Why I’m Raising Funds in 2025 for a One-Time Poetry Prize That’ll Hit Hard in 2026

At The Broken Spine, I run two regular things you’re probably already familiar with: the summer poetry competition and the Reader’s Choice feature. The summer comp is a straight-up submission window, it’s how I find the work I’ll publish the following year. No pretence. No prestige. Just good writing and honest selection. The Reader’s Choice is exactly what it says it is: a chance for real readers to vote on what resonated. No panels. No taste-shaping. Just response.

Both matter. But let’s be clear, they don’t make a political statement. They don’t shake the system. And they don’t put serious money into poets’ hands.

This year, 2025, I’m attempting to raise £5,000 to fund a one-time poetry prize. Not an annual award. Not a new tradition. Just one bold, deliberate act to prove a point.

Because you know what really boils my piss? The way presses submit work to prizes before it’s even published. Before readers get to see it. Before it’s lived a day in the world. That cannot possibly be about honouring the work, it’s about slapping a badge on the cover to shift copies. It’s marketing dressed up as merit. What does it say about your confidence in the writing if the first audience it’s given to is a judging panel?

I’m tired of the theatre. Tired of seeing prizes like Pushcart and Forward paraded around as if they’re gold standards, when half the time, they’re just PR tools.

These awards don’t challenge the system. They are the system. And most of the time, poets don’t see more than a pat on the back and a boost to someone else’s sales.

So I’m doing this once. I’ve created a poetry prize from nothing. It’s not trying to look like anything it’s not. No longlists. No gatekeeping. Just three poems, selected with care, paid with real money.

Not exposure. Not a voucher. Cash.

And here’s where things stand: there’s already a significant amount of money in the pot. But it’s not enough. Not even close to what’s needed to make this prize land with the weight it deserves.

So I’m asking, directly, for your help.

If you care about poets being paid, if you’re sick of the pageantry and the pretense, then donate as much as you possibly can. Whether it’s £5, £50, or £500, every single penny goes directly to the poets. Not to me. Not to marketing. There are no admin fees. No backdoor profit.

This isn’t charity. It’s accountability. It’s putting your money where your mouth is if you really believe in the value of poetry. It’s a way to show that you don’t need institutional approval to create something that matters.

So no, this isn’t an award. It’s not legacy-building. It’s not respectable. It’s honest. And maybe that’s the most dangerous thing it can be. Donate now. Share it. And next year, when the money lands where it should, let’s see who’s still pretending poetry’s not political.