September 15th, 2025
Welcome, poets of the world.
All true poets know,
poetry is a calling.
Did we choose poetry, or did poetry choose us?
It doesn't matter.
Before we are anything else, let it be said of us –
We are poets.
To identify as a Poet in the English language
means having a literary ancestor,
a poet of such reknown,
he is known simply as The Bard.
An invisible thread of magic
persists through centuries of time
connecting Shakespeare's quill to our pen.
We are called –
to write poems that reflect our time and culture,
that speak of history and love and loss,
that reveal our human nature,
and tell universal truths.
We are called to be –
The Legends of Shakespeare's Pen.
Wax Poetry and Art invites poets from around the world to submit deep, meaningful, moving, thoughtful, impactful, and memorable poems to Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026.
Calling all poets! Join the quest to be a Legend of Shakespeare's Pen.
This is a chance to have an international spotlight shone upon your poetry, and get some local attention, too.
Agreement Statement
You must include the following statement with your submission:
"I agree with the guidelines for Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026."
Stage One: The Contests
Poem submissions will be directed into a group of geographically-based contests to ensure that a group of winning poets from around
the world is selected.
Stage Two: The Competition
When the winners are published on May 15th, 2026, a reading period will commence.
The poem with the most readers during the reading period will be chosen as the overall winner
of Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026.
The overall winner will be announced on Septemeber 15th, 2026, and will receive a $50 CAD prize.
Previous Edition
This is the second edition of Legends of Shakespeare's Pen.
Read the winners from the 2024/2025 edition.
Read the guidelines from the 2024/2025 edition.
2025/2026: Seven Contests, Seven Champions
Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026 comprises seven contests, each hosted by a different Wax Poetry and Art publication. The winners will be published in the publication hosting the contest and will also appear in the Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2026 Collection, which will be published in the Library.
Shakespeare's Pen: Canada Contest
– Open to submissions from everyone in Canada.
– Hosted by Canada Poetry Magazine.
Shakespeare's Pen: United States Contest
– Open to submissions from everyone in the United States.
– Hosted by United States Poetry Magazine.
Shakespeare's Pen: The Americas Contest
– Open to submissions from everyone in North and South America, outside of Canada and the United States.
– Hosted by Caribbean Poetry Magazine.
Shakespeare's Pen: Africa Contest
– Open to submissions from everyone in Africa.
– Hosted by Nigeria Poetry Magazine.
Shakespeare's Pen: Asia Contest
– Open to submissions from everyone in Asia.
– Hosted by India Poetry Magazine.
Shakespeare's Pen: Europe Contest
– Open to submissions from everyone in Europe.
– Hosted by Europe Poetry Magazine.
Shakespeare's Pen: Oceania Contest
– Open to submissions from everyone in Oceania.
– Hosted by Australia Poetry Magazine.
One Poem Submission Permitted
All poets may enter one poem in Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026.
Your submission will be automatically sorted into the appropriate contest, based on where you live.
Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026 is presented by Wax Poetry and Art. Visit the main Wax Poetry and Art Submissions page to view current opportunities.
Visit the Wax Poetry and Art About page to read the Code of Conduct and Privacy Policy, and to learn more about Wax Poetry and Art. Use the Back button on your browser to return to this page.
Wax Poetry and Art is part of waxpoetryart.com – the website for people who love poetry, art, photography, fiction, and plays.
Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026 is edited, and designed by Kirk Ramdath. Published by Florencia Bay Books in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Nanaimo is located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation of the Coast Salish People.
Essential details:
– Free to enter.
– Submissions close January 14th, 2026.
– Submit one poem.
– There is no initial cash prize; the overall winner receives $50 CAD.
– Simultaneous submissions are not allowed.
– Read and follow guidelines carefully to submit.
You must agree with the terms on this page to make a submission to this contest. Your submission will be considered proof of your agreement and as such, no additional contract will be required for publication to proceed.
Submission Deadline
Submissions close at midnight on January 14th, 2026.
Note About Time Zones
Please note that dates and times are based on the time zone where the magazine is published in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada –
Pacific Daylight (Savings) Time, GMT-7.
London and Lagos are 8 hrs ahead, Mumbai is 12.5 hrs ahead, and Sydney is 17 hrs ahead.
