Poetry Contest Entry Form

Enter your poem for a free chance to win up to $2,000 in cash and prizes! Our semi-annual contest awards 100 third-place poems, 20 runners-up, and one $2,000 grand prize.

Use the poetry contest entry form below. You can submit a poem on any topic, employing whatever style you prefer. Check the Submission Guidelines on the right for the nitty-gritty details. For more information, read the official contest rules. Then, read the guidelines for poetry rating to get an idea of what our judges look for in a winning poem!

Enter The Prime Poetry Contest

Poetry Contest Entry Form

Enter your poem for a free chance to win up to $2,000 in cash and prizes! Our semi-annual contest awards 100 third-place poems, 20 runners-up, and one $2,000 grand prize.

Why Do We Need Your Address?

Since we notify winners (and send their prizes) by mail, we must have either a physical address or PO Box on file for each participant. Secondarily, semi-finalists are invited to publish their poems if they so choose, and proofs are sent by mail to ensure poems are printed properly, without error.

Who Are the Judges?

Contest judges are a well-rounded mix of editors and educators with extensive backgrounds in both writing and English literature. Whether MFAs in English or former professors, all judges have a broad knowledge of poetry, having either studied the discipline, taught it—or both.

What Are the Rules?

For a complete list of contest rules, please click below. View Rules

Submission Guidelines

Before submitting your poem, please make sure you have read and adhered to the following guidelines where applicable:

Only submit ONE poem, ONE time. Submitting multiple poems will cause disqualification. Only one poem per household will be accepted.

Do not copy and paste your poem; this will alter the formatting as well as cause random text characters to appear throughout.

Poem must be 26 lines or fewer, including stanza breaks but not including the title, and lines may be no more than 55 characters across, including spaces.

Poem must adhere to basic rules of capitalization.

Do not type poem in all capital letters.
Do not capitalize the first letter of every word.
Only capitalize words that are proper (i.e. names and places).
The first word of each line may be capitalized.

Be sure to proofread your poem for any grammatical errors.

Do not use “texting” lingo. Properly spell out all words.

Poems containing language that is vulgar, offensive, or wholly inappropriate will not be accepted.

To ensure proper lineation, please use the “Enter” key to start a new line, indicating all intentional line breaks.