New Scotland
Robert Burns Poetry Competitions 2021
Our annual competitions inspired by the Scottish bard and sturdy Octagon resident close on 15th November. This year we consider New Scotland. How has Scottish culture evolved at home and abroad? Do the Scots become more Scottish the further they travel from the homeland? What happens when cultures blend or collide, with travel and migration? Write your poem in response to these questions, in no more than 500 words, and submit it by 19th November. Cash prizes and tickets to the annual Robert Burns Supper for first place winners in each category. Visit our competition page for full details and to enter online, or pick up an entry form from your local library (in alert levels 1 & 2).
There are separate competitions for adults and young adults - the Rap Like Robbie competition being for poets under 18 years of age.
Judges for 2021: Professor Liam McIlvanney, University of Otago Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies; 2021 University of Otago Robert Burns Fellow, writer Becky Manawatu; poet Jilly O'Brien and the Donna Young Writers' Group.
With Grateful thanks to our sponsors: Otago Scottish Heritage Council - Dunedin-Edinburgh Sister-City Society - Dunedin Public Libraries Association - Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies - Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature
And for the support of the Otago Daily Times and the Dunedin Burns Club
Adult competition closes 5pm, Friday 19th November