The following time display shows the current date and time in Nanaimo.
Once the date on the display shows January 15th, 2026, the contest is closed.
Submission Period
September 15th, 2025 to January 14th, 2026.
Acceptance Notice / Submission Expiration
Receive acceptance notice by March 15th, 2026 or earlier.
Non-winning submissions expire on March 15th, 2026 or earlier
(as noted on Submissions Status page).
Publication Date
Publication on May 15th, 2026.
Language of Publication
The language of publication is English.
Limited use of a few words using indigenous languages or local terms is acceptable when appropriate, if translations are provided in the notes.
Use phonetic English spellings for words in languages that have non-Latin character sets so that English-language readers
will be able to read and pronounce the words. (eg. Mandarin, Russian, Hindi, Greek, etc.)
No Attachments for Text
The entire submission must be copied and pasted or manually transcribed into the body of a single email
and sent to the email address shown below.
Do not include any text of your submission in an attachment.
Number of Poems
Submit one poem.
Previously Unpublished
The work submitted must be previously unpublished and completely original to the author.
If accepted, the work must also remain unpublished until it is published by this magazine.
Other Criteria
Currently, there is no criteria for number or lines or word count.
Suggest Keywords (Optional)
Suggest three keywords (or short phrases) for your submission, based on the themes of the submission.
Keywords can help your work be found in Internet searches by people who may be interested in the themes that your work represents.
Do not take keywords from the text of your work, as this is already done.
Rather, consider in a more general way, what your work is about, and who will find your work interesting,
using words that are not included in the text portions of your submission.
Underage Artists (Less than 18 Years Old)
Persons under 18 years old are welcome to submit with the permission of a parent or guardian who has read these guidelines and agreed to them.
Persons under 18 must include their Date of Birth and the name of the parent or guardian who has read these guidelines and granted permission.
Note to Parents: Most of the work published in this magazine is appropriate for a general audience.
However, this magazine may contain any theme within the scope of art, including mature themes.
This magazine is not intended for young children and parental guidance is advised.
Persons 18 years old and under can also submit to Young Poets World,
which is specifically for young poets and will not include mature themes.
Prohibition on AI-generated Text and Images
Submissions found to contain text or imagery generated by artificial intelligence (AI) will be automatically discarded
and the submitter will be permanently prohibited from submitting to any publications published and edited by myself, Kirk Ramdath,
and all Florencia Bay Books publications.
Prohibition on Harmful Content
As per the Code of Conduct, work that is considered harmful toward any group of people will not be considered.
Work that uses derogatory terms for women or marginalized people will not be considered.
Biography
Include a short biography, approximately 100 words, maximum.
Please do not list more than five previous publications.
If you have social media artist pages, you can include links at the end of your biography.
Long biographies will be truncated at the editor's discretion.
The biography should be a short description of the artist can comprise, for example, previously published work,
hobbies and interests, general motivations for being creative, social media pages, etc.
The biography should not be a note about the submitted work.
If it is necessary to include a note about the work, place the note at the end of the work, not within your biography.
Updating Biographies for those with Artist Pages
All artists published since 2024 receive their own Wax Poetry and Art Artist Page.
To update the biography on your Artist Page, you must,
1) Make a new submission,
2) Specify that you've included an "Updated Biography" in your new submission.
3) Then, if your new submission is accepted, your biography will be updated.
Currently, this is the only way to update the biography on your Artist Page.
Ad hoc changes are not possible at this time.
Legal Name and Mailing, Postal, or Residential Address
Include your legal name, if different from your artist name, and complete mailing address
including street number, street name, city, province / state, country, postal code, and optional phone / WhatsApp number.
Please note: Although providing your phone number is optional, it is recommended, in case an urgent matter concering your work arises,
which has happened.
Notice of Receipt of Your Submission
All submissions will receive an automated reply confirming that the email containing your submission has been received.
If your submission is correctly formatted, within 30 days, you will receive confirmation that your submission is correct
and will proceed to the review stage.
Submission Queries: Wait 30 Days
Unfortunately, some email servers may send the automated reply to your junk mail folder, or otherwise prevent it from reaching your inbox.
This does not mean that your message has not been received.
