MILI DUELI 2025 – FREE POETRY CONTEST
10th International Online Poetry Competition
Both established and emerging poets are invited to apply for participation in the jubilee 10th season of Mili Dueli – an international online poetry competition. Participation includes active interaction among poets via the Facebook social network throughout 2025/26.
Mili Dueli is a cultural project that has brought together hundreds of poets from different countries over the years (since 2012), aiming to increase the visibility of their poetry and encourage international literary cooperation — especially among poets from the Balkans, diaspora communities, and around the world.
📥 APPLICATION CONDITIONS
Authors from anywhere in the world may apply, with no age restriction.
The only requirement is that you are the author of the poems you submit.
Participation is completely free of charge!
📌 Participants from previous seasons may apply again, except for previous winners, who are no longer eligible to compete.
📌 Authors under the age of 18 will be redirected to a special category: Mili Dueli Junior.
📝 HOW TO APPLY
To apply, click the following link: [HERE]
Fill out the form with your basic personal information and upload the poems you wish to submit.
🏆 AWARDS MAIN AWARD
- Plaque + Title “Mili Dueli 2025/26 Laureate” – awarded for 1st place
(The award will be presented in person, at an agreed promotion event.)
ADDITIONAL AWARDS
- Plaques for the top 10 finalists
- Plaques for the best-ranked author from each participating country
- Balić Recognition – plaque for the best-ranked poet from the Balkan diaspora
SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
(Plaques awarded for special contributions):
- Al Buqain Recognition – best-ranked poet from the Middle East
- Aga Recognition – for the best audio-visual poetry performance in the finals
- Roula Pollard Recognition – for outstanding poets from Greece and North Macedonia who contributed to intercultural dialogue
- Media Recognition – for the individual who contributed most to promoting international literary cooperation through media during the season
HONORARY RECOGNITIONS
All selected participants will receive:
- An electronic certificate for international cooperation, contribution to the promotion of poetry through social networks, and support for literary criticism.
- For those included in the printed anthology and present at the official promotion — a printed certificate may also be awarded.
(Authors with whom no further cooperation is established will not receive certificates.)
📌 Mili Dueli will continue publishing anthologies of contemporary poetry by its participants. More information on the next anthology will be announced after the season concludes.
⏰ APPLICATION DEADLINE
October 2, 2025
In October, the organizer will select successful applicants and notify them via Facebook private message if they pass the initial classification round.
👉 All contest updates and detailed information will be published [HERE].
❓ WHAT IS MILI DUELI?
Mili Dueli is an international literary project that promotes culture, art, and tolerance through internet-based poetry. The project’s main activity is an online poetry contest for authors from the Balkans, diaspora, and the wider world.
The project was founded and inspired by the idea of Nermin Delić, a Bosnian-Herzegovinian writer and doctor of medicine.
The competition is held entirely online, consisting of five elimination rounds. In each round, poets submit a new poem, which is reviewed by an international jury composed of renowned Balkan artists and previous winners of Mili Dueli. The jury provides detailed literary feedback, suggestions, and evaluations — making this contest truly unique in the region.
In addition to the jury, readers, followers, and the authors’ supporters also participate in the decision-making process.
📌 The jury evaluates only the poems submitted for the competition, without considering the rest of the author’s body of work — therefore, it’s important to submit your best work.
📚 RECOGNITION AND MEDIA SUCCESS
In 2018, Forbes, the world’s leading business magazine, featured Mili Dueli, calling it the most popular poetry contest in the former Yugoslavia.
That same year, for his essay on the project, organizer Nermin Delić received the GOI/UNESCO Peace Award in Japan. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was awarded the title Genius of the Year (on the Bosnian man of the year event) for his idea and voluntary work on the project. In 2022, he also received the Cultural Contribution Award from the Municipality of Jajce.
In 2013, Delić spent a month in the United States as part of the Youth Leadership Program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
🏅 PAST WINNERS OF MILI DUELI
The previous winners of Mili Dueli are:
Dijana Stevanović Uherek (Serbia), Enea Hotić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Anđela Turukalo (Montenegro), Ante Jezerčić (Croatia), Lela Zjajo (Germany), Stefan Lazarević (Serbia), Iryna Fingerova (Ukraine), Nikola Ismail (Serbia), Sanja Balalić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Bozhana Slavkova (Bulgaria).
📊 STATISTICS & IMPACT
- Over 3,000 applications submitted in the past nine seasons
- More than 350 authors awarded with literary recognition
- Over 4,500 volunteer hours invested by the organizer
- More than 900 hours of jury work in evaluating poetry
- Website has surpassed 1.5 million visits — a remarkable achievement in an era when poetry is often overlooked
🤝 CALL FOR COLLABORATION
Cultural associations, organizations, schools, and literary festivals across the Balkans that wish to collaborate with us — through literary visits, promotions, or workshops — are warmly invited to contact us.
📣 WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR POEMS!
Nermin Delić
Organizer of the Mili Dueli