Caterpillar_Photo by Judy Darley
The Caterpillar Poetry Prize is an annual prize for unpublished poems written by adults for children aged 7–11.
The closing date for entries in 31st March 2025.
Every year since 2015, The Caterpillar Poetry Prize has been awarded to a single poem by a single judge – among them John Hegley, Chrissie Gittins, Roger McGough, Michael Morpurgo and Michael Rosen.
Previous winners include Louise Greig, Coral Rumble, Laura Mucha, Carole Bromley and Ciara O’Connor.
What you could win
1st prize €1,000 plus a week at Circle of Misse in France
2nd prize €500
3rd prize €250
The winning poems will be published in the Irish Times online.
Your 2025 judge
Kate Wakeling’s work has been awarded the CLiPPA prize for children’s poetry and nominated for the Carnegie Medal and has been praised as ‘clever, funny, inspiring’ (The Sunday Times) and ‘both limpidly welcoming and profoundly meaningful’ (Guardian). Her collections have variously been selected as Books of the Month in the Guardian, The Scotsman and The Sunday Times.
How to enter
The Caterpillarar Prize is open to anyone (over 16), as long as the work is original and previously unpublished.The poems can be on any subject.
The entry fee is €15 per poem. You can ENTER ONLINE or send your poem(s) along with a cheque or postal order (Irish only) made payable to ‘The Moth Magazine Ltd.’ with an ENTRY FORM or a cover letter with your name and contact details and the title of your poem(s) attached to: The Caterpillar, Ardan Grange, Milltown, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland H14 K768.
**If you are concerned about formatting online, please go through the online process and then email your poem as a Word attachment with your entry number directly to enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com.**
Please remember to READ THE RULES of the competition before you enter.
The winners will be announced in June 2025.
You may also be interested to know The Moth Short Story Prize is open for entries until 30th June 2025, with Evie Wyld choosing the winner.
Email enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com with any questions.