The Ballad of Bedfordshire 2026

1. Who can take part

1. Submission is open to everyone. You do not need to be a writer, and there is no age limit.
2. Contributors aged under 16 must have permission from a parent, guardian, or the responsible adult at their school, youth group or community group before submitting. Where a group submits on behalf of young people, the group leader confirms that the appropriate permissions are in place.
3. There is no cost to submit and no payment is made for contributions.

2. What to send

1. Send one line about Bedfordshire — as short or as long as feels right. It may be a place, a memory, a feeling, or a single sentence that is true for you about the county.
2. Submissions must be emailed to bedfordshare@wordschoseme.com and must arrive by 11:59pm on Saturday 31 October 2026. Late submissions cannot be included.
3. Please include the name you wish to be credited as, or tell us if you would prefer to remain anonymous. You may also include the town or area of Bedfordshire you are writing from, if you are happy to share it, and your age group if you are under 18.
4. You may submit more than one line, but please send them in a single email where possible.

3. Content guidelines — family-friendly and appropriate

The Ballad is performed live at a public, family-friendly, intergenerational event and may be published, recorded and shared online. Your line must therefore be suitable for all ages.

1. No swearing, profanity, crude or sexually explicit language or content.
2. No content that is abusive, discriminatory, hateful, threatening or demeaning towards any person or group, including on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age or background.
3. No defamatory, libellous or untrue statements about any identifiable person, business or organisation.
4. No naming of, or identifying details about, other private individuals without their consent. Please do not include children’s full names, addresses, schools or contact details.
5. No promotion of violence, self-harm, suicide, illegal activity, drugs, gambling, weapons or extremist views. Difficult subjects may be touched on with care, but must be handled in a non-graphic, non-triggering way suitable for a mixed public audience.
6. No advertising, political campaigning, party-political endorsement or promotional content.
7. We may ask you to reword a line, or may set a line aside, if in our reasonable opinion it does not meet these guidelines. Where time allows, we will contact you before doing so.

4. Originality and rights

1. Your line must be your own original work, written by you.
2. Your line must not copy, quote or closely imitate anyone else’s writing, song lyrics or any other copyright material.
3. Contributions must not be generated by artificial intelligence. We are gathering real voices from real people.
4. Your line must not have been submitted to another competition or publication in a way that would prevent us using it here.

5. Copyright and how your words will be used

1. You keep the copyright in your own words. Nothing in these terms transfers ownership of your writing to us.
2. By submitting, you grant NINE RED Presents… (CIC) and the Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire a free, non-exclusive, ongoing licence to include your line in The Ballad of Bedfordshire and to perform, record, broadcast, live-stream, publish, print, display and share the finished collective poem — in whole or in part — in any medium. This includes online, print, anthologies, exhibitions, social media and reports to funders and partners.
3. The Ballad is a single collective poem. In shaping it, we may order, arrange, group, repeat, lightly edit for length, punctuation, spelling or flow, or place your line alongside others. We will not change the meaning or sentiment of your words.
4. Because the Ballad is an edited collective work, we cannot guarantee that every line will appear in full or word for word in the final performed version, or that any individual line will be spoken aloud on the night. All eligible submissions form part of the body of work from which the Ballad is created, and all contributors will be acknowledged.
5. Your line may be read aloud by the Poetry Champion or by other poets and performers, and may be quoted in publicity for Bedfordshire Day and the wider BedfordSHARE campaign.
6. No fee, royalty or payment is due to contributors for any of the uses described above.

6. Credit and anonymity

1. Contributors will be credited by first name, or by first name and initial, unless you ask us to do otherwise.
2. You may ask to be credited anonymously — for example, “Anonymous, Luton”. Please state this clearly when you submit.
3. We cannot guarantee individual line-by-line credit within the performed poem itself, as the Ballad is performed as one continuous piece. Contributors will be acknowledged collectively in the programme, publication and online.

7. Your information and privacy

1. We will only use the contact details you give us to administer the Ballad, contact you about your submission, and invite you to the Bedfordshire Day event.
2. Your personal details will not be sold, shared with third parties or published. Only your chosen credit name and, if you have shared it, your town or area may appear publicly.
3. We will not add you to a mailing list without your consent. You can ask us to withdraw your submission or delete your details at any time before the Ballad is finalised by emailing bedfordshare@wordschoseme.com.
4. Personal data is handled in line with UK GDPR.

8. The event

1. The finished Ballad of Bedfordshire will be performed live at the Bedfordshire Day Book Salon & Poetry Recital on 28 November 2026 at the Davis Suite, Rufus Centre, Flitwick.
2. Contributing a line does not guarantee a place at the event, a performance slot or a ticket. Attendance and any performance opportunities are subject to capacity and separate booking.
3. The event may be photographed, filmed, recorded and live-streamed. Photography and filming permissions will be managed separately on the day.

9. General

1. The Ballad of Bedfordshire is a community project delivered by NINE RED Presents… (CIC) with the Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, as part of BedfordSHARE — Bedfordshire’s Poetry Together campaign.
2. We reserve the right to amend these terms, the deadline, or the format and date of the event where necessary. Any changes will be published on this page.
3. Decisions about the final shape and content of the Ballad rest with the Poetry Champion and NINE RED Presents… (CIC) and are final. We are not able to enter into correspondence about editorial decisions.
4. By submitting a line, you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted these terms.
5. Questions? Email bedfordshare@wordschoseme.com.