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Poetry Contests 2021

We've assembled a comprehensive list which features 74 of the most popular poetry contests in 2021, organized by entry deadline. Each poetry competition below has a link to the contest submission guidelines so you can learn a bit more about the contest, publisher and choose the poetry competition that's the best fit. We've also included the entry fee and prize money for each of the 2021 poetry contests listed on this page.
Poetry Contests 2021

What's Included in our 2021 Poetry Contest List?

Whether you're looking for competitions for books of poetry, want to enter your free-verse poems in a contest, or prefer to submit the structured meter of traditional poetic forms ... we hope you'll find something of interest in the large and eclectic list of poetry contests below.

ARDOR is no longer open for submissions, but we still want to encourage and support writers by providing useful resources and we'll make an effort to edit, update and expand our list of poetry contests and competitions which pay writers each year. If you see that we've missed a poetry contest please let us know (there's a poetry contest submission form at the bottom of this page) and we'll review and add it as soon as we have some time.

If you find this list of 2021 poetry contests useful - please share it with fellow writers so they can find and use this resource as well. Good luck with your poetry contest submissions! 

List of 2021 Poetry Contests


Click on the name of any of these poetry competitions to learn more or to read complete submission guidelines and instructions.

January Poetry Contests


Mississippi Review Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 1/1/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $1,000

Bayou Magazine's Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry

Entry Deadline: 1/1/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

Gemini Magazine Poetry Open

Entry Deadline: 1/3/2021
Entry Fee: $5
Prize: $1,000

The Colorado Review Prize for Poetry

Entry Deadline: 1/14/2021
Entry Fee: $28
Prize: $2,000

The William Matthews Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 1/15/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

The Third Coast 2021 Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 1/15/2021
Entry Fee: $16
Prize: $1,000

Meridian Editors' Prize for Poetry

Entry Deadline: 1/25/2021
Entry Fee: $8.50
Prize: $1,000

Crazyhorse Prize in Poetry

Entry Deadline: 1/31/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $2,000

February Poetry Contests


Wisehouse International Poetry Award

Entry Deadline: 2/29/2021
Entry Fee: $5
Prize: $1,000

April Poetry Contests


The Magpie Award for Poetry

Entry Deadline: 4/17/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $500

USA Gold Pencils Student Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 4/29/2021
Entry Fee: None
Prize: $500

The Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

Berkshire Prize for a First or Second Book of Poetry

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $28
Prize: $3,000

Redivider's Beacon Street Prize

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $500

Nimrod Literary Awards

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $2,000

The 2021 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize Competition

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $5,000

Willow Books Literature Awards

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $30
Prize: $1,000

Noemi Press Book Awards

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

The Richard Snyder Memorial Publication Prize

Entry Deadline: 4/30/2021
Entry Fee: $27
Prize: $1,000

May Poetry Contests


Tupelo Quarterly Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/1/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $500

The Poetry of the Sacred Contest

Entry Deadline: 5/1/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $500

Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/1/2021
Entry Fee: $30
Prize: $2,500

Moon City Poetry Award

Entry Deadline: 5/1/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

Fugue's Annual Writing Contest

Entry Deadline: 5/1/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $1,000

The Peseroff Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/1/2021
Entry Fee: $10
Prize: $1,000

Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/5/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,500

The Idaho Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

Loraine Williams Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $1,000

Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $28
Prize: $2,000

Crab Creek Review Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $16
Prize: $500

Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Contest

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $24
Prize: $1,000

Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $28
Prize: $2,000

BorderSenses Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $10
Prize: $250

Gertrude Press Chapbook Competition

Entry Deadline: 5/15/2021
Entry Fee: $17
Prize: $250

The Backwaters Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/31/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

Black River Chapbook Competition

Entry Deadline: 5/31/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $500

Grist's Pro Forma Writing Contest

Entry Deadline: 5/31/2021
Entry Fee: $18
Prize: $750

Tethered by Letters 2021 Spring Literary Contest

Entry Deadline: 5/31/2021
Entry Fee: $8/poem
Prize: $300

Juxtaprose 2021 Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 5/31/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $500

The Cossack Review's October Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 5/31/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $400

June Poetry Contests


Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 6/1/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,500

2021 TIFERET Writing Contest

Entry Deadline: 6/1/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $1,500

Boulevard Emerging Poets Contest

Entry Deadline: 6/1/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $1,000

The Bitter Oleander Press Library of Poetry Award

Entry Deadline: 6/15/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

Guy Owen Award

Entry Deadline: 6/15/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

Akron Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 6/15/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,500

Annual Gival Press Oscar Wilde Award

Entry Deadline: 6/27/2021
Entry Fee: $5
Prize: $100

May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 6/30/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

New Measure Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 6/30/2021
Entry Fee: $28
Prize: $1,000

Barrow Street Book Contest

Entry Deadline: 6/30/2021
Entry Fee: $28
Prize: $1,000

Cider Press Editors' Prize

Entry Deadline: 6/30/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

The Autumn House Press Contests

Entry Deadline: 6/30/2021
Entry Fee: $30
Prize: $2,500

July Poetry Contests


Bellevue Literary Review Prizes

Entry Deadline: 7/1/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

Auburn Witness Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 7/15/2021
Entry Fee: $15
Prize: $1,000

Vallum Award for Poetry

Entry Deadline: 7/15/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $750

Rattle Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 7/15/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $10,000

Dream Quest One Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 7/31/2021
Entry Fee: $5
Prize: $250

Red Paint Hill Byant-Lisembee Book Prize (Poetry)

Entry Deadline: 7/31/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $300

New Millenium Writings Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 7/31/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

BOATT Poetry Chapbook Competition

Entry Deadline: 7/31/2021
Entry Fee: $14
Prize: $500

Seattle Review Poetry Chapbook Contest

Entry Deadline: 7/31/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

August Poetry Contests


Makeda Bilqis Literary Awards

Entry Deadline: 8/15/2021
Entry Fee: $12
Prize: $100

The Brighthorse Prize

Entry Deadline: 8/16/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $1,000

The New Guard Contest in Poetry

Entry Deadline: 8/20/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,500

September Poetry Contests


Patricia Dobler Poetry Award

Entry Deadline: 9/5/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

Los Gatos Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 9/10/2021
Entry Fee: $10
Prize: $600

Miller Williams Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 9/30/2021
Entry Fee: $28
Prize: $5,000

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 9/30/2021
Entry Fee: $10
Prize: $1,500

October Poetry Contests


The Jake Adam York Prize

Entry Deadline: 10/15/2021
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $2,000

James Hearst Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 10/31/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

Rhino Poetry Founders' Prize

Entry Deadline: 10/31/2021
Entry Fee: $10
Prize: $500

November Poetry Contests


Tethered By Letters Fall Poetry Contest

Entry Deadline: 11/1/2021
Entry Fee: $8
Prize: $300

December Poetry Contests


Annual Gival Press Poetry Award

Entry Deadline: 12/15/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

Jeff Marks Memorial Poetry Prize

Entry Deadline: 12/15/2021
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000
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Please Note - We're updating this list as additional great poetry contests are recommended to us. If you manage a literary journal and would like your contest added to this list, please complete the form to submit your poetry contest for review.

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