Free Poetry Contests
Enter free online poetry contests which are managed by PoetrySoup Premium Members. Poetry. Poetry contests are held every day and anyone can enter. All competitions are free and you can enter as many contests as you want. You keep copyrights on all of your poems. Some poetry contests even have prizes! See Contest Submission Guidelines and more.
List of Current Contests
Enter Contest
Free verse poetry form only.
Deadline:
Friday, December 18, 2020
16 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Regina McIntosh
Enter Contest
Deadline:
Friday, December 25, 2020
32 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Julia Ward
Enter Contest
Free verse poetry form only.
Deadline:
Saturday, December 26, 2020
2 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Gregory R Barden
Enter Contest
Lay poetry form only.
Deadline:
Saturday, December 5, 2020
33 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
William Kekaula
Enter Contest
Deadline:
Saturday, December 5, 2020
24 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Chantelle Anne Cooke
Enter Contest
Quintain (Sicilian) poetry form only.
Deadline:
Monday, December 7, 2020
23 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Emile Pinet
Enter Contest
Rhyme poetry form only.
Deadline:
Saturday, December 12, 2020
31 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Edward Ibeh
Enter Contest
Sonnet poetry form only.
Deadline:
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
33 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
John Hamilton
Enter Contest
Tetractys poetry form only.
Deadline:
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
28 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Eve Roper
Enter Contest
Limerick poetry form only.
Deadline:
Saturday, December 19, 2020
32 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Joseph May
Enter Contest
Pantoum poetry form only.
Deadline:
Saturday, December 19, 2020
14 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
D.W. Rodgers
Enter Contest
Deadline:
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
29 poems of the maximum
40
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Tania Kitchin
Enter Contest
Deadline:
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
29 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Brian Strand
Enter Contest
Than-Bauk poetry form only.
Deadline:
Thursday, December 24, 2020
21 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
charles messina
Enter Contest
Deadline:
Thursday, December 24, 2020
14 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Anthony Biaanco
Enter Contest
Acrostic poetry form only.
Deadline:
Thursday, December 24, 2020
5 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Line Gauthier
Enter Contest
Acrostic poetry form only.
Deadline:
Friday, December 25, 2020
6 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Kim Rodrigues
Enter Contest
Deadline:
Friday, December 25, 2020
24 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Silent One
Enter Contest
Free verse poetry form only.
Deadline:
Friday, December 25, 2020
3 poems of the maximum
35
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
Mohan Chutani
Enter Contest
Deadline:
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
11 poems of the maximum
40
allowed have been entered.
Sponsored by:
John lawless
Contest Submission Guidelines
- Submit your poems to PoetrySoup using the Submit Poems link at the top of any PoetrySoup page
- Return to the poetry contest page
- Select a contest to enter and then click the Enter Contest button associated with the poetry contest you want to enter.
- Select your poem to enter by clicking the Enter Contest button (You may need to scroll see more of your poems).
- Entrant’s name, address, e-mail, and phone number must not appear in the poems.
- Do not identify yourself in your contest entries.
- The poet’s name should not appear anywhere in the poem field.
How to Win
- Enter the contest early. A contest closes when either the number of allowed entries is reached or the contest deadline passes.
Study the past winners of a contest sponsored by that member
- Prior to entering a contest, have your poem critiqued in the High Critique Forum
- Objectively and critically review your poem
- Enter a lot of contests. Hey, the more contests you enter, the better chance you have of winning one.
More Contest Links
Types of Contests Available
Cash or Prize Contests
Premiere Contests
- Stricter guidelines for contest sponsors as determined by PoetrySoup
- One poem per place in a contest
- 1st place winners will have a trophy next to their poem on the website
Standard Contest
- Rules determined by the contest sponsor
- The number of winners and how they place are determined by the contest sponsor