commended:
 

• The Cusp                    Christopher James

• My father kept galaxies on a shelf     A C Clarke

• Lisboa                          Nicola Alison

• Le Bourlingeur           Ian Heffernan

• The Letters                 Malcom Carson

 
Selected:
 

• No call                          Adrian Buckner

• Meniscus                     Rolf Hind

• Spindle City                Yvonne Salmon

• Garlic                             Bex Hainsworth

• Ardnamurchan         Derek Matthew Brown

• Shoal                             Vivienne Tregenza

• Toni                                 Lucy Heuschen

• We must meet up     Alison Allen

• Let Me Tell You How I Learnt About Grief         Mary Gilonne

• Bridesmaid                 Anna Mindel Crawford

• Beetroot                       Michael Brown

• Highland Rain            Howard Wright

• The Formalities          Howard Wright

• Dunnock                       Joan Baxter

• Reel to Reel                  David Jones

• Chime                             Michael Brown

• Mammogram              Suzanna Fitzpatrick​​