The Aryamati Poetry Prize
Closed until 2021
Date TBA June - Date TBA October 2021
This poetry prize remembers Cambridge graduate, Olga Kenyon, (Aryamati), who had a rich career involving teaching, lecturing and writing. She was a well-respected non-fiction author, documenting and researching the history of women's writing and had eight books published. As a keen poet she won the North West Libraries poetry award in 2013 and her poem about Alderley Edge was displayed on the city's trams.
This prize seeks poets who write for social change and peace. The prize represents that which Aryamati held dear: reading widely, writing to her loved ones from across the globe by postcard and seeking critical feedback on her work, constantly aiming to improve her craft.
Therefore, the winning prize is:
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10 Fly on the Wall books worth £100 (4 hardback/paperbacks and 6 ebooks of winner's choice.)
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250 copies of the winning poem printed on limited edition postcards (150 distributed in Fly on the Wall book packages and 100 gifted to winner)
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The poem will also be published on the Fly on the Wall Blog and the winner invited to record a video of the piece for the Fly on the Wall Youtube Channel.
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New this year! In collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester Poetry Library, the winner will be invited to record their poem as part of a podcast series by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan University, and will be interviewed about their work. You can listen to RAH! Podcast here. This will be primarily be offered as an in-person recording, however arrangements can be made to record remotely if required (internationally).
Runners up:
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3 Fly on the Wall ebooks and a choice of one of the following: 3 paperbacks from shop or a line by line edit of 5 poems of poet's choice. (Worth £37)
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The poem will also be published on the Fly on the Wall Blog and the poets will be invited to record a video of the piece for the Fly on the Wall Youtube Channel.
Entry and Submission Guidelines:
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Poems must respond to our brief of social change and peace.
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Poets may enter as many poems as they wish. Entry is £3 for the first poem and £1 per poem after this. This may be paid first via Paypal following this link or bank transfer. (Please email for Fly on the Wall's bank account details.)
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Email your entry to with a screenshot of your payment or your payment reference code, with subject line 'Aryamati Poetry Prize/First Name Last Name'
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Poems will be judged anonymously. Please only put your name in the subject line and body of your email and attach your poetry as a word document or PDF where necessary.
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Poems may be up to 40 lines but bear in mind that a postcard is A6 in size. (We are happy to consider placing an extract should it be better suited.)
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Poems may have been previously published in any form as long as you retain copyright and have permission for them to be reprinted.
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Simultaneous submissions are accepted but do let us know as soon as possible if you need to withdraw your work.
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The judges' decision is final and we ask that you respect this and our fair judging process before entering the competition.
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Let us know where you heard about this submission call originally if you can - this helps us know how we are reaching readers!
Links to Aryamati's Work:
Link to the Aryamati Bursary Fund
(British Association for Mindfulness-Based Approaches)
Due to Aryamati's generosity The Breathworks Foundation
awards bursaries each year to make sure no-one is
excluded from experiencing the life-changing benefits of
mindfulness due to financial hardship. Aryamati had lived
with chronic pain for many years and experienced great
benefit from the Breathworks approach.
