Bohdan Piasecki headshot
Bohdan Piasecki ©

Hot Poets

7th poetry competition for school pupils with guest judge Bohdan Piasecki

The British Council and Haus für Poesie are collaborating to host the seventh annual poetry competition for students in grades 6-12 in Germany, and we are delighted to announce this year’s winners. 

Prize winners:

1st prize for poems written in English: Kayoon Song (16), International School, Hannover

1st prize for poems written in German: Emilie Bollack-Kirazkaya (14), Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium, Düsseldorf

Joint 2nd prize for poems written in English: Miu Tanaka (13) and Maya D'Souza (12), International School, Hannover

2nd prize for poems written in German: Coralie Josephine Spohr (12), Labenwolf Gymnasium, Nürnberg 

Special mentions: 

Poems written in German: Mia Mai Gessner, Sarah Zeiss, Emilia G, Asmin Sibel Akyüz, Gloria Reschke, Saskia Beck, Josephine Winter Caisan, Anneke Glade

Poems written in English: Jeongwon Park, Grace Cassel, Ekansh Gupta, Ethan Lorenz, Henrik Dömeland, Alex Lupei, Hiba Makhlouf, Shumirai Zoe Mutetwa, Tim Simon, Zainab Mashmour, Iman Qasem

Class workshop with Bohdan Piasecki (online) awarded to: Werner-von-Siemens-Gymnasium, Magdeburg. Class teacher: Julia Jantz. Special mentions to: Henrik Dömeland, Alex Lupei, Tim Simon

Workshop with Bohdan Piasecki (onsite in Berlin) awarded to: Jeongwon Park, Grace Cassel, Ekansh Gupta, Ethan Lorenz, Leah Faina Eliasson, Jeanne Vallier, Catalina Kaabour, Ida Mairi Mizani, Alexander Ellahi, Valentin Umanets, Livgrete Karges, Victoria Roggenbuck, Helen Peisger

Haus für Poesie open poems workshop awarded to: Mia Mai Gessner, Sarah Zeiss, Henrik Dömeland, Alex Lupei, Hiba Makhlouf, Shumirai Zoe Mutetwa, Tim Simon, Zainab Mashmour, Iman Qasem

Each of the five winning poems are published as a PDF at the bottom of this page. The poems will be translated into English and German respectively in due course - check back here for updates. Every participant will receive personalised feedback on their poem.

Many congratulations to all those who took part, and in particular to our winners here!
______________________________________________________________________

The task

  • Pupils should write a poem in English or German that refers to and responds to the work 'Again, Again' by Bohdan Piasecki and reflects on the theme of 'Repair'. 'Again, Again' can be viewed on YouTube, performed by the author, here and downloaded as a PDF below.
  • Poems must be submitted as text and may also be submitted as a video if desired.

Submitted poems should:

  • Be written in English or German
  • Not exceed 50 lines

Eligibility and rules

  • You must be a pupil at a school in Germany 
  • You must be in Grades 6-12 at the time of writing your poem

Bohdan Piasecki is a poet who thrives on the energy of the live encounter. Originally from Poland, where he founded the country’s first poetry slam, he now lives and writes in Birmingham. His poems have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, including an airfield in Berlin, a bookshop in Beijing, an underground club in Tokyo, an upstairs room in an Eastbourne pub... This commitment to the stage led to him winning the first ever Forward Prize for Best Single Poem: Performed in 2023.

Bohdan’s practice is rooted in the belief that poetry is a shared act. He has spent years producing the poetry programme for Apples and Snakes and mentoring voices through the Roundhouse and Bellows collectives. He lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham, but he is most at home in the creative chaos of a festival or the quiet focus of a bookshop reading. He writes and translates between Polish, French, and English, treating translation and multilingualism as a creative tool. He enjoys the tension between the composed concentration of the written word and the messy, beautiful life of the spoken poem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To apply

  • Email your poem to mitmachen@haus-fuer-poesie.org with the subject line: "British Council Poetry Competition 2026". In your email, please include your name, age, address, gender (m/f/d), the name of your school, your class and your English teacher's name and email address.
  • Closing date for entries: Sunday 3rd May 2026, 6 p.m.
  • Announcement of the winners: Friday 15th May 2026
  • If you have any questions about eligibility, please send an email to Karla Montasser (mitmachen@haus-fuer-poesie.org) or call +49 (0) 30 4852 4536.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More about Bohdan Piasecki can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Share this