Adult Contests and Awards

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The North Carolina Poetry Society sponsors a variety of awards for adult poets, published annually in Pinesong.  

The submissions period is currently closed.  Our next round of contests will open on November 15, 2024. 

Rules:

  • Entries must be original, unpublished (either in print or on-line), and in English.
  • We will disqualify, without notification, any entry that exceeds the line limit or that is the wrong form for a given contest.
  • You may submit one poem per contest.
  • You may not enter the same poem into more than one contest.
  • Poems may be simultaneously submitted elsewhere.
  • If a poem is accepted elsewhere, immediately notify the NCPS by sending an email to pinesongawards@gmail.com with “WITHDRAW” in the subject line.
  • Withdrawn poems cannot be replaced.

All submissions will be judged blind: the judges will not know the identity of the poems’ authors.

You may not enter a contest if:

  • you won first place for that contest in 2022
  • you are a current member of the NCPS Board
  • you sponsor or endow the contest
  • you are a family member, close friend, or current student of the contest’s judge

No poem will be selected if:

  • the judge recognizes its author
  • the poem includes the poet’s name
  • the poem includes graphics, images, or pictures
  • the poem exceeds the maximum number of lines for the contest
  • the poet’s dues are not current or the required fee has not been paid

Judges reserve the right not to give awards. NCPS reserves the right to cancel a contest or reduce the number of prizes if there are too few submissions.

To conform to the format of the Pinesong Awards Anthology, NCPS reserves the right to work with the poet to reformat prose poems or poems with long lines.

See below for requirements specific to each contest and for submission instructions.

The winner of the Poet Laureate Award, and the first and second place winners of each contest will receive cash prizes.  These poets, plus the finalists for the Poet Laureate Award, and the honorable mentions for each contest, will be invited to read their poems during Awards Day. Award winning poems and honorable mentions will be published in the Pinesong Awards Anthology.  (Poet Laureate Finalists will not be printed in Pinesong so that their poems may remain eligible for other contests or publications.)

To receive an offered prize, the author must agree to grant first publication rights to the North Carolina Poetry Society.  Otherwise, the offer is withdrawn.  After the publication of Pinesong, publication rights will return to the authors.

CONTESTS

Poet Laureate Award:

Sponsored by Kevin Watson / Press 53

Preliminary Judge: Ariel Francisco

  • A single prize of $200 for a serious poem, any subject, any style, with a maximum of 110 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text)
  • Open to poets currently residing in North Carolina
  • Fee: $10 for current NCPS members, $15 for non-members. The fee is waived for lifetime members
  • Judge Ariel Francisco will select 10 finalists
  • North Carolina’s poet laureate, Jaki Shelton Green, will select the winning poem
  • Winning poem will be published in Pinesong
  • Finalists will be invited to read at Awards Day, but their poems will not be published in Pinesong

Other Adult Categories

Entry Guidelines:

  • No fee for active members of the North Carolina Poetry Society
  • $5.00 fee per contest for non-members
  • Entrants do not have to be residents of North Carolina
  • Only one poem per contest may be submitted
  • A poem may not be submitted to more than one contest

Awards:

  • $100 for first place, $50 for second place
  • Up to three honorable mentions in each contest

Poems limited to 36 lines
(including title, epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text)

Alice Osborn Award

Sponsored by Alice Osborn
Judge: Lizz Straight
Poems in any form, any style, written by adults for children 2 to 12 years of age

Carol Bessent Hayman Poetry of Love Award

Sponsored by David Manning
Judge: Evelyn Berry
Any form, any style, on the theme of love

Katherine Kennedy McIntyre Light Verse Award

Sponsored by Diana Pinckney
Judge: Jennifer Boykin
Light verse in any form, any style, including limericks

Mary Ruffin Poole American Heritage Award

Endowed by Pepper Worthington
Judge: Eddie Vega
Any form, any style, on the theme of American heritage, sibling-hood, or nature

Poetry of Courage Award

Endowed by Ann Campanella
Judge: Asiah Mae
Any form, any style, on the theme of courage or crisis

Bruce Lader Poetry of Witness Award

Sponsored by Doug Stuber
Judge: Glenis Redmond
Any form, any style, addressing contemporary events or issues

Jean Williams Poetry of Disability, Disease, and Healing Award

Endowed by Priscilla Webster-Williams
Judge: Catherine Zickgraf
Any form, any style, on the theme of disability, disease, and/or healing.

