Centennial Original & Junior Poetry Writing Contest
THE WEDNESDAY CLUB OF ST. LOUIS POETRY CONTESTS
Entry Deadline – February 1, 2026 • Awards Reception – April 8, 2026 at 1:oo pm
CENTENNIAL ORIGINAL POETRY CONTEST
Contest Opens November 1, 2025
ELIGIBILITY
- Adults over 18; living within a 50-mile radius of St. Louis.
- Any person having won first prize in the contest twice within the last five years is ineligible for further cash awards but may be cited for honors.
RULES:
- Submit TWO TYPED COPIES of TWO poems, which have never been published or won an award.
- Use 8 1/2 x 11 paper with no more than one poem to a page.
- Sign with pseudonym ONLY.
- Type real name, address, e-mail address and telephone number on a separate sheet of paper and enclose with poems. No manuscripts returned.
MAIL TO:
Catherine Rankovic
ORIGINAL POETRY CONTESTS
3901 Sand Glade Trail
Pacific, MO 63069
EMAIL: Not available at this time
PRIZES: $500, $300, $150
2026 JUDGE KATHLEEN OSSIP:
Author of the poetry books July, one of NPR’s best books of 2021; The Do-Over, a New York Times Editors’ Choice; The Cold War, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2011; and The Search Engine.
Her poems have appeared in publications that include Poetry magazine, The Paris Review, and The Poetry Review.
She teaches at Princeton University and at The New School and was a fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute.
JUNIOR POETRY CONTEST
ELIGIBILITY
- High School Students in Grades 9 through 12 in the St. Louis Area
RULES:
- Entries must be submitted through the English Department.
- Entries must be submitted with an English teacher’s signature indicating approval of the content.
- Each student must submit TWO copies of TWO original poems, one per page, signed with a pen name along with one completed official entry form per student.
FOR ENTRY FORMS OR QUESTIONS
Junior Contest Entry Form in Word format
Junior Contest Entry Form in .pdf format
MAIL TO:
Eileen Carr
Junior Poetry Contest
5 Muirfield Lane
St. Louis, MO 63141
STUDENT PRIZES: $200, $150, $100, $80, $50, and up to five $25 honorable mentions
TEACHER AWARDS: $200, $150, $100
(Applies to teachers of first three student winners)
2026 JUDGE CONNIE WANEK:
Author of books of poetry: Rival Garden; On Speaking Terms; Harley Field; Bonfire
Poetry published in Poetry Atlantic Monthly , Virginia Quarterly Review and Missouri Review
Awarded the Willow Poetry Prize, Jane Kenyon Poetry Prize and Witter Bynner Fellowship of the Library of Congress
Lives in Duluth, Minnesota and spends time in New Mexico