THE KIPLING SOCIETY
The John McGivering Writing Prize 2025
Judges: Jan Montefiore, Mary Hamer, Sarah LeFanu
Entries on the subject of the Sea are now invited
First Prize £350
Second prize £100
Third Prize £50
Who hath desired the Sea? - the sight of salt water unbounded -
The heave and the halt and the hurl and the crash of the comber wind-hounded?
The sleek-barrelled swell before storm, grey, foamless, enormous, and growing
Stark calm on the lap of the Line or the crazy-eyed hurricane blowing -
His Sea in no showing the same - his Sea and the same 'neath each showing:
His Sea as she slackens or thrills?
The dishevelled [Abishai] danced drunkenly down wind, and all eyes followed her… She sailed into a patch of watery sunshine three or four miles distant. The patch dulled and faded out, and even as the light passed so did the schooner. She dropped into a hollow and—was not.
“Run under, by the great hook-block!” shouted Disko, jumping aft. “Drunk or sober, we’ve got to help ’em. Heave short and break her out! Smart!”
Aching for an hour’s sleep, dozing off between;
’Heard the rotten rivets draw when she took it green;
’Watched the compass chase its tail like a cat at play—
That was on the Bolivar, south across the Bay.
Rudyard Kipling wrote all his life about the dangerous beauty of the ocean and the courage, skill and daring of sailors in the deep waters. The Competition is open to poems of up to 30 lines about any aspect of the sea and/ or sailing: which should be also connected, whether directly or obliquely, with the writings and/or life of Kipling. This Writing Competition is funded by the generosity of the late John McGivering, who himself served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
The Kipling Society also offers a Competition for Younger Poets aged between 12 and 17 years, for poems about the Sea, which should likewise be connected with the writings and/or life of Kipling, whether directly or obliquely. For this Younger Poets’ Competition , the Kipling Society offers a prize of £75, and £25 for the runner-up.
The Rules
- Entries should be a maximum of 30 lines excluding the title. There is no minimum length.
- Entries must be original. Plagiarism will not be accepted. The poem must not have been published previously, either in print, or online, or in any other media.
- Competitors give their permission for the winning entries to be published in the Kipling Journal, and subsequently on the Kipling Society’s website,
- Entries must be submitted as Word attachments to emails addressed to kswritingprize@gmail.com. They must be unsigned, but must have on their title line the writer’s initials in reverse order. These reversed order initials must appear in the accompanying email, together with the writer’s name and contact details: email, telephone number, and postal address, including postcode or Zip code.
- For entrants to the competition for younger poets, confirmation of their age by a parent, guardian or teacher is required.
- There is an entry charge of £5 for each entry, to be paid to the Kipling Society by Paypal via the John McGivering Writing Prize 2025 tab on our website, www.kiplingsociety.co.uk
- The competition will open for entries on 1 March 2025, and will close on 1 May 2025 at 11.59 pm, BST