Friends, Community Members, Poets, Lend Me Your Eyes
The Poetry Society of Indiana (PSI) will be accepting entries for its annual poetry contest July 1 – September 1, 2023.
The contest features 32 categories, with prize money going to the top three placings in most of them — over $2,400 in total.
The entry fee is $10 for PSI members and $15 for non-members. The fee entitles a poet to enter any and all of the individual categories, but with the limitation of only one poem per category.
The contest submission begins July 1, 2023 and the deadline is September 1, 2023. Winners will be announced during PSI’s annual Fall Rendezvous event over the weekend of October 27-29, 2023.
Information about the contest, including the downloadable brochure with complete rules and descriptions of all the categories is available on the PSI website at poetrysocietyofindiana.org.
In addition to the discounted entry fee for the annual contest, benefits of membership in PSI include:
- Discounted fees for public PSI events and contests
- Automatic membership in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS)
- Eligibility for member-only PSI and NFSPS competitions and events
- Promotion of your books of poems
- Share short videos via the PSI YouTube channel
- Email notification of upcoming events and contests
Membership in PSI is $18 per year. Information about becoming a member, including the downloadable registration form, is available at poetrysocietyofindiana.org
CONTEST RULES AND INFORMATION may also be viewed/downloaded via the PSI website at poetrysocietyofindiana.org/psi-annual-poetry-contest
Submissions must conform to all rules and requirements.
$10 for PSI Members
$15 for non-Members
$2 additional fee for Wild Card Category
Only one poem may be entered in each category. Poems may not be entered in any other concurrent contests with deadlines prior to Oct. 31, 2023, nor in any other category of this contest.
First, Second, and Third Place are awarded in all categories. Up to three honorable mentions may also be awarded in each category at the judge’s discretion.
Winners are announced and celebrated at the PSI Fall Rendezvous, October 27–29, 2023, Pokagon State Park, Angola, IN, and will be posted on the PSI website.
JOIN PSI. Anyone may become a member of PSI. Members automatically become members of the
National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). More information about Poetry Society of Indiana, including the membership form, is available at: poetrysocietyofindiana.org.
The Basics — An Overview
DEADLINE: Entries must be submitted NO EARLIER THAN July 1, 2023, and NO LATER THAN September 1, 2023.
ENTRY FEE: Allows entry in any/all categories
POETRY SUBMISSIONS
Three options: (See PSI 2023 Annual Poetry Contest Rules and Information for instructions.)
PUBLICATION RIGHTS
The poets grant Poetry Society of Indiana (PSI) exclusive first publishing rights to winning poems, which may be included in PSI’s annual anthology, Ink to Paper. Publishing rights revert to the poets after the anthology is published. The poet may enter poems in any/all categories (unless specific eligibility requirements apply), and all poems must be the poet’s original work. Poems must NOT have been previously published in any form —print, online, electronically, or on exhibition.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Any questions about the contest should be directed to the PSI Annual Poetry Contest Director, Kathy Gerstorff, at poetrysocietyofindiana@gmail.com or text/call (765)280-3385.
POETRY SOCIETY OF INDIANA
45th Annual Poetry Contest
Submissions Accepted JULY 1 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2023
1. PSI POETRY PRIZE – Subject: Poetry Inspired by a Song. Form: Any; Line Limit: 40; Prizes: $100 / $50 / $25
2. GLENNA GLEE: ONE AND ONLY – Subject: Glee, Joy, Happiness, etc. Form: Any; Line Limit: None; Prize: $100
3. PRESIDENT’S AWARD – Subject: The Joy & Pain of Writing. Form: Free Verse; Line Limit: 30 Prize: $100
4. PREMIER POETS PRIZE – Subject: In the Garage. Form: Any, Non-Rhyming; Line Limit: 50; Prizes: $60 / $40 / $20
5. LIFE WORTH REMEMBERING AWARD – Subject: When Dogs Howl At 2 AM. Form: Any; Line Limit: 28; Prizes: $45 / $25 / $10
6. PSI MEMORIAL AWARD – Honoring PSI members who died during the previous year (2022). Subject: If I Could Do It All Again. Form: Any; Line Limit: 40; Prizes: $50 / $35 / $15
