CORNWALL PARK KIDS POETRY COMPETITION

Criteria:

• Entry is open to all tamariki aged 5-12
• Entries open 4 July to 9 August 2026
• All entries must be submitted via an online survey form
• Visit https://cornwallpark.co.nz/poetry to enter

Calling all tamariki aged 5–12 to celebrate 125 years since Cornwall Park was gifted to the people of Aotearoa by Sir John Logan Campbell. Write us a poem inspired by Cornwall Park.

Sir John saw tamariki enjoying the park after it opened in 1903. He loved to write and often included snippets of his favourite poems in letters to friends and whānau. He shared this joy in a letter:

“I had the pleasure to see with my own eyes to what great use Cornwall Park could be put to the people of Auckland, or at least its rising generation. For there I looked upon thousands of children in the full enjoyment of the sunshine in bright green fields disporting themselves to their heart’s content.”

Now it’s your turn.

Think about your own experiences in the park and create a poem inspired by what Cornwall Park means to you.

Your poem must be your own work and no longer than 25 lines (it can be shorter).

The competition will be judged by Elena de Roo, an award-winning children’s poet from Tāmaki Makaurau. She is the author of Ring Ting Tūī! and Wizardry to Wētā Verse, and a member of The Poets XYZ (alongside Melinda Szymanik and Kathryn Dove), whose mission is to encourage children’s poetry writing in Aotearoa.

AROUND THE WORLD: A NATIONAL POETRY DAY COMPETITION FOR ADULTS WHO WRITE POETRY FOR CHILDREN

In the lead-up to National Poetry Day 2026, the Poets XYZ are running a nationwide competition for adults who write poetry for children.

Timeline: open now - closes midnight Friday 31st July 2026

Winning poems to be celebrated on National Poetry Day, Friday 28th August 2026

Theme: 'Around the World' – to be interpreted as widely and wildly as entrants like

Winning poem: $50 book voucher

Judge: Renowned children’s writer and poet, Bill Nagelkerke

Criteria:

• Entry is free
• Open to anyone in New Zealand aged 18 years and over
• Send in up to three poems aimed at 5-12 year olds
• There is a 25 line limit per poem
• Poems should be previously unpublished (including not on private blogs, websites, social media)
• Poems should be all your own work and not have any AI generated content. Any poems found to have AI generated content will be disqualified.
• Poems should be written in English
• Previous winners are welcome to enter.

To Submit:

• Poems should be in a single Word document. Please use the title of your first poem as the file name for this document. Please don’t include your name anywhere in this document
• You will need to provide a short author bio including a sentence or two about why you write poetry for children (up to 100 words)
• Preferred method: Completing the online entry form (requires Google account) at https://forms.gle/VbSJrzm6D23w1tvq7
• Alternative method: Emailing your Word document to thepoetsxyz@gmail.com. Please put Around the World Poetry Competition in the subject line. In the body of your email please include your name, the title(s) of your poem(s) and a brief author bio (up to 100 words) and 2-3 sentences about why you write poetry for children

The Fine Print:

By submitting an entry, you are consenting to your poem:

• being promoted as part of National Poetry Day 2026 which may include being published in whole or in part on social or other media;
• being published on social and other media to promote poetry for children in New Zealand and any future poetry for children competitions run by The Poets XYZ for National Poetry Day.
• being used in future digital or printable media to promote poetry for children in New Zealand

Writers will retain copyright of their poems. Unfortunately it is not possible to provide personal feedback for each entry we receive.

Thank you to National Poetry Day, SLANZA and BookHub for their support for this event.

For more info email thepoetsxyz@gmail.com or visit us on Facebook at The Poets XYZ

KOHUKOHU LIBRARY POETRY PRIZE 2026

THE GOLDEN RULE

Every single submission must contain the word ‘harbour’

COMPETITION RULES & ELIGIBILITY

• Entry is free and open to all NZ citizens and permanent residents.
• Submissions are warmly welcomed in any of New Zealand's official languages.
• Poets may enter up to 3 poems.
• Strictly original work only: AI assistance, generation, and plagiarism are forbidden and will result in instant disqualification.
• All entries must be previously unpublished (including personal blogs and social media).

FORMATTING FOR BLIND JUDGING

• To ensure completely fair, unbiased, and anonymous judging, please format your pages carefully:
• No identifying details (name, phone, or email) anywhere on the poem document or in the file name. Put your contact details in the body of your email.
• Keep poems to a maximum of 30 lines.
• Use a clean 12pt serif font (like Times New Roman) with 1.5 line spacing.
• Submit as a Word Document (.doc/.docx) or pasted directly into your email. Please note: PDFs, screenshots, or photographs of poems will not be accepted.

THE PRIZE

Winner takes all: $150 Cash + bragging rights.

DEADLINE

Submissions close Tuesday 18/08/2026 at 11:59pm. Late entries cannot pass the gate, so do not let the clock run out!

The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. The single winner will be announced right here on our Facebook page and via email on Friday, 28 August, 2026.

HOW TO ENTER

Email your work to kohukohulibrary@gmail.com.