Recommended Poetry Contests of 2020

Better Than Starbucks Sonnet Contest

Accepting Submissions Beginning: October 1, 2020
Deadline: December 1, 2020
Top Prize: $100
Submission Fee: None
Better Than Starbucks has confirmed that its sonnet contest will be held again this year. No new website is currently up, but last year’s site states here, “This contest is for a metrical sonnet. Your sonnet can be shakespearean, petrarchan, spenserian, rhymed, or slant-rhymed. Blank verse is fine, as long as the sonnet form is clearly identifiable. We’ll consider tetrameter, hexameter, etc. as well as pentameter. Some metrical variation is fine, but don’t forget the volta!” Last year’s winners can be found here.

Conservative Theater Festival

Accepting Submissions Now
Deadline: September 1, 2020
Top Prize: Production of Your Work
Submission Fee: $10
Stage Right Theatrics is a fearless leader in the field of theater touting conservative values and traditional aesthetics. While this does not officially involve a contest or poetry, it essentially functions like a contest and a play can of course incorporate poetry (as plays traditional have). Submit a work of no more than 20 minutes in length, with no more than 4-5 characters, minimal set pieces and lighting requirements, and a conservative theme. More details here. More on how Stage Right defines conservative here. More on Robert Cooperman, the judge, here.

Donald Justice Poetry Prize

Accepting Submissions Now
Deadline: February 15, 2020 (in case you miss it, don’t worry, this an annual contest)
Prize: $1,500 and publication of manuscript
Submission Fee: $25
The competition description states: “The Justice Award welcomes unpublished, original book-length collections of poems that pay attention to form for consideration in the competition.” “The annual competition is open to all American poets regardless of whether they have previously published a book-length collection. The manuscript should be between 50-100 typed pages.” Details and last year’s winning poem can be found here.

FoFG Poetry Contest (Adult, College, and High School Levels)

Accepting Submissions Beginning: January 1, 2020
Deadline: April 30, 2020
Top Prizes: Adult $500. College $250. High School $100. All who place receive publication. Other cash prizes also awarded.
Submission Fee: None
There are no basic human rights in communist China and yet the Chinese communist regime is growing in its power to influence the world. This contest is a great way to learn about peaceful Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China, write about them, and take a stand against the regime. See details, including past winners, here.

Frost Farm Prize for Metrical Poetry

Accepting Submissions Now
Deadline: March 30, 2020
Top Prize: $1,000, invitation to read at Robert Frost Farm in June.
Submission Fee: $6 per poem
“Poems must be original, unpublished and metrical (any metrical form).” Details for the contest as well as last year’s winning sestina by David Southward can be read here. Mr. Southward has notable poetry on his website as well, here.

Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest

Now Accepting Submissions
Deadline: June 1, 2020
Top Prize: Top three winners will each receive $250.
Submission Fee: $5 (for up to three sonnets)
The contest indicates “Sonnets may be written in Shakespearean, Spenserian, Petrarchan or Non-Traditional rhyme schemes, but each must be in the fourteen line, iambic pentameter form… Only previously unpublished sonnets are eligible.” Find contest details here. The 2019 winners of the contest can be found here.

Myong Cha Son Haiku Award (undergraduate American students only)

Accepting Submissions Now
Deadline: February 15, 2020 (in case you miss it, don’t worry, this an annual contest)
Prize: $1,500 (runner-up: $500)
Submission Fee: None
The competition description states: “Created by Kyle R. Spencer, and named for his mother-in-law, the award welcomes unpublished, original haiku.” Details and last year’s winning poem can be found here.

“Putting Chaos Into 14 Lines” Sonnet Contest (Individual and Crown Awards)

Accepting Submissions Now
Deadline: December 20, 2020
Top Prizes: $500 for an individual sonnet. $500 for a sonnet crown.
Submission Fee: $3 per sonnet, $15 for sonnet crown (seven sonnets linked by a theme, more on sonnet crowns here)
Winner will be invited to read the pieces at the May 2020 Poetry by the Sea Conference. Traditional sonnets are welcomed. See details here. The final judge will be Julie Kane. Read sonnets written by her here and here.

Haiku Contest

Accepting Submissions Beginning: Now
Deadline: August 8, 2020
Prize: $100
Submission Fee: None
Write a haiku on any topic and post it in the comments section below. The haiku must adhere to the traditional parameters of a haiku to qualify. See details here.

Society of Classical Poets (SCP) 9th Annual Poetry Competition

Accepting Submissions Beginning: September 1, 2020
Deadline: December 31, 2020
Top Prize: $1,000, Publication in Society’s Journal.
Submission Fee: $10
The Society of Classical Poets is leading the way in reviving poetry with meter, rhyme, and other traditional techniques. Poets may submit in any genre or theme, but submissions should be metered. Submit one to three poems totaling 108 lines or less. The competition website is here.

SCP High School Poetry Competition

Accepting Submissions Beginning: September 1, 2020
Deadline: December 31, 2020
Top Prize: $100, Publication in Society’s Journal.
Submission Fee: $5
The Society of Classical Poets is leading the way in reviving poetry with meter, rhyme, and other traditional techniques. Poets may submit in any genre or theme, but submissions should attempt meter (more on meter here and here). Submit one to three poems totaling 50 lines or less. The competition website is available here.

SCP Poetry Translation Competition

Accepting Submissions Beginning: September 1, 2020
Deadline: December 31, 2020
Top Prize: $100, Publication in Society’s Journal.
Submission Fee: None
The Society of Classical Poets seeks original translations of poems from the Romantic period or earlier (approximately 1870 or earlier). Meter, rhyme, and other traditional techniques are encouraged in the translations. Submit one to three translations totaling 108 lines or less. The competition website is here.

Email [email protected] to have a contest considered for inclusion in the above list or to update information. Use the subject line “Recommended List.”