scholarships poetry
The Academy of American Poets offers students a unique opportunity to become better acquainted with contemporary poetry.
The Academy of American Poets, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the largest membership-based literary arts organization in the United States. The Academy was founded in 1934 by poet laureate John Masefield and poets Archibald MacLeish and Bernard De Voto. The vision for the Academy was to create a center for contemporary poetry and its appreciation and study.
Today, as an educational institution that promotes understanding of poetry through workshops and awards programs (including our own Young People’s Poetry Contest), we continue to offer students a unique opportunity to become better acquainted with contemporary poetry.
The Academy’s Young People’s Poetry Contest, established in 1981 and endowed in 1995 by the Poetry Center of Chicago, provides an opportunity for high school students to receive recognition for their creative efforts.
The Academy’s Young People’s Poetry Contest, established in 1981 and endowed in 1995 by the Poetry Center of Chicago, provides an opportunity for high school students to receive recognition for their creative efforts.
Poets ages 12–19 are invited to submit original poems written during their junior or senior year in high school. Approximately 30,000 submissions each year from 11th and 12th grade students nationwide are accepted.
Winners have been published in the Academy’s annual anthology and have received cash prizes ranging from $200 to $1000; all winning entries are also considered for publication in the online journal Poem-a-Day (poemaday.org).
Each year, the contest receives approximately 30,000 submissions from 11th and 12th grade students nationwide.
- Each year, the contest receives approximately 30,000 submissions from 11th and 12th grade students nationwide.
- The competition is open to 11th and 12th grade students.
Five winners are chosen and receive awards of $500 each.
The award is open to all high school seniors who have been accepted by a four-year college or university. The competition is judged on the basis of three criteria:
- Originality, sincerity and emotion expressed in the poem
- Creativity in form and structure
- Ability to capture the reader’s attention from beginning to end
Five winners are chosen and receive awards of $500 each. Honorable Mentions receive $250 each. All schools that participate receive an official certificate for their efforts!
An additional five honorable mentions are selected, receiving a cash award of $250 each.
The competition will select 10 winning poems each in two categories: New and Established Poets. Winners receive $500 (US) and publication in the award-winning anthology, A Common Thread II. In addition, there are five honorable mentions selected by the judging panel; each receives a cash award of $250 (US).
Also, all schools from which winners come will receive $100.
The award is not just for individual winners, but for all the winners’ schools. Schools are eligible for the award provided the winner is an 11th or 12th grade student who will be attending college in the fall of 2020.
Winners’ names are announced on or before June 1st of each year.
Students may enter the contest during either their junior or senior year. The first-place winner will receive $500, and their school will receive an additional $100. First-place winners also receive a trip to New York City to visit the Poetry Foundation and meet with a selection of poets.
Honorable mentions receive $250 and are invited to submit their work for consideration in future contests.
Students can take advantage of an opportunity to gain recognition and money through the Young People’s Poetry Contest.
The Young People’s Poetry Contest is an opportunity for young people to gain recognition and money through their writing. This contest is open to all students in grades 9-12, as well as home-schooled students who are 14-18 years old. Each student may submit up to three poems. The top winners will be selected by a panel of judges from the Academy of American Poets and receive cash awards: $1,000 for first place; $300 for second place; and $200 for third place.
The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2019, so there is still plenty of time before then! Please note that the submission form does not allow you to attach documents (it only asks for your name, age/grade level, mailing address and phone number), so if you write poetry on your computer or type it out on paper and scan or photograph it using a smartphone camera app like Google Photo Scan or Skitch—and then attach those scanned images as “attachments” in our submission form instead of uploading them directly into our online application system (which would result in pixelation) that should be fine too!