If 30 days passes from the time you sent your submission, and you are certain that your submission was correctly formatted,
send a query about your submission.
Do not send a query until after 30 days passes.
Simultaneous Submissions: No
Simultaneous submissions are not allowed.
Do not submit the same work to any other publication (including
other waxpoetryart.com publications and contests).
Updating Submissions
The best practice is to spend time and consideration preparing your submission.
If necessary, you can update your submission once only.
Send a new, complete submission before the submission deadline.
Your original submission will be deleted and replaced by the Updated Submission.
After the submission deadline, your submission (including your biography) cannot be updated.
Withdrawing Submissions
Until the submission deadline, you can withdraw your submission with an email without the need to provide an explanation.
After the submission deadline passes and the review period begins, withdrawing your submission
can affect the review process and decisions about other submissions.
Therefore, after the submission deadline, withdrawing your submission is possible,
but will result in a permanent prohibition from submitting to any Florencia Bay Books publications,
unless there is a valid, urgent reason for the withdrawal.
Please do not submit any work that you are not fully intending to publish if accepted.
Notice of Acceptance
Accepted poems will be notified (and non-accepted poems will expire) by March 15th, 2026.
Submission Status Page
March 15th, 2026 is the latest date that results will be available.
Every effort will be made to complete reviewing at an earlier time.
As soon as reviewing is completed and accepted submissions are notified,
the Submissions Status webpage will be updated.
Check the Submission Status page at any time to view the status of your submission.
Accepted submissions will be published online in the designated publications and included in the Legends of Shakespere's Pen 2026 Collection, to be published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library on May 15th, 2026.
Competition & Awarding of Titles
When the winning poems are published on May 15th, 2026 in the Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2026 Collection,
a three month reading period will commence.
Poets are encouraged to invite their friends and fans to read their poem.
After the reading period, the poem with the most readers will be selected as the overall winner.
The final results will be posted on September 15th, 2026.
– Runners up will each be designated as a Peer of Shakespeare's Pen.
– The overall winner will be designated as the Wielder of Shakespeare's Pen.
– These achievements will be recognized on the website, and all winning poets will also receive
a certificate via email (in .pdf form).
Cash Prize for Overall Winner
There is no initial payment for publication on May 15th, 2026.
The overall winner, a.k.a. the Wielder of Shakespeare's Pen, will be announced on September 15th, 2026,
and that poet will receive a cash prize of $50 CAD within 30 days after that.
Accessible to All
This publication is available to the public for free.
All published work is accessible to anyone who has access to the internet.
This means that you will be able to share your work with as many people as possible.
All family, friends, fans, colleagues, and truly, the entire world can enjoy your poem.
Poetry World Cup Qualification
All poems included in Legends of Shakespere's Pen qualify for entry into the Poetry World Cup, presented by
Wax Poetry and Art.
The most-read poems from ten countries published in all Wax Poetry and Art publications during the calendar year will be
chosen to represent their nations
during the Poetry World Cup that will happen the next year after publication, on January 15th.
View the inaugural Poetry World Cup 2025.
Copyright
Copyright of the poem remains with the original artist.
First Publication
Upon acceptance, the poet grants the publisher, Florencia Bay Books, the right to the first publication of the poem,
as well as the right to republish the poem in Wax Poetry and Art anthologies and collections,
online and in print, without additional permission required.
Royalties for Print and Electronic Sales
If the work is ever collected into a book or made available for sale in any print format, the artist will receive a minimum 20% royalty.
If the work is included in a printed collection with other artists (as is most likely), the 20% royalty is shared equally among all artists,
based on the number of submissions contributed.
If the work is ever made available for sale in a digital format, a 50% royalty will be given.
Royalties for print and electronic sales will be paid out annually in January if a minimum of $10 CAD is accrued.
Artist Page, Artist Collection, and Royalty Advance
As of 2024, all published artists receive a Wax Poetry and Art Artist Page.
The Artist Page will house the artist's biography and the list of their publications across the Wax Poetry and Art Network.
Once the artist accumulates 12 publications on their Artist Page, and every 12 publications thereafter,
inclusive of all genres, an Artist Collection will be published in the Library.
The artist will be awarded a $50 CAD royalty advance that will be sent within 30 days following the publication of the collection.
