SPECIAL CONTESTS
Special contests are sponsored by Austin Poetry Society patrons at different times throughout the year. Poets must be current Austin Poetry Society members to enter and must follow the official Austin Poetry Society contest rules.
http://www.stannieamec.org/APS_contest_rules.html
One entry per person, no subsequent corrections. Entries may be submitted as a text message or an allowed attachment format (.doc or .docx); no other attachment formats will be allowed. Entries to be sent to: austinpoetrycontest@gmail.com
2025 ANNUAL CONTESTS
Here are the Annual Contests for 2025.
1. The Austin Poetry Society Award
Sponsor: The Austin Poetry Society
Any subject, any form, 28-line limit.
Judge: Cecille Marcato
1st Prize: "White" by Susan Rogers
2nd Prize: "Too Much is Lost" by Bradley Strahan
3rd Prize: "Calcium Cathedrals" by Jesse Taylor
4th Prize: "Bursting" by Garrison Martt
5th Prize: "Systema Naturae" by Susan Martinello
2. The President's Award
Sponsor: Joshua Kight
Any Subject, any form
1-page limit, 12-point font
Judge: Joshua Kight
1st Prize: "Raga" by Garrison Martt
2nd Prize: "Compass of Promise" by Susan Martinello
3rd Prize: "Foolscap" by Susan Rogers
Honorable Mention: "All That Has Happened" by Bradley Strahan
3. The Haiku Sequence Award
Sponsor: Garrison Martt
Subject: Any single theme about nature or a season
Form: A sequence of 5 traditional English style haiku
Lines: 3 lines per haiku (with 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables)
Judge: Lily Luminous
1st Prize: "Desert Wine" by Jerri Hardesty
2nd Prize: "Earth's Fifth Season" by Terry Lee Hill
3rd Prize: "Tree Life" by Susan Martinello
4. Encounter with Transcendence and the Practice of the Presence
Sponsors: Jeffrey Taylor and Janelle Curlin-Taylor
Subject: Encounters with Transcendence are spontaneous. Maintaining the wisdom of the encounter involves Practice. Where the two meet there is a poem. The beauty of metaphor, it opens doors.
Any Form, 40-line limit.
Judges: Jeffrey Taylor and Janelle Curlin-Taylor
1st Prize (tied):
"True Enlightenment" by Bradley Strahan
"Where Sky and Silence Kneel" by Terry Lee Hill
2nd Prize: "Perhaps" by Michel Alkus
3rd Prize: "Galaxies" by Thomas Smith
5. Elegy
Sponsor: Amy Schumacher
Subject: A poem that laments the dead while exploring feelings of loss
Form: Traditional or challenging form
36-line limit
Judge: George R Leake, III
1st Prize: "For Mr. Chance" by Irene Keller
2nd Prize: "Melancholy Me" by Nancy Fierstien
3rd Prize: "I've Been Grieving the Living" by Bailey Laroux
6. Funny
Sponsor: Ben Nash
Any form, 36-line limit
Judge: Alan Berecka
1st Prize: "Cremation Container" by Michelle Hartman
2nd Prize: "Our Own Monopoly" by Jerri Hardesty
3rd Prize: "Trash Bin Secret" by Irene Keller
7. Family
Sponsor: Ben Nash
Any form, 36-line limit
Judge: Lorrie Castellano
1st Prize: "Kitchen Dancing" by Jerri Hardesty
2nd Prize: "We Carry the Porch in Our Bones" by Terry Lee Hill
3rd Prize: "Winning at Cards" by Susan Rogers
8. Spoken Word
Sponsor: Ben Nash
1 minute limit on any poem
Judges: APS members
1st Prize: Garrison Martt
2nd Prize (tied): Jeffrey Taylor and Joseph Herring
9. Texas Drought
Sponsor: Irene Keller
Theme: Effects of the on-going drought in Texas
Any Form
1-page limit, 12-point font
Judge: Alan Birkelbach
1st Prize: "Ballad of the Texas Drought" by Thomas Smith
2nd Prize: "Solar Power" by Jerri Hardesty
3rd Prize: "An Austin Summer Drought" by Bradley Strahan
Honorable Mention: "When the Dust Learns Your Name" by Terry Lee Hill
10. Animate the Inanimate
Sponsor: Susan Martinello
Theme: Give voice to any non-living thing. The object is the speaker of the poem.
Any Form, 30-line limit
Judge: Dee Susong
1st Prize: "I Am the Fencepost" by Terry Lee Hill
2nd Prize: "Motorola PIP 1510 Rewound" by Bailey Laroux
3rd Prize: "Table Hopping" by Jesse Taylor
11. Paper Wings
Sponsor: Mike Alkus
Subject: A poem about fragility
Form: Any form, 40-line limit
Judge: Ricardo Acevedo
1st Prize: "Photo with Gentiled Face" by Susan Martinello
2nd Prize: "Treasure Box" by Thomas Smith
3rd Prize: "Stolen Sunrise" by Jesse Taylor
Honorable Mention: "Flight School for the Broken" by Terry Lee Hill
12. Silence
Sponsor: Ailana Larson
Any Subject: All possible kinds of silence can be explored.
Any form, 36-line limit.
Judge: Ailana Larson
1st Prize: "The Silence that Knows My Name" by Terry Lee Hill
2nd Prize: "Silent Loving" by Bradley Strahan
3rd Prize: "Gentle Valor" by Irene Keller
4th Prize: "Nightmare Lullaby" by Jesse Taylor
Honorable Mention: Chancellorsville" by Thomas Smith
Poets must be current Austin Poetry Society members to enter these contests and must follow the official Austin Poetry Society contest rules.
http://www.stannieamec.org/APS_contest_rules.html
Entries may be submitted as a text message or an allowed attachment format (.doc or .docx); no other attachment formats will be allowed. Entries to be sent to: austinpoetrycontest@gmail.com
The Austin Poetry Society Annual Awards Program for 2025 was held on Saturday, November 15th.