2021 Statewide Poetry Contest

Entry Period: January 15, 2021 –  March 15, 2021

Thank you for submitting your poetry for the 2021 Statewide Poetry Contest! Contest winners will be announced soon. Stay tuned for a video featuring the the winners that will go live on our website on May 25, 2021.

The Statewide Poetry Contest is a celebration of poetry writing and literary artistry and invites participation from writers of all ages—elementary school and up. The contest aims to encourage, publicize, and reward the writing of high-quality poetry in Alaska. Winners of the contest will receive monetary prizes as well as an invitation to share their poetry during a virtual event.

Divisions:                   Awards:

Adult                                1st Place $150 | 2nd Place $100 | 3rd Place $50
High School                    1st Place $100 | 2nd Place $50   | 3rd Place $25
Middle School                 1st Place $50   | 2nd Place $30   | 3rd Place $15
Elementary School         1st Place $50   | 2nd Place $30   | 3rd Place $15


Judge: Emily Wall

Emily Wall is a Professor of English at the University of Alaska. She holds an M.F.A. in poetry and her poems have been published in journals across the US and Canada, most recently in Prairie Schooner and Alaska Quarterly Review. She has been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and her most recent book, Flame, won the Minerva Rising chapbook prize. She has two books published with Salmon Poetry: Liveaboard and Freshly Rooted. Her next book, Breaking Into Air:  Birth Poems is forthcoming from Red Hen Press. Emily lives and writes in Douglas, Alaska.  She can be found online at www.emily-wall.com.