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National High School Poetry Contest

  • 2022-2023 National High School Poetry Contest

    Gannon University English Department Now Accepting Submissions

    The top three winners will receive a monetary award, a book, and publication in the Gannon Writing Awards program.

    Poems may also win Honorable Mention awards.

    Winners will be notified by email in March 2023. Awards will be presented at the annual Gannon Writing Awards program.

    Submission email: highschoolpoetry@gannon.edu

    Deadline: February 1, 2023

    Rules and Eligibility

    • Entrants must be a high school student or a home-schooled student in grades nine through twelve. Students from anywhere in the United States may enter.
    • Poems may be in rhyme, free verse, Haiku or other accepted poetry forms and of any length, up to a maximum of 40 lines. 
    • No entry may have been previously published.
    • Winners receiving a monetary award will be required to complete a W-9 form to receive their prize.
    • Results will be published on our website www.gannon.edu/poetrycontest during the first week of April. Only the winners will receive individual notifications.

      How to Submit

      • Each student may submit 1 or 2 single-authored original poems as attachment(s) in ONE email.
      • The email subject line should contain the student's name
      • The text section of the email should contain student's name, addressphone numberemail address, school name, school address, instructor's name, instructor's email, and grade in school
      • Poems must be typed and submitted as PDF or DOCX or DOC attachments only. Submissions through Google docs links will not be accepted. Please do not include your poem in email text section. 
      • Questions may be addressed to Dr. Shreelina Ghosh at ghosh002@gannon.edu  

      Judging

      Gannon English faculty members judge the poems. Each poem is read independently by at least two readers to determine finalists. The final decisions are made by two select faculty members, who will be named at the awards ceremony on April 2023 at the 46th Annual Gannon Writing Awards Program.

      Free / Open to Public 

      For more information, email  Dr. Shreelina Ghosh (ghosh002@gannon.edu)

      Click here to see past award winners