'Happiness is the feeling you're feeling when you want to keep feeling it'. - Anon. What in life makes you happy and brings a smile to your face? What is guaranteed to wash away those winter blues and get you all warm and fuzzy for spring and summer? Perhaps it's the company of family and friends, or the carefree laughter of children or grandchildren. Maybe there's a special place you like to visit that brings back happy memories or it could be some 'me' time with your favourite TV show or book. You could delight in the beauty of sunrise or are you a shopaholic who takes joy from purchasing the latest gadget or a new pair of shoes? We want to make a poetry collection full of sunshine and smiles so tell us through verse, quite simply, what makes you happy!

If there's one person who goes through life giving selflessly but not always receiving the recognition she deserves it's a mother. There for us when we need her, offering unconditional love and reassurance, Mum devotes her days to her children. We want you to send in your poetry in celebration of your mother or mother figure, because a mum can come in many forms. Not just the person who brought your life into this world, it could be a step-mum, grandmother or female figure who has always been a constant in your life. What would you like to say to her? Would you like to give thanks for all the things she's done for you or tell her why she is such an inspiration in your life? Whatever you would like to write for her, we want you to be a part of this touching tribute to motherhood.

The enjoyable but hectic time of Christmas and New Year is now behind us and we have a moment to take stock and think about the year ahead. What will 2011 bring? Is it a year for resolutions and changes to make the most of life? What is there to look forward to? Spring will soon be here and new life and colour will emerge all around us.

Forward Poetry would like to introduce the new competition which is taking place from now until 28th January to mark the Royal wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton on 28th April. Poems can be anything from wishful words for the happy couple to how your love for someone has inspired great things within your relationship or marriage.

The best poem will be published within one of our anthologies and professionally framed and sent to the happy couple for a wedding present.

With Remembrance Sunday being on the 14th November 2010, we asked poets to send us poems to show your support for our troops, both past and present. For every entry we receive we will be donating 10p to the Royal British Legion. Selected poems will be featured in a special anthology, which will be sent to a selection of military bases and museums across the UK.

Forward Poetry have recently launched it's first ever National Islamic Poetry Competition - We invited writers to send their poems to us, the poems could be about religious beliefs or current events. This competition was a great way to celebrate the Islamic faith.

We invited submissions for poems and short stories for children to feature in a new collection.

Poets could use many methods for this competition such as, writing rhymes, bedtime stories, tales of adventure or fun limericks.

Here at Forward Poetry we wanted to hold a competition that everyone could relate to, so with that in mind we focused on Love!

The poet that wins the competition, will have their work published in a special book featuring the best love poem from across the globe. The author of the best love poem we received will be crowned our 'Love Poet of the Year', who will have a book of their work published and will be given 100 free copies.

Animal Antics - Our Annual Pet Lovers Competition is back! All creatures great and small, we love them don't we! From cats, dogs and horses, to birds, snakes and spiders, our pets are one of the family. We're currently inviting poems about your pets, why you love them, their character, funny stories and fond memories for our Animal Antics collection. Animal Antics offers not only the opportunity to have your poem published, but to include a photograph of the much-loved pet included alongside your poem too. We'll award £500 to the the best poem in the book (chosen by the editorial team).

With news every week of a soldier's life lost in Afghanistan, war is never far from our thoughts. Whether we're remembering the fallen of World War I and II, all the heroes and heroines of yesterday and today deserve a place in out thoughts and our hearts, regardless of our opinion on war. Laying down your life so others can one day live in freedom and peace is an amazing sacrifice, one we should all respect and be thankful for.

Here At Forward Poetry we recently celebrated our 22nd anniversary, and with over one million poets now published, we are proud to be the largest publisher of new poetry in the world. To mark this occasion, we had invited poets to enter their poems into our 2010 regional poetry competition. For this competition we asked poets to write a poem on any theme and any style - we gave ideas for inspiration on our regional poetry competition page.

With the recent World Cup, we have seen a lot more national flags being paraded from the windows of cars and houses. But what are your feelings about patriotism? Are you proud of your country? Do you get behind your national sportsmen and women? Or do you think patriotism has become associated with yob culture? Perhaps you feel we should do more to celebrate our saints' days or that we need more of a national identity. Whatever your views on patriotism, we'd like to hear from you.

Whether we like it or not we're all getting older. But how do you feel about the ageing process? Would you ever use botox or have cosmetic surgery? Or do you believe every wrinkle tells a story? Are you growing old gracefully or do you prefer to throw caution to the wind and live it up with the youngsters? Maybe you're worried about grey hairs and aches and pains, perhaps you're looking forward to the joys of a relaxing retirement. Whether you're young, old, or young at heart, why not send us your poems.

What do you think when you think of Africa? Is it exotic wildlife and awe-inspiring landscapes, from the vast deserts of the north, to the savannah and jungles of the south? Or are you fascinated by the history of the continent? From the days of the great Egyptian civilisation, to the slave trade, exploration, colonialism and apartheid, Africa has had a varied and often strife-ridden history. As Africa prepares to add another chapter to its history by hosting the football World Cup for the first time, we want you to send us your poems that have been influenced by this majestic continent. So whether you're inspired by Livingstone or lions, mummies or Mandela, get writing!