2027 NFSPS ANNUAL POETRY CONTESTS
Electronic Submission available for ALL contests.
Please read contest rules before submitting.
These contests have a March 15 postmark deadline.
Contests open January 1.
NFSPS is not responsible for entries lost or delayed by USPS.
Student contests are at the bottom of the page.
Download the brochure here.
66th ANNUAL CONVENTION ~ 2027
ANNUAL CONTESTS
|
1. NFSPS Founders Award - to honor Mary B. Wall. Sponsor: NFSPS, Inc. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 100. 1st Prize: $1,000. 2nd Prize: $500. 3rd Prize: $250. Entry fee: per poem - *members ($5), non-members ($10). Limit: 4 poems per contestant. |
18. Poetry Society of Indiana Award Sponsor: Poetry Society of Indiana. Subject: Unexpected Change Form: Villanelle, Pantoum, Viator. Line Limit: 50 1st Prize: $75. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $25. |
35. Poetry Society of Michigan Award Sponsor: Poetry Society of Michigan. Subject: Water! Fresh water bodies of water, lakes, streams, etc. Form: Free Verse. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
|
2. Brecht Poetry Award Sponsor: Randy K. Schwartz. 1st Prize: $250. |
19. Ann Gasser Memorial Award Sponsor: Pennsylvania Poetry Society, Inc. Subject: Humor. Form: Any. Line Limit: 28 lines of text. 1st Prize: $75. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $25.
|
36. *Poetry Society of Tennessee Award * (members only). Sponsor: Poetry Society of Tennessee. In memory of Frances Brinkley Cowden and Elizabeth Pell. Subject: Any that would appeal to an older child or adolescent. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20 |
|
3. Winners' Circle Award Sponsor: Sue Chambers, Pat Stodghill, Diane Glancy, M. Christine Delea, Anita Jepson-Gilbert previous prize winners of the NFSPS Founders Award Subject: Any. Form: Any. 1st Prize: $250. |
20. Sr. Margretta Dwyer Memorial Award Sponsor: Leo and Jeanne Feeney. Subject: Finding Freedom. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $75. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $25. |
37. *Miriam S. Strauss Memorial Award * (members only). Sponsor: Russell H. Strauss. Subject: Popular music (songwriters, singers, or the songs themselves - No Elvis or Beatles poems) Form: Any. Line Limit: 10-30 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
|
4. The Margo Award Sponsor: her friends, in memory of Margo LaGattuta. Subject: Finding Home. Form: Any. Line Limit: 50. 1st Prize: $200. 2nd Prize: $100. 3rd Prize: $50. |
21. Word Smiths Sponsor: Sue Chambers and Christina Flaugher. Subject: the art of poetry. Form: Any. Line Limit: 30. 1st Prize: $70. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $20. |
38. The Barbara Sykes Memorial Award |
|
5. *Donald Stodghill Memorial Award * (members only) Sponsor: Pat Stodghill. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $200. 2nd Prize: $100. 3rd Prize: $50. |
22. The Virginia Corrie-Cozart Memorial Award Honoring Oregon poet-artist-musician Virginia Corrie-Cozart Sponsor: Eleanor Berry. Subject: Leaving and/or returning to a personally significant place. 1st Prize: $60. 2nd Prize: $40. 3rd Prize: $20. |
39. Ohio Award Sponsor: Ohio Poetry Association. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $25. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
6. *Poetry Society of Texas Award * (members only) Sponsor: Poetry Society of Texas. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $125. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $25. |
23. *Mildred Vorpahl Baass Remembrance Award * (members-only) Sponsor: Nancy Baass. In loving memory of her wonderful mother, a truly beautiful lady, inside and out, who served two terms as Poet Laureate of Texas. Subject: Cats - their endearing habits, intelligence, loyalty, beauty, etc. (no reference to cruelty or abuse). Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $60. 2nd Prize: $40. 3rd Prize: $20. |
40. WyoPoets Award Sponsor: WyoPoets of Wyoming. Subject: Wyoming or the West. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40 1st Prize: $40. 2nd Prize: $25. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
7. Jim Barton, Bard of the Pines Award Sponsor: South Arkansas Poets of the Pines. In Memory of Jim Barton, past President of NFSPS and cheerleader to all writers, who saw wonder and poetry everywhere in nature. Subject: Song of the Pines. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $100. 2nd Prize: $60. 3rd Prize: $40. |
24. League of Minnesota Poets Award Sponsor: the League of Minnesota Poets. In Memory of Doris Stengel. Subject: Humor. Form: Free Verse. Line Limit: 45. 1st Prize: $60. 2nd Prize: $40. 3rd Prize: $20. |
41. Florida State Poets Association, Inc. Award Sponsor: Florida State Poets Association, Inc. Subject: a Celebration of Florida History or Culture, or any other Florida topic, historic, or contemporary. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $35. 2nd Prize: $25. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
8. Lucille Morgan Wilson Memorial Award Sponsor: Julie Cummings and Carla Jordan Subject: Gardens. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $100. 2nd Prize: $60. 3rd Prize: $40. |
25. Jessica C. Saunders Memorial Award Sponsor: Shavano Poets Society of Colorado. Subject: Any. Form: Villanelle. Line Limit: (follow form) 1st Prize: $60. 2nd Prize: $40. 3rd Prize: $20. |
42. Mississippi Poetry Society Award Sponsor: Mississippi Poetry Society. Subject: Any. Form: Sonnet (include sonnet type on entry). Line Limit: (follow form). 1st Prize: $35. 2nd Prize: $25. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
9. The Countee Cullen Poetry Prize Sponsors: M. Palowski Moore and Toby Palowski. To provide a space for poetry that reflects the experiences & perspectives of the many facets of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community. Subject: 2SLGBTQIA+ Perspectives. Form: Any. Line Limit: 50. 1st Prize: $100. 2nd Prize: $60. 3rd Prize: $40. |