Poems with different line or form requirements

Bloodroot Haiku Award

Sponsored by Bill Griffin
Judge: Jerry Hardesty
Contemporary English language haiku (untitled)

Charles Edward Eaton Award

Sponsored by anonymous friends of Charles Edward Eaton
Judge: Amanda Johnson
Sonnet or other traditional form, maximum of 50 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text)

Robert Golden Award

Sponsored by Nexus Poets and Linda Golden
Judge: Suzi Q. Smith
Any form, any style, maximum of 70 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text)

How to Submit

  • Send your submissions via email to pinesongawards@gmail.com.
  • We strongly encourage email submissions; however, if you do not have access to email, please see the instructions for the U.S. Postal Service submission below
  • Send a separate email for each contest that you wish to enter
  • Use the following subject lines for your emails to identify each contest you are submitting to:
    • LAUREATE (serious poetry, up to 110 lines)
    • OSBORN (written for children 2 to 12 years of age, up to 36 lines):
    • HAYMAN (on the theme of love, up to 36 lines )
    • MCINTYRE (light, whimsical verse, up to 36 lines)
    • POOLE (American heritage, sibling-hood, or nature themed, up to 36 lines)
    • COURAGE (on the theme of courage or facing crisis, up to 36 lines)
    • LADER (on the theme of contemporary events or issues, up to 36 lines)
    • BLOODROOT (haiku or senryu in contemporary English language style)
    • GOLDEN (any subject, up to 70 lines)
    • EATON (sonnet or other traditional form, up to 50 lines)
    • WILLIAMS (on the theme of disease, disability, and healing, up to 36 lines)
  • At the top of each email list your name and mailing address
  • If you are a current member of the North Carolina Poetry Society, or if you are joining the society now, type MEMBER directly beneath your address
  • Below that, type or paste your poem into the body of the email, do not attach a file of the poem, place it in the body of the email only
  • Do not send a cover letter, bio, or attachments of any kind
  • Submissions received after January 12, 2023 will not be accepted
  • Pay your submission fees online using PayPal or a credit card
    • Click on the Donate button below to open the payment page:
      • If you are entering the Poet Laureate contest, pay $10.00 if you are a member and $15.00 if you are not a member (fee is waived for Lifetime Members)
      • All other contests are free for members and $5.00 each for non-members
      • Add up your fees, enter that amount in the area provided
      • Click the Donate with PayPal or the Donate with Debit or Credit Card button

Submitting through the U.S. Postal Service:

  • Mail submissions to Ashley Lumpkin, 3313 Horse Pen Creek Rd., Apt. 2E, Greensboro, NC  27410
  • You must send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope with your entry
  • Send a cover sheet that lists your name and mailing address
    • If you are a current member of the North Carolina Poetry Society, or if you are joining the society now, type MEMBER directly beneath your address
    • Below that, list the title of each poem you are submitting (or the first line, if the poem is untitled) with the name of the contest that each poem is meant for
  • Send each poem on a separate sheet of paper
  • Your name must not appear on any of your poems
  • Do not send a cover letter, bio, or any other unrequested material
  • Include a check to cover your entry fees
    • If you are entering the Poet Laureate contest, pay $10.00 if you are a member and $15.00 if you are not a member (fee is waived for Lifetime Members)
    • All other contests are free for members and $5.00 each for non-members
    • Add up your fees, make your check out to NCPS
  • If you are joining the North Carolina Poetry Society for the first time, or renewing your membership, please see the membership page on our website for directions.
  • Your submission must be post marked by January 10, 2024
  • Any submissions mailed after January 10, 2024 will not be accepted