Youth Poetry Contest
DC students: Our 27th Annual Youth Poetry Contest is now open for submissions! Write your best stanza, haiku, limerick, acrostic, or simple rhyme on this year's theme: IMAGINE.
KEY INFORMATION
Guidelines: Two poems per student written to theme, Imagine
Deadline: March 27, 2026 at 6 p.m. ET
Send submissions to: poetrycontest@jlw.org
REQUIREMENTS
Students in fourth-eighth grade are eligible if they are either:
Enrolled in a DC Public School, a DC Public Charter School;
DC Archdiocese School; or
Enrolled in an after-school program with a provider who is either listed as a DCPS Partner or has previously been reviewed by Junior League of Washington through our Grants and Volunteer Resources program.
HOW TO APPLY
Poems must be submitted by a teacher, librarian, school administrator, or program administrator on behalf of a student.
Poems must be emailed as a PDF to poetrycontest@jlw.org by Friday, March 27, 2026 by 6 p.m. ET. Late entries will not be accepted.
See contest flier here.
