THIS years search to find the top young poets in Hampshire see's the launch of an exciting competition.

Hampshire Cultural Trust, in partnership with the Winchester Poetry Festival and Hampshire Library Service, have launched this year’s search to find the top young poets in Hampshire.

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This will be the second annual Hampshire Young Poets Competition launched across the region.

The theme of this year’s competition will be ‘Jubilee’ and young people from across Hampshire are asked to write a poem of no more than 14 lines inspired by celebration, togetherness or this year’s Platinum Jubilee.

In 2022, Her Majesty The Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service.

People up and down the country will be getting involved in celebrating Her Majesty’s historic reign in the run up to the Platinum Jubilee central weekend, which takes place from June 2 to 5.

Entries are open to young people who live or study in Hampshire in three different age categories including four-seven, 8-11 and 12-16 years. The competition is free to enter and there will be national book token prizes for the winners, as well as P&G Wells tokens for the schools of the winning entrants.

The closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday, July 31 2022 and the poems will be judged by the new Hampshire Poet, Nazneen Ahmed Pathak.

Nazneen Ahmed Pathak is a poet, novelist and textiles artist who lives in Southampton. Her poetry is often inspired by the theme of migration, which was the topic of her work as an academic researcher and historian at University College London and the University of Oxford.

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She is currently the writer in residence with the Southampton Stories project at Southampton City Museums and has also held residences at John Hansard Gallery and Southampton City Libraries in the past.

She is also known for writing workshops in a range of settings including schools, libraries and community settings.

The winners in each of the age category listed above will be announced at an awards ceremony at The Arc, Winchester, on Saturday, October 8 2022.

Details of how to enter and submission guidelines can be found at hampshireculture.org.uk/hantsyoungpoets22.

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