POETS of all ages are being invited to pen some lines inspired by the theme of Signs of Spring.

The entries are being sought for the Otley Poetry Competition which is being run by the Town Council and Town Poet Matthew Hedley Stoppard.

The event has three age categories - Primary (five to ten years old), Teenage (11 to 17) and Adult (18 and over) - and a £20 e-voucher will be awarded to the winner of each.

A list of commended poems will be selected from each category, too, and all winning and commended poems will be published in a future edition of Otley Matters and a pamphlet that will be available to the public.

Mr Stoppard is asking entrants to ‘explore the theme as freely as they like, looking at new life and moving on’.

He added: “Entries can be experimental, focus solely on nature or take into consideration universal subjects.”

He is also uploading a mini-workshop - available from April 5 - to his blog at otleytownpoet.blogspot.com to help anyone who hasn’t written a poem before.

The competition is free but only open to people with an Otley postcode who should submit one poem, of no more than ten lines, each.

Entries must be submitted electronically - postal submissions will not be accepted - via e-mail in a Word document or PDF, using a 12pt font, and can be submitted between Thursday, April 9 and midnight on Saturday, April 11.

The file names of entries should include your name, age and postcode with contact details included in the body of the e-mail.

Poems should be sent to eo@otleytowncouncil.gov.uk and the winners and commended poets will be contacted by Friday, April 17.

For full details visit https://www.otleytowncouncil.gov.uk/news/poetry-competition-signs-of-spring-closing-date-11th-april-2020/.