THE BRITISH HAIKU SOCIETY AWARDS 2026

Comprising three categories: Haiku, Tanka and Haibun

The Competition is currently open and accepting entries from all over the world from both members and non-members of the society.

Rules of the BHS Haiku, Tanka and Haibun Awards:

1. Submissions:

All submissions must be in English, unpublished and not concurrently entered for any other competition. Entries must remain unpublished until the results are declared.
As the competition is judged anonymously, submissions should NOT appear on social media or forums until the results are declared.

There is no limit to the number of submissions per competitor but please note we now limit each haibun to a maximum of 500 words (including the title and haiku).

No current trustees of the British Haiku Society or any of the current judges are eligible to enter.

2. Deadline:

All entries must be in the administrator’s inbox by 31st January 2027 (midnight GMT).
Entries received after the deadline will be returned together with the entry fee.

3. Entry procedures:

All entries should be submitted by email to Nick Taylor, the BHS Awards Administrator at the following address:
bhsawards@btinternet.com

For all three categories, send your entry in the body of the email and not as an attachment. However, if your submission has special formatting, such as unusual line breaks, spacing or alignment of text please add an explanatory note or, if appropriate, please also attach a photo or a pdf version so that I can be sure I have correctly interpreted your formatting requirements. This is particularly important for haibun.

Include your name, town/city and country with your entry. Also include your pen-name if applicable.

All appropriate fees to be paid via PayPal through the BHS website prior to submitting your entry. Please include the PayPal payment Transaction ID in your email submission. You do not need a PayPal account to make your payment. You can temporarily add your credit or debit card to PayPal to process your transaction through their service.

All PayPal transactions are subject to the PayPal Privacy Policy.

Please note: the PayPal payment should be made in £ sterling. The same fees apply for all UK and non-UK entries. Please see the table below.

4. Fees:

The minimum entry fee for up to 3 poems is £5.50. For more than 3 poems please see the form below.
The same fees apply for haiku, tanka and haibun but you will need to make a SEPARATE PAYMENT for each category you wish to enter (i.e. no mixing of categories for one fee).

If you are uncertain about the payment options or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact the BHS Awards Administrator by email.

Please use the form below to make payment:

5. Adjudication process:

The BHS will appoint two judges for haiku, two for tanka and one for haibun.
Each judge sees shuffled, blind copies of all the entries submitted in the category assigned to him/her, and without consulting with other judges, makes his/her independent choice of the winner. They also choose a runner-up and up to three honourable mentions.
The judges’ choices will be final, and no correspondence can be entered into regarding the results. It is possible for an entrant to win more than one prize.

The Judges for the 2026 British Haiku Society Awards are:

Haiku: Andrew Shimield (UK) and Claire Thom (Spain)
Tanka: Joanna Ashwell (UK) and David Bingham (UK)
Haibun: Roberta Beary (USA/Ireland)

6. Prizes:
For haiku, prizes of £125 will be awarded to each of the two winners and £50 to each of two runners-up.
For tanka, prizes of £125 will be awarded to each of the two winners and £50 to each of two runners-up.
For haibun, prize of £125 will be awarded to the one winner and £50 to the one runner-up.

7. Publication of results:
The results will be announced in March / early April, with the award winners contacted prior to public announcement.
All haiku, tanka and haibun selected for awards will be published in the May 2027 issue of the BHS journal, Blithe Spirit. The judges’ reports will be published in full on the BHS website at: www.britishhaikusociety.org.uk.

All winners, runners-up and ‘honourable mentions’ will receive BHS Awards certificates.

8. Copyright reverts to authors after publication in the BHS journal, Blithe Spirit, but entry for any category signifies agreement to your work being published digitally by the BHS or copied for archival purposes (for example, by the British Library or the Poetry Library, London).

Nick Taylor
BHS Awards Administrator