THE 'DARK POETS PRIZE IV'
RESULTS
We’re honoured to share the results of the latest edition of the Dark Poets Prize, and with over 2,300 submissions from 46 countries, this year has once again proved just how vast, vital, and globally alive dark poetry truly is.
This edition brought an extraordinary wave of work, each poem a different doorway into the shadow: private grief and public ruin, gothic beauty and psychological fracture, myth and menace, heartbreak rendered with surgical precision. The range was staggering. The honesty was ferocious. And the craft — relentless.
Judging was, once again, brutally difficult. So many pieces stayed with us long after the first read, lines that clung to the ribs, images that wouldn’t let go.
That said, we want to be absolutely clear:
❗ If you weren’t selected for the shortlist or honourable mentions, please don’t take it as a verdict on your writing. The margins were razor-thin. Final decisions came down to tiny differences in impact, cohesion, and originality — and we had to be relentlessly strict to arrive at a final list.
To every poet who entered: thank you. You trusted us with your darkness — and that matters. Your voice belongs here. Keep writing. Keep excavating. Keep sending us what you’re not meant to say out loud.
The next Dark Poets Prize is already in motion — and be sure look out for our next 'Mini Challenge' which will be centred around 'Dark Humour & Bitter Irony'.
Yours in darkness,
Dark Poets Club Editorial Team
Stay tuned for more updates as we celebrate the extraordinary talent within our community!
TIM REAPER
Timothy (pen name Tim Reaper) is an American student of Literature & Performing Arts.
“Winning the Dark Poets Prize feels like someone finally switched the light on in the part of my mind I’ve spent years trying to apologise for. I’m an English Lit major, so I’ve lived inside language for as long as I can remember, but I’ve also lived inside my own head in a way that can be… loud. Neurodivergence means my thoughts don’t arrive politely. They spiral, they snag, they repeat, they sharpen. For a long time, I mistook that intensity for something to hide.
These poems came from the places I used to edit out — the unsettling, obsessive corners, the ones that won’t ‘move on’ just because the world expects them to. To have that darkness not only accepted but chosen is honestly surreal. It’s validating in a way I don’t think I’ve ever experienced as a writer.
This win doesn’t just make me happy it makes me braver. It makes me believe I can trust my voice, my instincts, my strange angles of seeing. My confidence has lifted astronomically. And if you’re someone who feels too much, thinks too fast, or carries the unsayable like a second spine, I hope this is proof that your darkness can be a kind of craft, and your difference can be a kind of power.”
SHORTLIST + HONOURABLE MENTION:
Congratulations to all the incredible poets that participated and to those who made it into our 'Shortlist' + 'Honourable Mentions', who's stunning work has also been selected for publication on Dark Poets Club, (you will be contacted in due course):
FOR THOSE DIGITALLY SAVVY AND WISHING TO SHARE THEIR SHORTLIT OR HONOURABLE MENTION, FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD THE CLEAN IMAGE BELOW AND ADD YOUR NAME (BOLD FONT IS ANTON):
A Note on Our Donated Charity: SANE
This year, we were able to donate £1,000 from the Dark Poets Prize IV submissions to SANE, a mental health charity doing vital work to support people affected by mental illness.
We’re proud to share this message from the team at SANE:
“
Thank you so much to you all for making such a generous donation to SANE's Big Give appeal!
We are so grateful for your ongoing support and it means that SANE are £1,000 closer to reaching our goal.
Please do pass on our thank you to everyone at the Dark Poets Club.
Jonathan
Fundraising and Events Officer