26. Arizona State Poetry Society Award Sponsor: Arizona State Poetry Society. Subject: Hummingbird Visitors. Form: Any. Line limit: 50. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
43. Jesse Stuart Memorial Award Sponsor: Kentucky State Poetry Society. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $20. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
10. Mary Collar Memorial Award Sponsors: Paul Ford and Marie Andrews. Subject: Friendship. Form: Persona poem. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $100. 2nd Prize: $60. 3rd Prize: $40. |
27. *Nevada Poetry Society Award * (members only) Sponsor: Nevada Poetry Society. Subject: Nature. Form: Any Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
44. Barbara Stevens Memorial Award Sponsor: South Dakota State Poetry Society. Subject: Any Serious Theme. Form: Any. Line Limit: 12. 1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $20. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
11. NFSPS Board Award Sponsor: NFSPS Executive and Appointive Boards. Subject: Movement. Form: Any. Line Limit: 50. 1st Prize: $100. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $35. |
28. *Columbine Poets of Colorado Award * (members only). Sponsor: Columbine Poets of Colorado. Subject: Migration. Form: Free Verse. Line Limit: 50. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
45. Missouri State Poetry Society Award Sponsored by the Missouri State Poetry Society. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line limit: 40. 1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $20. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
12. William Stafford Memorial Award Sponsor: Oregon Poetry Association and Friends of William Stafford. In memory of William Stafford, Oregon's late Poet Laureate and twice Honorary Chancellor of NFSPS. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $100. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $30. |
29. Morton D. Prouty & Elsie S. Prouty Memorial Award Sponsor: Daughters, Catherine P. Horn and Carol P. Ostberg and their families. In memory of Morton D. Prouty, Jr. who served as NFSPS Treasurer and Poet Laureate of Alabama, and Elsie S. Prouty. Subject: a Nature poem. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
46. Save Our Earth Award Sponsor: Martha H. Balph. In memory of David F. Balph. Subject: Environmental Issues. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $20. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
13. *Jim Barton Memorial Award * (members only) Sponsor: Poets Roundtable of Arkansas. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $75. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $25. |
30. *Thanks for the Memories Award * (members-only). In honor of all our deceased Poetry Society of Texas Members. Sponsor: Poetry Society of Texas. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 28. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
47. Maine Poets Society Award Sponsor: Maine Poets Society, fostering poetry since 1936. Subject: On the street where you live Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $20. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
14. Alabama State Poetry Society Award Sponsor: Alabama State Poetry Society. Subject: Any. Form: Beymorlin Sonnet. Line Limit: Follow Form. 1st Prize: $75. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $25. |
31. Utah State Poetry Society Award Sponsor: Utah State Poetry Society. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 45. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
48. *The Poets Northwest Award * (members only) Sponsor: The Poets Northwest, a chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas, celebrating 41 years of encouraging and inspiring poets in their craft. Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 42 1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $20. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
15. Land of Enchantment Award Sponsor: New Mexico State Poetry Society. To honor the memory of Susan Paquet. Subject: A poem related to "borders," real or imagined. Form: Any. Line limit: 40. 1st Prize: $75. 2nd Prize: $50. 3rd Prize: $25. |
32. Illinois State Poetry Society Award Sponsor: Illinois State Poetry Society. Subject: Rivers. Form: Any. Line Limit: 40. 1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20. |
49. The Hilde Award Subject: Any. Form: American Cinquain. Line Limit: 5 1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $20. 3rd Prize: $15. |
|
16. The Listening Poem Award Sponsor: Linda Eve Diamond. 1st Prize: $75. |
33. Iowa Poetry Association Award Sponsor: Iowa Poetry Association. 1st Prize: $50. |
50. The Maurine Harris Coe Award Subject: Any. 1st Prize: $25. |
|
17. Mildred Cummings Memorial Award Sponsor: Friends of Mildred Cummings. 1st Prize: $75. |
34. Poetry Society of Oklahoma Award Sponsor: Poetry Society of Oklahoma. 1st Prize: $25. |
No entry fee is required for these student contests. Open only to students in grades 3 thru 12. Include your grade with name and home mailing address on the second copy only (per contest rule 1), or enter via Submittable. One poem per student. Mail entries to 2027 Contest Chair.
Student Award: Grades 9 –12
Sponsor: Julie Cummings (CO), Mary Christine Delea (OR).
Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 32.
1st Prize: $50. 2nd Prize: $30. 3rd Prize: $20.
7 Honorable Mentions: $5 each.
Poetry in the Classroom Award: Grades 6 –8
Sponsor: New Mexico State Poetry Society.
Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 32.
1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $15. 3rd Prize: $10.
Poetry in the Classroom Award: Grades 3 –5
Sponsor: New Mexico State Poetry Society.
Subject: Any. Form: Any. Line Limit: 32.
1st Prize: $25. 2nd Prize: $15. 3rd Prize: $10.