AVBOB Poetry Prize
30 November 2026
The 10th Annual Poetry Competition (the “Competition”) is organised by AVBOB Mutual Assurance Society (“AVBOB”) and is open to any citizen of South Africa. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a poet by profession or a poet at heart – this is your opportunity to be seen and heard, touch thousands of lives, and even be rewarded with one of the coveted AVBOB Poetry prizes. To stand in line to win, you simply need to register your profile and submit your poem(s) online.
Theme:
- Entrants should see the theme “I wish I’d said” as a guideline, not a rule. The poems, however, need not be about the death of a specific person, but can be any poem with an elegiac sense. Poems which celebrate life, or the brevity of human existence, etc., will also do. The guiding principle must be: Will a person experiencing loss be uplifted by the poem, or be able to identify with it?
Language:
- Poems may be submitted in any of the 11 official South African written languages. For poems that are not in English, an English translation of poems would be appreciated, but is not compulsory.
Prizes:
- A cash prize of R10 000 will be awarded for the best poem in each of the 11 language categories, at the discretion of the editors.
- If you receive notification that your poem is accepted for publication, it means that it will be published on AVBOB’s Poetry Competition website www.avbobpoetry.co.za.
- In addition, it may be considered for publication alongside the work of renowned poets in a 100-poem anthology that will be published in 2026.
- Should your poem be accepted for publication by AVBOB, you will be remunerated as follows: A usage fee to the value of R300 – transferred to the entrant via the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment option presented online – for publication on the AVBOB Poetry Competition website, which includes the entrant’s consent to usage on other platforms and in other media.
Submission deadline: 30 November 2026