Tiny Prize
Our winner for APRIL 2026,
writing about the theme THROUGH THE WINDOW, is
Aurélie Noel.
Aurélie is the happy winner of the princely sum of a fiver!
Here is the poem:
Diapause
Today is Mother’s Day,
My beloved daughter
slayed a ladybug card
and hung it on the window.
Did you know there are
more than hundreds of ladybird species
in Iran, I asked?
She started counting one plus one …
until she fell asleep.
She was dreaming of fluttering crocuses,
quietly defying the wind. So are the Iranian people!
Yet the bloody sunset of their children came.
I started counting one plus one…
until the earth gave them all a cold kiss.
What will mothers do now?
Will they look through their windows,
call for a silent rope to hang from and fly free
as a loveliness of ladybirds?
City of Poets offers the monthly TINY PRIZE to any poet registered on our website. Entry is free.
The prize is worth £5, and one could be forgiven for thinking it's not worth it. It is...
• a poet is recognised • winning can go on a CV • £5 still just about buys a drink •
• it adds to a local buzz about poetry 12 times a year•
• your work is shared across our social media platforms and City of Poets community •
Themes for 2026 are:
February - Reflections • March - Painting • April - Through the window
May - Beach • June - Scunnert • July - Magick • August - War
September - Electricity • October - Leaves • November - Authenticity • December - Animal Rights
There is NO Tiny Prize for January 2026, a month of rest.
Submissions must be by email only, and only from poets registered with City of Poets. Please put in the subject line: "TINY PRIZE - xyz month - xyz theme"
Submit 18 lines or fewer within the body of the email - no attachments. Closing date for submissions is the 15th of each preceding month -
for example, to submit for May - Spring,• please ensure that we receive it by 15 April.
Submission, results will be notified on the last day of the month preceding publication. Publication will be on or before the 1st of the following
month to which the submission's theme refers. £5 prize will be credited to the PayPal account of your choosing by the 15th of the month of publication..
the City of Poets judges, 2026/2027, are Ross Wilcock, Sarah Heitler, Stuart Paterson and Ruth Reid.
Regrettably, shortage of time does not permit us to enter into correspondence about the results of the TINY PRIZES.