Candlestick Press – 'Instead of a card' poetry pamphlets | UK based independent publisher

Candlestick Press

Competitions

Poetry competition

Christmas Competition 2025

We’re looking for five new poems to feature in our festive pamphlet for 2025. Christmas Tree will be published in September and will contain poems about all kinds of Christmas trees and what they mean to us – everything from the indoor conifers we decorate with lights and tinsel to trees in the wild, laden with mistletoe or snow, or full of berries for the birds.

Any tree is valid, as long as it suits the Christmas/winter theme. Be inspired by winter walks, special family times, choosing a tree, recycling it or even planting one – the choice is yours!

Timeline

Submissions close midnight GMT on Wednesday 30th April 2025.

Poems

Your poem should be no longer than 37 lines, including title and stanza breaks. It must also be new, unpublished, and not currently submitted elsewhere. It must be written in English.

Entries

In order to enter, simply purchase a pamphlet from our range (priced from £5.95 plus postage). Purchases made during the competition entry period 4th March 2025 – 30th April 2025 will qualify for entry. Each purchase entitles you to enter two poems.

You might want to buy one of our recent Christmas titles to see the sort of poems we’re looking for.

Email your poems as separate Word Docs or PDF files to christmastree@candlestickpress.co.uk with each poem’s title and your own name as the file names. Please also include your PayPal transaction number, your name, address and a contact telephone number.

There is no limit to how many entries you can make, but each entry of two poems must be accompanied by a PayPal transaction number as proof of purchase.

Prizes

In addition to publication, each winner will receive £100 and 10 copies of Christmas Tree. No entrant may win more than one prize. Winners retain all rights to their poems.

Judges

Entries will be judged by the Candlestick editorial team (Di Slaney and Kathy Towers). The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. The winners will be notified by email by 31st May 2025 and announced via social media by 30th June 2025.

Good luck! We look forward to reading your entries.

A printable version of these competition details can be downloaded here.

Download details

 
Illustration by Shutterstock/Honyojima.

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