This Artist Collection will be published in the Library alongside collections such as Comet and Poetry World.
Artist Collection Queue
The Artist Collection will be published at the next publication date from when their 12th publication is acquired.
For example, if the artist achieves 12 publications at the May 15th publication date, their Artist Collection will be published on September 15th.
However, if there is already an Artist Collection slated for publication, the artist will join the Artist Collection queue.
Only one Artist Collection will be published at a time to ensure that each artist receives the fullest spotlight possible.
Once an artist achieves 12 publications, they will be informed, after publication, when their Artist Collection will be published.
If multiple artists achieve 12 publications at the same date,
the artist with the earliest first publication on their artist page will go ahead of the others.
If still tied, the number of visitors to their first publication will be used as a tie-breaker.
National and Other Collections
In addition to being added to their own artist page, new publications are also added to the
Countries page for their nation.
Once a country accumulates 24 publications, and every 24 publications thereafter, a National Collection will be published in the Library.
As well, collections based on specific themes may be assembled and published at any publication date.
There is no additional payment or royalty advance for inclusion in a National or other collection.
There will not be additional notifications if your work is included in a National or other collection that is published online.
You will be notified if your work appears in an online collection and is chosen to be published in a print version of the collection.
Additional Rights Granted
The artist also grants the publisher the right to share the work or parts of the work, as applicable, on third party platforms such as Facebook and other social media,
specifically for the purpose of sharing the work and the artist with more people, and considering the evolving and experimental nature of the Internet.
Editor's Right to Edit
The editor reserves the right to make whatever changes are deemed necessary, at any time, to ensure that publication occurs.
Note from Editor
In practice, I perform as few edits as possible, hopefully none.
My main concern as an editor is whatever distracts the reader and thereby disrupts the pure enjoyment of reading the text.
Edits are performed as the work is being prepared for publication, and are usually small tweaks, if any.
After publication, the artist can request clarification on an edit, or make a case for the original version.
If the two sides are unable to reach agreement, the option remains to unpublish the work.
Style Guide
– Edit your work carefully.
– Verb tense should be consistent throughout the text.
– Use punctuation in a consistent way.
Edits to Expect
– Whatever is deemed necessary to ensure publication.
– Oxford commas will be inserted.
– Quoted text will usually be displayed in italics instead of using quotations.
– Semicolons will usually be replaced by en dashes (–).
Email Subject Header
Use the following statement as your email subject header:
– "Legends of Shakepeare's Pen submission"
No Attachments for Text (Reminder)
The entire submission must be copied and pasted or manually transcribed into the body of a single email and sent to the email address shown below.
Do not include any text of your submission in an attachment.
Submission Checklist
Submissions must include the following four components.
1) Agreement Statement
"I agree with the guidelines for Legends of Shakespeare's Pen 2025/2026."
2) Poem
Keyword Suggestions (Optional)
Suggest three keywords or short phrases.
3) Biography
4) Postal Mailing Address / Address of Residence
– Legal Name:
– Street Number and Name:
– City:
– Province/State:
– Country:
– Postal Code:
– (Optional) Phone / WhatsApp:
Send your submission by email to info@waxpoetryart.com.
About the Editor
Kirk Ramdath is the publisher, editor, and designer of Wax Poetry and Art and the waxpoetryart.com publications.
He has read and performed at poetry events in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and many other cities in Canada.
Kirk had the honour of opening the world-famous Peace Bridge in Calgary in 2012.
He has been a publisher since 2005.
He also organized many dozen poetry events, around the 2010s.
Particularly, open-mic poetry events with a featured artist.
Kirk's first book, Love in a Handful of Dust, was published by Frontenac House in 2011, and will be republished by Florencia Bay Books in 2025.
He has three other poetry books near completion.
In 2002, Kirk obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, with Distinction, and a Minor in Philosophy from the University of Calgary, in Canada.
Kirk was born in Trinidad and Tobago, moved to Canada at age 10 with his family, and now writes and publishes from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
Return to Wax Poetry and Art Submissions
New this Publication Date:
- Visit the Wax Poetry and Art Submissions page.
- Visit the Wax Poetry and Art Library.
- This website and all contents ©Kirk Ramdath and specified artists.
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