Tower Poetry was founded in 2000 when a generous gift was made to Christ Church by the late Christopher Tower to promote the enjoyment and critical appreciation of poetry, particularly among young people in education, and to challenge people to write their own poetry. 

The 2026 competition is now open for entries on the theme of 'A Riddle'.

   Enter the Competition

 

What we do

Tower Poetry is best known for its annual poetry writing competition which offers the UK’s most valuable prize for young poets. The competition is free to enter and is open to students between 16 and 18 years of age who are educated in the UK. 

Tower Poetry also runs a biennial residential poetry Summer School for 18- to 23-year-olds. The cost of all tuition and accommodation is covered by Tower Poetry. The next Tower Poetry Summer School will run in August 2027. Find out more about the Tower Poetry Summer School here.

Tower Poetry offers generous grants to promote the enjoyment and understanding of poetry in schools. We offer Tower Poetry Schools Grants and Tower Poetry Development Grants. Applications are assessed on a rolling basis.

All of the Tower Poetry publications are available here.

Who we are

A portrait photograph of Dr Anna Nickerson

 

The current director of Tower Poetry is Dr Anna Nickerson. She is the Christopher Tower Student and Tutor in Poetry in the English Language at Christ Church and an Associate Professor in the English Faculty at the University of Oxford. 
Photo of Maya Little, a woman with shoulder length hair and a patterned shirt.

The Tower Poetry Administrator is Maya Little. She manages the day-to-day running of the Tower Poetry Competition, Tower Poetry Summer School, and Tower Poetry Grants Schemes.

Tel: +44 7849625906 

Email: tower.poetry@chch.ox.ac.uk