Poetry Contests in the United States 2026
Quick answer: 16 American poetry contests with fees in US$, 5 taking entries right now (September 2026) and 3 free to enter, followed by 10 worldwide prizes taking entries today that poets in the United States can also enter. Each is listed with its entry fee, prize, who can enter and a live open or closed status derived from the organiser's own dates. Every figure was read on the official site in September 2026; confirm there before paying.
American contests run the widest range of fees and prizes anywhere: Rattle's US$15,000 prize and the free Wergle Flomp humour contest sit beside university journals whose US$20 to US$25 fee includes a subscription. Most accept poets from any country, and a growing number are free or offer fee waivers, so the list below marks free entries first.
Open now (5)
- Frontier Poetry Myths and Fables Prize (United States). Closing soon, September 13. Entry: $20 per submission. Prize: 1st $3,000, 2nd $300, 3rd $200, plus publication. A themed annual prize from Frontier, which runs several through the year; a limited free entry window exists for historically marginalized poets.
- Tom Howard / Margaret Reid Poetry Contest (United States). Open, closes October 1. Entry: $25 per submission of up to 3 poems. Prize: $12,000 total across the Tom Howard and Margaret Reid prizes. From Winning Writers, with one category for any style and one for traditional rhyme and meter.
- Missouri Review Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize (Poetry) (United States). Open, closes October 1. Entry: US$25, which includes a one year digital subscription and a digital TMR Books title. Prize: US$5,000 and publication in the spring issue; every entry considered for publication. Six to twelve pages of unpublished poems, judged by the magazine's editors; no residency rule, though University of Missouri students and staff cannot enter.
- Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize (United States). Open, closes November 15. Entry: free. Prize: 1st US$1,000, 2nd US$750, 3rd US$500, 4th US$250, all four published in Poem-a-Day. Run by the Academy of American Poets for US citizens, ten year US residents and DACA, TPS or LPS holders; one unpublished poem on the climate, results by email in the spring.
- Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (United States). Open, closes April 1. Entry: free. Prize: $5,100 in total prizes, 1st $2,000. A genuinely free contest from Winning Writers for humorous poetry; closes on April 1.
Closed at the moment, reopening on schedule (11)
- Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers (United States). Opens November 1. Entry: free. Prize: A full scholarship to a Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop and publication in The Kenyon Review. High school sophomores and juniors only, one poem each, entries from any country; runs 1 to 30 November every year with winners named the following March.
- Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (Poetry) (United States). Opens October 1. Entry: US$15 per entry or US$40 per portfolio; fee waivers given without proof of need. Prize: Regional Gold and Silver Keys, national Gold and Silver Medals and scholarships; poetry Gold Medallists are considered for the National Student Poets Program. For teens in grades 7 to 12, aged 13 or over, at school in the United States, its territories, military bases or Canada outside Quebec; regional deadlines start 1 December, national results at the end of March.
- Poetry Society of America Annual Awards (United States). Opens October 1. Entry: Free for PSA members; US$10 per single poem award and US$15 per multiple poem award for non-members. Prize: Seven awards from US$250 to US$2,500, the largest the Robert H. Winner Memorial Award for poets over 40. Open to members and non-members with no residency rule; poems mainly in English and unpublished, one judge per award, entries anonymous, winners announced in late spring.
- Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry (Nimrod Literary Awards) (United States). Opens January 1. Entry: US$25 per entry, which includes a one year subscription of two issues. Prize: 1st US$2,000, 2nd US$1,000, both published; finalists and semifinalists published and paid US$20 a page. From the University of Tulsa and open internationally; three to eight pages of unpublished poetry with no name on the manuscript, finalists chosen by the editors and winners by a guest judge.
- Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Contest (Poetry) (United States). Opens February 1. Entry: US$30, which includes a one year print and digital subscription; free for current subscribers. Prize: US$2,000, publication in Ploughshares and a conversation with the literary agency Aevitas. For writers who have not published a book in the genre; three to five pages of poetry, no residency rule. Run from Emerson College in Boston, with winners in the winter issue.
- The Adroit Prize for Poetry (United States). Opens April 1. Entry: US$15, with a fee waiver form for financial hardship. Prize: US$200 and publication; runners up and finalists receive the judge's latest book. For secondary and undergraduate students anywhere in the world, one guest judge, results usually in October; the 2026 round was extended to 12 May.
- Rattle Poetry Prize (United States). Opens July 1. Entry: $30, which includes a one year Rattle subscription. Prize: $15,000 for the winner, ten $500 finalist prizes. Every finalist is published and every entrant gets the annual issue; deadline is mid July.
- Narrative Magazine Poetry Contest (United States). Opens May 1. Entry: US$26 per entry of up to five poems, with three months of Narrative Backstage access. Prize: 1st US$1,500, 2nd US$750, 3rd US$300, up to ten finalists US$75; all entries also considered for the US$5,000 Narrative Prize. Open to all poets, unpublished poems only; judged by the Narrative editors with results about two months after the late July close, and winners published in the magazine.
- Palette Poetry Ekphrastic Prize (United States). Opens June 1. Entry: $20 per submission of 1 to 3 poems. Prize: 1st $3,000 plus publication and an interview. One of Palette's rotating annual prizes; confirm the current window on their site before entering.
- Button Poetry Video Contest (United States). Opens July 1. Entry: $15 per video submission. Prize: $500 honorarium plus a feature across Button's channels. Performance poetry on video for the internet's biggest spoken word channel; confirm the current window on their site.
