About our 'Pay-what-you-decide' entry fee

When we first ran the Dead Cat Poetry Prize in 2021, we spent some considerable time debating the right point at which to set the entry fee. Without personal fortunes or wealthy sponsors, we are reliant on entry fees to make a prize sustainable, but we also want to make the competition accessible to as many people as possible.

Ultimately, the number of entries at the fee we set that year was sufficient to allow us to treble the prize fund for the next three contests. This also enabled us to take a risk in offering a 'pay-what-you-decide' model of donations for entry fees.

The competition is not, strictly, free. Rather, it is up to you to contribute as much as you wish, in lieu of an entry fee. If you cannot afford to send anything, don't let it put you off entering! But if you can, and if you value the Prize, please know that we're entirely funded by donations.

We know that people sometimes find it hard to decide what to contribute in situations like this, so this guidance is offered in case it's helpful.

Our original entry fee in 2021 was £2.75 (roughly equivalent to $3.56 at the time of writing, in USD)

When we moved to a pay-what-you-decide model in 2023, most entrants did contribute something.

The average donation (from those who do contribute) is more than our original entry fee.

The minimum donation is £1. At this level, as much of a third of the donation goes towards PayPal fees.

The next most popular donation amount is £5. If you can give this much or more, then less than 10% of your donation will go towards PayPal fees.

The largest donations we have received so far are £20 and £25.

We are very grateful for every contribution. They ensure the future of the Prize, and do not affect the judging decisions in any way.

100% of the funds raised to date have gone entirely towards prizes (constituting well over 90% of our spend after PayPal fees), and web hosting. The judges do not take a fee and do not intend or expect do so until and unless we are able to guarantee much larger prizes over at least three iterations of the contest.

You can decide what you think the entry fee should be for you, and contribute via ko-fi.com/deadcatpoems - or if you have any difficulty with that website, by sending via PayPal to deadcatpoems@gmail.com

Please give generously according to your means.