THE IOWA POETRY ASSOCIATION'S
80th Annual Contest

General Rules For All Divisions

Note: FAILURE TO OBSERVE RULES MAY DISQUALIFY ENTRIES.

  1. Contests are open to all persons with Iowa residence. (See Student exception) No entry fee. No membership or book purchase required.
  2. Poems must be original and unpublished, including on-line and self publication.
  3. Poems must be submitted by their author, except for student poems, which may be submitted by teacher or parent.
  4. Vulgarity or pornography is NOT accepted.
  5. Up to 5 poems may be submitted by one author.
  6. All poems except haiku must have titles.
  7. 20 line limit unless otherwise specified. Line limits do not count title nor spaces between stanzas, but do count epigraphs. Lines should not exceed 65 characters or editor may make arbitrary line breaks and count them as separate lines.
  8. Send poems after January 1, 2025 to editor for your division. Postmark deadline February 28, 2025.
  9. Winners and others to be published in Lyrical Iowa 2025 will be notified as soon as all judging is completed (mid-summer). No one will receive more than one award. No more than one poem will be printed per author. IPA has first publication rights; all other rights automatically revert to each author AFTER our publication in late fall.
  10. Poems may not be withdrawn after submission. No simultaneous submissions.

RULES FOR ADULT SUBMISSIONS!

PREFERRED method of submission:
Email AFTER JAN. 1, 2025 all poems together (up to 5) in ONE EMAIL typed or copied into the body of the email. NO ATTACHMENTS. At the beginning include your name, address, email, phone number, county and if first-time entrant in contest. Indicate contest at top of each poem. Send to contest@iowapoetry.com by midnight Feb. 28th.

Only if you DO NOT have email, each poem must be on a separate 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, typed or computer printed in plain font. (Do not use all capital letters.) Indicate contest at top of each poem sheet. In UPPER RIGHT CORNER of each sheet, print author's name, address, phone number and county. Postmark deadline: Feb. 28, 2025. Include a self-addressed #10 business envelope with sufficient postage. Mail all together in business #10 envelope. DO NOT send registered mail. Send only ADULT entries to: Marilyn Baszczynski, Editor, 16096 320th Way, Earlham, IA 50072

Read carefully for form and line limits.

LUCILLE MORGAN WILSON POETRY AWARD (ADULT GENERAL): Any subject in good taste, any form, 20 line limit. $100.00, $60.00, $40.00.

GRANT WOOD POETRY PRIZE: Inspired by any artwork by Grant Wood - paintings, lithographs, metalworks, jewelry, woodworking (links and references at "Grant Wood" in Wikipedia). Indicate title and source, but don't count line. Any form, 20-line limit. $75, $45, $30
For more on Grant Wood Country Writers Forum.

HAIKU: Important: seasonal reference, two-part juxtapositional structure, objective sensory imagery, no title, need not adhere to 5-7-5 form. For more information, go to Michael Dylan Welch's haiku-checklist at www.graceguts.com/essays/haiku-checklist. $65.00, $40.00, $25.00.

TRADITIONAL FORMS: Any subject, following recognized forms of ghazal, pantoum, sonnet or villanelle, line limit as regulated by form but not to exceed 20. $50.00, $30.00, $20.00.

POEMS FOR CHILDREN: Poems written by adults in style and content appropriate for reading by or to children. Any form, 20 line limit. $50.00, $30.00, $20.00.

NATIONAL/WORLD EVENTS: Should focus on an event, not a general situation. Any form, 20 line limit. (Include 1-2 line (max) summary of event & date, but do not count these lines.) $50.00, $30.00, $20.00.

NEW rules! HUMOROUS VERSE: Subject humor, rhymed and metered form recommended, 20-line limit. $50.00, $30.00, $20.00.

FIRST-TIME ENTRANT AWARD: is presented to the highest-ranking first-time entrant who does not win a higher-ranking monetary award in the regular categories. $50.00.

Honorable mentions are awarded as merited.

