2025 NCPS STUDENT POETRY CONTESTS
Contests for NC student poets will open on November 1, 2024 and will close on Friday, January 31, 2025.
Each winning student poem will be published in the NC Poetry Society’s annual Pinesong anthology, which features all of the contest winners and their poems. For more information about current and past issues of Pinesong, click here.
Prizes
Undergraduate Award
1st Place winners receive $100 check
2nd Place winners receive $50
3rd Place winners receive $25
Honorable Mention winners (up to three per contest) are also chosen.
Jordan, Scott, Chilton, and Pruit Awards
1st Place winners receive a $60 check
2nd Place winners receive $40
3rd Place winners receive $25
Honorable Mention winners (up to three per contest) also are chosen.
All winners and honorable mentions receive an NCPS award certificate and a free copy of Pinesong.
What are the contest categories?
The Travis Tuck Jordan Award
Endowed by Dorothy and Oscar Pederson
- for students in Grades 3 — 5.
The Joan Scott Memorial Award
Endowed by contributions in memory of Joan Scott and by the Board of the NC Poetry Society
- for poems about the environment
- for students in Grades 5 — 9.
The Mary Chilton Award
Sponsored by Tori Reynolds
- for students in Grades 6 — 9.
The Sherry Pruitt Award
Endowed by Gail Peck
- for students in Grades 10 — 12
The Undergraduate Award
- for students whose parents or guardians live in the state of North Carolina or are attending a North Carolina college or university.
- Please note that the guidelines for the Undergraduate Award are the same as for the Adult contests.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- Entries must be original, unassisted by artificial intelligence, and unpublished, either in print or online.
- Submit only ONE poem per category. No poems will be returned.
- Do not enter the same poem into more than one contest.
- Do not send a concrete poem (one whose shape matches its subject) because of formatting issues.
- Do not include pictures or images with your poem.
- Poems can be typed flush left; you do not need to center them on the page.
- Type your poem in 12-point Times New Roman font.
- Poem length must be 32 lines or fewer, including the title and any blank lines, such as breaks between stanzas.
- You may submit your poem simultaneously elsewhere, but it if is accepted, inform the student contest coordinator that you are withdrawing it.
If you are emailing your poem:
- In the subject line, list the award category you are submitting to.
- At the top of each email, list your name, mailing address, and phone number.
- Below that, type or paste your poem into the body of the email.
- Fill out the official 2025-Student-Contest-Form and attach it to your email. The form must be signed in ink. You can print, scan, and save it as a PDF or take a picture of it with your phone.
- Send the email to the contest coordinator.
If you are mailing your poem:
- Do not put your student name or address anywhere on the poem, since judging is anonymous. Include two copies of your poem.
- In the upper left-hand corner, put the name of the award category.
- Fill out the official 2025-Student-Contest-Form and send it along with the two copies of the poem to the mailing address below.
Entries must be postmarked no later than January 31, 2025.
Where do I mail my contest entries?
Mail your entries to
Nancy Martin-Young
NCPS Student Contest Coordinator
187 Yates Lane
Lake Lure, NC 28746
If you have any questions, you may email the contest coordinator.
When will I know if I have won an award?
Winners will be notified in late March 2025. Winners will be invited read at our Awards Day in May.
What about other poetry opportunities?
Winners and honorable mentions in college, high school, or middle school are invited to apply to become Student Poets in the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series.
We look forward to receiving your fabulous poems.
Happy writing and good luck!