7. HOOSIER HERITAGE AWARD – Subject: The People, Places, History, and/or Culture of Indiana. Form: Any; Line Limit: 60; Prizes: $30 / $20 / $10
8. COFFIN AND A WHEEZIN’ – Give voice to those who preceded us to tell us what they are dying to say. Subject: Any. Form: Spoon River; Line Limit: None; Prizes: $30 / $20 / $10
9. SPIRIT AWARD – Subject: Thriving in the face of mental health and/or physical challenges. Form: Any; Line Limit: None; Prizes: $50 / $30 / $20
10. NORTHEAST INDIANA POETS AWARD – Subject: Pokagon: Boys of the CCC. Form: Any; Line Limit: 40; Prizes: $35 / $25 / $15
11. NOBLE POETS AWARD – Subject: Procrastination or Waiting. Form: Any; Line Limit: None; Prizes: $35 / $25 / $15
12. OBERLIN PRIZE – In memory of Prue Oberlin. Subject: Writing, education, mentoring. Form: Limerick; Line Limit Per form; Prizes: $25 / $15 / $10
13. MILLION AWARD – Subject: Ode to First Car. Form: Any; Line Limit: 40; Prizes: $25 / $15 / $10
14. THE VIOLA AWARD – Children love words that rhyme and poems and songs with a “beat” to them. Subject: A children’s poem. Any subject a child might enjoy; Form: Rhymed and using any regular meter; Line Limit: 32; Prizes: $40 / $30 / $20
15. BABBLING BROOK AWARD – Subject: Any. Form: Nonet; Line Limit: Per form; Prizes: $25 / $15 / $10
16. ELEANOR CRANMER & CAROLINE AWARD – Subject: Joy. Form: Any; Line Limit: 49; Prizes: $35 / $25 / $15
17. GUT PUNCH – Subject: A poem that hits the emotions — Hard! Form: Free Verse; Line Limit: 15; Prizes: $30 / $20 / $10
18. GRACE POTTER HEARKINS AWARD – Subject: Home Movies. Form: Any; Line Limit: 40; Prizes: $35 / $25 / $15
19. LINDA BANNON MEMORIAL – Subject: Prayer or Blessing. Form: Any; Line Limit: None; Prizes: $ 60 / $30 / $20
20. DEBRA SUE LYNN AWARD – Subject: Death & the Hereafter, Reincarnation, The Sea; or Sounds of Silence.
Form: Villanelle, Trijan Refrain, Kyrielle Sonnet, or Iambic Heptameter Sonnet; Line Limit: Per form; Prizes: $15 / $10 / $5
21. EKPHRASTIGANZA! – Must include a picture of the artwork that inspired the poem. Subject: Any. Form: Ekphrastic; Line Limit: None; Prizes: $40 / $25 / $15
22. FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT AWARD – Subject: Do I really love my neighbor? Form: Any; Line Limit: 40 Prizes: $50 / $30 / $20
23. GRANDS – Subject: Grandparents or grandchildren. Form: Any; Line Limit: 40; Prizes: $25 / $15 / $10
24. INDIE AUTHORS ASSOCIATION POETRY PRIZE – Subject: Any. Form: Any; Line Limit: None; Prizes: $75 / $20 / $15
25. SPEAK OUT – Subject: Protest. Form: Any; Line Limit: 44; Prizes: $50 / $30 / $20
26. DOTTIE MACK MEMORIAL AWARD – Subject: A Lot of Dot! Poem MUST include the word “Dottie” somewhere in the text. Form: End Rhyme; Line Limit: 40; Prize: $30 / $20 / $10
27. JIMMY COALA AWARD – Subject: The Ocean. Form: Any; Line Limit: 25; Prize: $15 / $10 / $5
28. THANK GOD FOR GRANNY. Subject: Grandmothers. Form: Any; Line Limit: 40; Prize: $30 / $20 / $10
29. HEY, DO YOU HAVE A MINUTE? Subject: Travel – Tell about a trip or vacation in verse. Form: Minute; Line Limit: Per form; Prize: $50 / $35 / $15
30. POETIC TALES – Subject: Any. Form: Ballad; Line Length: None; Prize: $50 / $30 / $20
31. WIN PSI MEMBERSHIP – Open ONLY to non-member Indiana residents. Subject: Any. Form: Any; Line Length: 40; Prize: One year PSI Membership
32. WILD CARD AWARD – Requires additional $2 entry fee. (Makes total contest entry fee $12 for PSI members and $17 for non-members). Subject: Any. Form: Any; Line Length: 40; Prize: 45% / 25% / 15% of Wild Card category entry fees collected.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.
DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 1, 2023
Entries must be submitted NO EARLIER THAN July 1, 2023 and NO LATER THAN September 1, 2023.
FEES & PAYMENT: $10 for PSI members / $15 for non-members (USD). Entry fee covers all poem entries per poet (except as noted below).
MEMBERSHIP: PSI membership dues must be paid-up prior to or with the member poetry submission. Please contact PSI if you are uncertain about your membership status. Information about becoming a member, including the membership form, is available at poetrysocietyofindiana.org/psi-membership. The completed form and payment of $18 annual membership dues may be included with the contest submission. There is a supplemental fee of $2 for poems entered in the Wild Card Prize category (#32).
