This year’s Paisley Book Festival’s theme is “The Lives We Live” and we’re on the lookout for short poems that contemplate our decision-making processes and desires, from how we interact with each other, to our relationship with nature, our physical and digital experiences and our hopes and expectations for the future, as well as celebrating the satisfaction that can be found in the now.
Janet Coats was part of the renowned thread-making family, J&P Coats. The eldest daughter of Thomas Coats and Margaret Glen, her father was one of four brothers who inherited a Paisley-based thread manufacturing company that was renamed J&P Coats in 1830. She was also the wife of publisher James Tait Black and Janet’s own literary aspirations resulted in two volumes of nature-inspired poetry, one of which was published as Verses and Rhymes, in 1899.
Janet Coats Memorial Prize 2025
Please email your poems of up to 40 lines (either in a Word Document, MP3 or MP4 file) to jcmp@renfrewshire.gov.uk with Janet Coats Memorial Prize in the subject line. You can enter one poem only and the closing date for entries is midnight on 23rd February 2025. Entrants to the adult prize should be 18 or over.
Our judging panel has yet to be confirmed. Shortlisted entrants will be expected to attend the Janet Coats Memorial Prize Awards Ceremony on Saturday 26th April at 10am as part of the Paisley Book Festival. Writers will be informed if they have made the shortlist by April 2025, and the winners will be announced on the morning of the award ceremony. All short-listed entries will be included in a souvenir pamphlet celebrating the Janet Coats Memorial Prize in 2025. The winner will receive a cash prize of £225, with the 4 runners up receiving cash prizes of £75 each.
Closing date: Midnight, Sunday 23rd February 2025.
Email your poems of up to 40 lines to jcmp@renfrewshire.gov.uk in a Word Document, MP3 or MP4 file with ‘Janet Coats Memorial Prize’ in the subject line. Writers retain full copyright of their work. All poems should be submitted blindly with no names or contact information on the files. The poet’s name and contact details should be included clearly in the body of the email.
Entries can be submitted by post to
JCMP, Paisley Central Library, 22 High St, Paisley PA1 2BS
If you are over 18 and were born in Scotland or live or have lived in Scotland, you can enter the Janet Coats Memorial Prize.
Please note: there is a separate Janet Coats Memorial Prize for under 18s open to children and young people who attend school in Renfrewshire. Details will be circulated locally via school librarians and the Libraries Team.
1st place cash prize of £225, with 4 runners up cash prizes of £75 each.
Janet Coats Memorial Prize - Young People 2025
Please email your poems of up to 40 lines to sls@renfrewshire.gov.uk with Janet Coats Memorial Prize in the subject line and include your name, school and age in the email with the poem as an attachment. You can also hand in your poem to your school librarian. You can enter one poem only and the closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday 23rd February 2025. Entrants to the young person’s prize should be secondary pupils living in or attending school in Renfrewshire.
Our judging panel has yet to be confirmed. Shortlisted entrants will be expected to attend the Janet Coats Memorial Prize Awards Ceremony on Saturday 26th April at 10am as part of the Paisley Book Festival. Writers will be informed if they have made the shortlist by April 2025, and the winners will be announced on the morning of the award ceremony. All short-listed entries will be included in a souvenir pamphlet celebrating the Janet Coats Memorial Prize in 2025 and the winner will receive a cash prize of £50, with the 4 runners up receiving cash prizes of £25 each. A £200 donation will also be presented to their school library for the purchase of materials promoting poetry.
Closing date: Midnight, Sunday 23rd February 2025.
Some ideas for what your poem could include:
Email your poems of up to 40 lines to sls@renfrewshire.gov.uk as a document, photo, MP3 or MP4 file with ‘Janet Coats Memorial Prize’ in the subject line. Writers retain full copyright of their work. All poems should be submitted blindly with no names or contact information on the files. The poet’s name, age and school (or contact details if home schooled) should be included clearly in the body of the email. Poems can also be submitted to the school librarian. If handwritten, poem should be legible.
Any secondary school pupil living in, or attending school, in Renfrewshire.
1st place cash prize of £50, with 4 runners up cash prizes of £25 each, plus a £200 donation to their school library for materials promoting poetry..
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