The deadline to enter this year's
Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest is September 30.
Winning Writers will award the Tom Howard Prize of $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre and the Margaret Reid Prize of $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional
style.
Like FundsforWriters, Winning Writers is recognized by Writer's Digest as one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers", so you can enter with confidence.
Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each (any style). The top 12 entries will be published online. The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor,
Duotrope. Submit published or unpublished work online via Submittable. Most countries eligible. Length limit per poem: 250 lines.
Read the past winning entries.
Advice from our judge, S. Mei Sheng Frazier:
Being intimately familiar with the vast poetic terrain, a skilled traditional poet can adeptly navigate meter and structure—guiding readers unwaveringly toward the destination—in a singularly modern way. Thoughtful inclusion of today's events, perspectives, vernacular or themes can render even the strictest villanelle contemporary. And a slight, strategic bending of the rules can make a sonnet feel utterly fresh. Shakespeare took occasional liberties. Poet, so can
you.
The fee is just $20 for every three poems you submit. Click to submit online below or, to enter by mail, please send your poems and $20 entry fee to
Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060-3998. You may include multiple entries in the same envelope. Checks must be drawn on US banks, payable to Winning Writers. US money orders and currency are also welcome. Please postmark your entry by
September 30.