Manningham Student Poetry contest grades 6-8 and 9-12
Ten prizes will be awarded in each division: First Place - $75, Second Place - $50, Third Place - $40, Fourth Place - $35, Fifth Place - $30, and five Honorable Mentions - $10 each.
All winning poems will be published in the Youth Awards Student Poetry Award Anthology. Winners will receive complimentary copies. The schools of each winning student will receive a complimentary copy for the school library. There is no entry fee.
There are two divisions: Grade 6-8 (Junior Division) and Grades 9-12 (Senior Division). Any Middle School or High School student in the U.S., whether in public or private school or homeschooled, is eligible.
Poems may have been previously published and/or have won previous awards.
Students may submit only one poem per person.
All entries must be entered through Submittable. All students can open a Submittable account for no cost.
Each student must fill out the submission form with their contact information, school, and current grade.
Each poem must be neatly typed or computer-generated and should appear on a single sheet. In order to fit on the page, the line width limit is 60 characters, including punctuation marks and spaces between words. Lines longer than 60 characters will be wrapped with a hanging indent by the editors. Any poem that exceeds the 60-character limit may be disqualified. Because our printed format will be a 6 x 9 book, some winning poems may end up printed on more than one page.
Do not send illustrations or any type of graphic. Poems should be in Times or Times New Roman in a 12 point font if written on a computer.
The poem submitted must not have identifying information. There should be no indication of prior awards granted or publication information. If applicable, winners will need to submit that information at the time of publication.
The decisions of the judge and/or the editor are final.
Each entrant must make a declaration of originality. You will be asked to sign your name electronically in Submittable. “I certify that this poem is my original work and has not been copied in whole or part from any author’s poems in print or posted on the Internet. My poem has not used text generated by AI, and I did not use any language model tool for brainstorming, generating lines, or revisions. I understand that if I am found to have signed this statement knowing it is not true, my poem will be disqualified from the contest and a statement will be posted on the NFSPS website. I will be subject to a permanent ban from this contest and from all NFSPS contests going forward. ”
Entries must be received on Submittable between September 15, 2026 and November 15th, 2026.
Go to NFSPS.submittable.com and check the appropriate grade level to submit your poem.
Notice of winners will be sent to each winner’s member state society (President and/or Manningham Youth Chair). Awards (certificates, checks, anthologies) will be mailed directly to the student. Each member state is responsible for celebrating their state’s winners. The top winning poems will be read at the Annual NFSPS Convention to be held in Phoenix in July 2027. Please visit the NFSPS website for more information about the convention.
Literary Standards. We honor the First Amendment right of free speech, but submitters and teachers need to be aware that the winning poems will be published and distributed to school-age children.
Any questions can be directed to manningham@nfsps.net.