Congratulations to all the 2026 winners! In its 16th year, the Chiswick Book Festival Young Poets Competition aims to encourage young people to enjoy creating their own poems. We looked for original poems up to 25 lines long, on any theme, though a suggested theme this year was ‘Space’. It was free and open to children (UK only) in Years 3 to 7, aged 7 or 8 to 12. There’s a detailed report on all the winning entries on ChiswickW4.com:-
“The competition received 187 entries from a from a wide range of state and private schools, including: Ark Byron Primary Academy Acton, Ada Lovelace, St Augustine’ s Priory, Heathfield House, Beavers Community Primary School, Southfield Primary School, The William Hogarth School, Bute House Prep, Orchard House School, St Peter’s Primary School, The Harrodian, Newland House School, Lionel Primary School. St Michael and All Angels W4 once again hosted the prize-giving. The church was filled with 31 happy prize winners, their parents and teachers…”
“As always, Chiswickw4.com sponsored the certificates and event. This year local book shop Everybody Reads supplied the winners with generous book prizes. Carol Kosse from the store wrapped them up beautifully for each winner. Situated on Chiswick High Road, it describes itself as “a place to pause, breathe, browse, learn, discover, connect, giggle and grow”. From local author talks to monthly book clubs, it hosts a range of events for all book lovers—whether you prefer novellas, general fiction, or historical fiction.
Read the full article here on ChiswickW4.com.
One of the judges, poet James Pendle assembled and performed a mash-up of lines from the winning entries.