- The River Styx Contest (Poetry) (United States). Opens March 1. Entry: US$20 per entry of up to three poems. Prize: US$1,000 and publication in print and online. St. Louis magazine with a guest judge and winners announced on 1 January; unpublished poems, no residency rule. The 2027 round had not been announced when this was read, so the window shown is last year's.
Worldwide prizes open right now to poets in the United States (10)
- Writory International Poetry Contest (International). Open now. Entry: Shown in your local currency (a free entry option is available each month). Prize: Cash prizes, a certificate for every poet, and a five criteria score. Opens on the 1st, closes on the 25th, results on the 30th, every single month. Every poem is scored on creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance.
- Reuben Rose Memorial Poetry Competition (International). Open, closes October 1. Entry: $6 for one poem, $14 for three. Prize: 1st $500, 2nd $200, 3rd $100, plus honourable mentions. Run by Voices Israel for English language poetry from anywhere in the world; confirm the opening month on their site.
- Peter Porter Poetry Prize (Australia). Open, closes October 14. Entry: AU$30 per poem, AU$20 for ABR subscribers. Prize: 1st AU$6,000; four other shortlisted poets AU$1,000 each. Run by Australian Book Review and open to living poets anywhere in the world; one unpublished poem of up to 60 lines, the 2027 prize closing 14 October 2026.
- National Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Open, closes October 31. Entry: £9 first poem, £6 each subsequent. Prize: 1st £5,000, 2nd £3,000, 3rd £2,000, plus commendations. Run by the Poetry Society and open worldwide; one of the best known single poem prizes in English.
- The Bedford Competition (Poetry) (United Kingdom). Open, closes October 31. Entry: £8.50 per poem, £17 for three. Prize: 1st £2,000, 2nd £400, 3rd £300. An annual open competition with parallel poetry and short story strands; confirm the opening month on their site.
- PRISM international Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize (Canada). Open, closes October 31. Entry: CA$35 per entry from any country, CA$5 each further entry; free entries for Black and Indigenous writers and some low income writers on request. Prize: CA$1,500, CA$600 and CA$400. From UBC Creative Writing and open to all writers, one to three poems of up to 100 lines; the current deadline is published only on Submittable, and the window shown is the magazine's usual one.
- The Malahat Review Open Season Awards (Poetry) (Canada). Open, closes November 1. Entry: CA$35 from Canada or CA$45 from elsewhere, CA$20 or CA$30 early bird until 30 September; CA$10 each further entry; first entry includes a one year print subscription. Prize: CA$2,000 and publication in each of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. University of Victoria magazine, open internationally; up to three poems of 100 lines or fewer per entry, not published or submitted elsewhere, closing 1 November.
- Prairie Fire Poetry Contest (Bliss Carman Poetry Award) (Canada). Open, closes November 30. Entry: CA$34 per entry, with a subscription for the first entry in each category. Prize: CA$1,250 and an honourable mention in each of poetry, short fiction and creative nonfiction. Winnipeg magazine with McNally Robinson Booksellers, open internationally; up to three unpublished poems totalling 150 lines, entries taken any time before 30 November.
- The Fiddlehead Ralph Gustafson Prize for Best Poem (Canada). Open, closes December 1. Entry: CA$35 from Canadian addresses or CA$50 from elsewhere, CA$10 each further entry, with a one year subscription. Prize: CA$2,000, publication and CA$65 a page. University of New Brunswick magazine, open internationally; up to three poems of 100 lines or fewer, closing 1 December.
- Mslexia Women's Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Open, closes December 7. Entry: £12 for up to three poems. Prize: 1st £2,000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, an Unpublished Poet Prize of £250; winners and 16 finalists published in Mslexia. For women of any nationality in any country; unpublished poems of any length, no AI, closing 7 December 2026 with winners announced 1 March 2027.
Questions poets ask
Which USA poetry contests are free to enter?
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers, Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize cost nothing to enter. Writory also gives a free entry to each month's winners and to poets who enter three months in a row, so a fee is never the only way in.
What poetry contests in the United States close next?
The next American deadlines are Frontier Poetry Myths and Fables Prize on 13 September, Tom Howard / Margaret Reid Poetry Contest on 1 October, Missouri Review Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize (Poetry) on 1 October. The list sorts itself by the nearest deadline and marks anything closing within ten days, so the urgent ones are always at the top.
Can poets outside the United States enter American poetry contests?
Most magazine and foundation contests accept international entries paid in US dollars online; the notes on each row say when a contest is limited to US residents or to students at US schools. Prize money is usually paid by PayPal or cheque, so check how an organiser pays an overseas winner before entering.
Why do many US poetry contests charge US$20 or more?
Because the fee usually includes a one year subscription to the journal running the contest, and the fees fund the prize. Contests without a subscription, such as Wergle Flomp or the Tom Howard prize, are cheaper or free. The fee column on this page quotes each organiser's own figure.
How is Writory different from the American contests here?
Writory runs every month rather than once a year, from the 1st to the 25th with results on the 30th, and every entrant gets a score out of 100, a certificate and a written reading of the poem rather than a rejection. Poets from the United States compete in one worldwide field; the entry is US$5 for one poem.
Other countries
By the Writory editorial team. Statuses computed September 2026. Writory's contest for poets in United States, enter Writory's monthly contest, how to enter a poetry contest.