ALL SCHOOL DIVISIONS

All General Rules apply (#1-10 at top).
Exception: students whose homes are in Iowa but are studying outside the state are eligible to enter, as well as out-of-state students attending Iowa schools.
Winners will be notified in May-June.

COLLEGE DIVISION (Undergraduate)

Please note: graduate students should enter the adult division.

All poems: 20 line limit, no more than 65 characters per line. Any form or subject. Email all poems together (up to 5) in ONE EMAIL typed or copied into the body of the email. NO ATTACHMENTS. Include name and location of your school, your name, home address and an email address that is valid year round since results may not be determined until June. Send to rudolphw@grinnell.edu with IPA COLLEGE POETRY CONTEST as subject line.

NFSPS College/University Level $500 Awards
To access VERY specific rules and application form for this national contest, go to http://www.nfsps.com/scholarship.htm

HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION (Grades 9 through 12)

Teacher resources available on our website.
Poems may be submitted by student, teacher or parent.

All poems: 20 line limit, no more than 65 characters per line. Each poem must be on a separate 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper, typed or computer printed in plain font. On each poem sheet, in upper right corner, please include:

  1. your name and home address
  2. grade in school
  3. name of teacher
  4. name and mailing address of school; county of school
  5. parent/student and teacher's email address
Incomplete information causes delay and may disqualify your entries.

Poems may be submitted by student, teacher or parent. No school poems are returned. NO EMAIL SUBMISSIONS

Prizes: $25.00, $15.00, $10.00, plus honorable mentions.

Send HIGH SCHOOL poems to:

Joy Lyle
17844 330th Street
Keota, IA 52248

GRADE SCHOOL DIVISION

Teacher resources available on our website.
Poems may be submitted by student, teacher or parent.

All poems: 20 line limit. One poem per page - no illustrations, please. Each poem must be on a separate 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper, typed or computer printed in plain font. On each poem sheet, in upper right corner, please include:

  1. your name and home address
  2. grade in school
  3. name of teacher
  4. name and mailing address of school; county of school
  5. parent and teacher's email address
Incomplete information causes delay and may disqualify your entries.

Poems may be submitted by student, teacher or parent. No school poems are returned. NO EMAIL SUBMISSIONS

Grades K-4 and 5-8 are judged separately. Prizes are $15.00, $10.00 and $5.00, plus honorable mentions in each section.

Send only GRADE SCHOOL entries to:

Della Weems
32944 K Ave.,
Adel, IA 50003

ADDITIONAL STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

NFSPS Manningham Trust Student Poetry Award for all US students, junior division (gr. 6-8) and senior division (gr. 9-12). Poems may have been previously published and/or have won previous awards. Rules at www.nfsps.com/manningham.html

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Students may enter contests for the Student Award (grades 9-12) or the Poetry in the Classroom Award (grades 3-8) of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' annual contest. These rules differ from IPA rules and must be followed carefully.

Any subject. Any form. 32 line limit. Prizes: $50, $30, $20, seven $5 honorable mentions. No entry fee. Jan 1 - March 15, 2025 only. Find complete rules online at: www.nfsps.com/poetry_contests.htm or request brochure from: ContestChair.nfsps@gmail.com



GRANT WOOD COUNTRY WRITERS FORUM
This online series is for anyone interested in learning and responding, conversationally or through creative writing (short fiction, poetry, lyrics/songs, creative non-fiction, short essay), to the enduring legacy of Grant Wood, his artworks and many artistic friendships/associations, as well as the land, history and culture of Iowa. This dynamic initiative is a continuation and expansion of the series first presented by Grant Wood Country Writers Forum and the Anamosa Library and Learning Center in 2020-2021. The series includes enlightening presentations, conversations and tools/resources for writers and observers. Also included are scheduled reading/conversation sessions for writers to respond creatively to featured art and content. Culminating online and in-print projects (the Grant Wood Country Chronicle - submission details available during the series) are built in to the series, as well as in-person opportunities, with Forum presenters and moderator serving as host. This forum occurs annually throughout January and February. For more information see elainemattingly.com/grant-wood-country.