8 Great Poetry Contests in 2017

1. Rattle's Rattle Poetry Prize

Rattle is looking for a single poem to be featured in their winter issue. Not only will the winner be published, but they also will receive a $10,000 prize. There also will be ten finalists who will receive $200 along with publication, and Rattle might publish any additional entries they want. The entry fee is a one-year subscription to Rattle, which is $20, and if an applicant has a subscription, they will be required to purchase an extension. With one entry fee, poets can submit up to four poems. The contest is open to all writers but all works must be written in English. The deadline is July 15th.

2. NY Literary Magazine's Poetry Contests 

NY Literary Magazine has three free to enter poetry contests this year. Winners will be published in both print and online magazines and receive an award seal. The first contest is BLAZE—Best Love Poetry Contest. For this contest, poets can submit up to five poems, and the deadline is December 1st. The second is Best Inspirational Poetry Contest, whose deadline is January 1st of next year. Finally, there is the Best Deep Poems about Life Competition, whose deadline is December 10th.

3. Omnidawn's Poetry Contests

Omnidawn has three poetry contests this year. The first two are poetry book contests and they both have similar guidelines. Those guidelines are manuscripts must be unpublished and original, and must be in English. The winners of both contests will receive a cash prize, publication of the book with a full-color cover, 100 copies of the book, and advertising and publicity. Both have a $27 reading fee. The third contest is the single poetry broadside contest. For this, any genre is welcome as long as it is between eight to 24 lines. The entry fee is $10 and the winner receives $1,000, a letterpress publication of the broadside, 50 copies of the broadside, and publication in the Omniverse online journal.

4. Vallum's Vallum Award for Poetry 2017

Vallum is looking for writers to submit poetry relating to the top of structural inequality. To fulfill this theme, they want writers such as Indigenous writers, LGBTQ writers, differently abled writers and other kinds of minority writers to submit up to three poems. Each poem must be a maximum of 60 lines, and their $25 entry fee covers the three poems. The winner will get $750, and second place gets $250. These top two will get to be published in Vallum’s magazine and on the website. The deadline is July 15th. 

5. The Broadkill River Press's 15th Annual Dogfish Head Poetry Prize

This is contest is free to enter, but it is exclusively for writers living in the Mid-Atlantic area. To enter, the manuscript is between 48 and 78 pages, and writers must be over 21 years of age. First place will win $500, ten author copies of the book, two cases of Dogfish Head beer. They will also have a reading and attend an award ceremony at the Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware. The deadline for submission is August 15th.

6. Winning Writers' Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest

This free poetry contest asks for any humorous poem that is no more than 250 lines. The winner will receive $1,000, second place will get $250. In addition these two, there will be ten honorable mentions who receive $100 each. These top 12 poems will all be published online too. Submissions are going to open August 15th. 

7. The Vancouver Writers Fest's 19th Annual Short Story and Poetry Contest

This contest is open to all writers, and all they ask for any original poetry in any style, with a 500-word limit. There is a $15 entry fee. First prize is $500, and publication. In addition, the winner will get editorial evaluations of the winner’s written works, which is valued at $750. The deadline for submissions is September 5th.

8. Fairy Tale Review's Fairy Tale Review Awards

The Fairy Tale Review is looking for poems that relate to the theme of resistance and protest. For a $10 entry fee, writers can submit up to five poems. Winning this literary magazine poetry contest results in $1,000 and publication in the magazine. The deadline for this contest is July 15th.