Chicagoland 69th Annual Poetry Contest

CONTEST DETAILS

Submission period:  July 15 – August 31, 2025 
Entries must be received by midnight CDT on 8/31 

Basic Entry Fees: $12 for members, $15 for non-members

Basic Entry Fees cover one poem per category. This Basic Fee will be the same whether you enter in one category or in all 10 categories.

Additional Fees to submit more than one poem per category

You can submit up to 3 poems per category: One poem per category is included in your entry fee. To submit additional poems in a category, you will need to pay an additional fee:  

• $1 per poem for Poets & Patrons member to submit more than one poem per category.
• $3 per poem if you are not a member and submit more than one poem per category.

TO BECOME A MEMBER and receive the member discount on entry fees — go to this link: The cost of membership to Poets & Patrons is $20 for one year. 2025 Membership ends 12/31/2025. 

10 Contest Categories

1.   Betrayal 
2.   Birds 
3.   Formal Verse 
4.   Free Verse 
5.   Humorous 
6.   Miniature 
7.   Nature 
8.   Pets 
9.   Social Justice/Social Conscience 
10. Strangers  

Contest Rules

Poems must not have been published elsewhere or under consideration for publication elsewhere. Nor can poems be posted anywhere online or created using any artificial intelligence technology. In addition, poems must not have won previous cash awards from Poets & Patrons.

You may not enter the same poem in more than one category. 

Poems must be in English. 

Please, no unusual fonts or graphics/photos.

Line limit: 60 lines (counting epigraph, section numbers, and blank lines between stanzas, if any). Miniature poem: 12 lines (including spaces between lines). Poems that exceed the line limits will not be considered.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Online submissions only; no paper or email entries accepted. Submit by midnight CST on 8/31.

How to Prepare Your Poems for Submission: Save each poem as a Word document or a PDF with the category description and poem title as the document name (for example, Humorous-Johnny Carson). 

DO NOT put your name or any other identification on each poem.

Click to view/download complete submission guidelines & rules PDF→

Have questions? Or require assistance in submitting poems? 
Email Poets & Patrons at poetsandpatrons@gmail.com  

Contest Prizes and Recognition

Prizes for all 10 contest categories:

First prize: $50. 

Second prize: $30. 

Third prize: $20.  

Three Honorable Mentions will also be named per category. 

Winners will be notified via email by the end of October. If poets do not receive an email by then, they can assume they did not win.

A list of all winners’ names and poem titles will be posted on our website, www.poetsandpatrons.net. 

All winning poets will be invited to participate in an online reading in November 2025.

About Judging

All judging is done anonymously; no judges are affiliated with Poets & Patrons.

The decisions of judges are final.

 

SUBMISSION FORM: all fields are required

BASIC CONTEST ENTRY FEE & FEES TO ENTER MORE THAN ONE POEM IN EACH CATEGORY

First choose a Basic Contest Entry Fee.
Basic Entry fees cover one poem per category.
This basic fee will be the same whether you enter in just one or in all categories.

To submit up to TWO additional poems per category there is an additional fee of $1 per additonal poem for members or $3 per addtional porm for non-members.

 

CONTEST ENTRY SUBMISSION

For each poem entry uploaded:

• Each poem submitted must be either a Word or a PDF file
• Name the Word document or PDF with the category then the title of the poem
  (for example: “Betrayal-Spring’s Traitor” or “Birds-Feathered Foes”)
• Within the document: Note the category in upper right corner of the page
• Do Not put your name or any identification on documents with poems. 
  

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

Please submit your Word or PDF file entries below in category upload boxes.