Send PayPal payment to paypal.com/paypalme/poetrysocietyindiana OR make a check/money order payable to “Poetry Society of Indiana.” If making a printed mail-in submission, include it with the submission. Otherwise, mail (postmarked within the US or Canada) by September 1, 2023 to: Kathy Gerstorff, PSI Annual Poetry Contest, 5502 Evans Road, Gas City, IN 46933. PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH.
PUBLICATION RIGHTS: The poet grants Poetry Society of Indiana (PSI) exclusive first publishing rights to winning poems, which may be included in PSI’s annual anthology, Ink to Paper. Publishing rights revert to the poet after the anthology is published. Ink to Paper is printed with black ink on white pages, and any artwork included will be rendered in grayscale.
The poet may enter poems in any/all categories (unless specific eligibility requirements apply), and all poems must be the poet’s original work. Poems must NOT have been previously published in any form — print, online, electronically, or on exhibition. Only one poem may be entered in each category. Poems may not be entered in any other concurrent contests with deadlines prior to Oct. 31, 2023, nor in any other category of this contest.
Only one copy of each poem (and any associated ekphrastic artwork) is to be provided in the submission, and there must be no discernible information on the poem pages or artwork that identifies the poet in any way.
A fill-in-the-blank Submission Form Cover Sheet template is available for download at poetrysocietyofindiana.org/psi-annual-poetry-contest for your convenience and to help ensure compliance with the following submission cover sheet requirements.
SUBMISSION COVER SHEET REQUIREMENTS: Poetry submissions must contain a cover sheet with the following information:
1) Poet/Pen Name: The poet’s public moniker for attribution with publication, in the winners list, and on certificates of achievement. Examples: Mark Twain, E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost.
2) Personal Name: The poet’s real-life identification for member status, communication with PSI, and prize money payment.
Examples: Samuel Clements, Edward Cummings, Robert Frost.
3) Mailing address.
4) Primary email address.
5) Phone #.
6) Total submission payment amount, including any supplemental Wild Card fee and membership dues, as applicable.
7) Payment method (PayPal, Check, or Money Order).
8) Total number of poems entered,
9) List of all poems. For each poem give the following: Category Number, Poem Title, or first line if no formal title. If the cover sheet spans multiple pages, all pages must be numbered in the upper right corner and the Poet/Pen Name repeated on each page.
POEM TITLES: Each poem must be titled unless its standard form normally does not include a title, as with the limerick and haiku/senryu forms. Titles must be in mixed case, unless understandably/conceivably done for semantic/contextual effect. Examples: “How Do I Love Thee?”; “BANG! Went the Door.”
CATEGORY NUMBERS: All poem pages must include the entry category number and category name in the upper left corner of the page.
PAGE NUMBERS: If a poem spans multiple pages, each page must be numbered and include the title and page number placed in the upper right corner.
SPACING: Single-space line spacing required, with blank lines reserved for stanza beaks and specific contextual or visual effects (as in free verse or shape/concrete poems).
FORMAT: All poems must be in English and document-formatted for printing on plain 8.5” x 11” paper with black ink in 12 pt Times New Roman (or very similar) font for the text. No hand-written poems. An allowable exception would be if differing fonts are used, or all or part of the poem is simply rendered as an image, for significant visual effect (as with some shape/concrete poems). Any ekphrastic inspiration artwork should be of high-resolution quality, and it is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure public domain status or right-to-use for all artwork in the submission.
LINE LIMIT: A specified line limit number includes all lines in the body of the poem, Including those that are blank, and no poem entered in the category should exceed this limit regardless of form. However, if the line limit is specified as “Per form”, then the structure and counting of lines is defined by the given form (as with sonnets, villanelles, haiku, limericks, etc).
All poems entered by the poet must be included in a single submission using only ONE of the following three options:
1) EMAIL FILES – The entire submission must be contained in a single email with subject “[Poet/Pen Name] Submission – PSI Annual Contest”. Example: Mark Twain Submission – PSI Annual Contest, The email must include in the body this info from the cover sheet: Poet/Pen Name, Personal Name, total number of poems entered, and total payment amount. The cover sheet must be attached as a Word document and named “[Poet/Pen Name]_Cover Sheet”. Example: Mark Twain_Cover Sheet. Poems must be attached as individual files formatted as Word documents and each named as “[Poet/Pen Name]_#[Category#]_[Poem Title (or first line if untitled)]”. Examples: Mark Twain_#7_How Do I Love Thee; Mark Twain_#22_There once was a cop named Joe. Note: If a poem’s presentation has a significant visual aspect to it that cannot be rendered effectively as simple line-by-line text, then it should be inserted as an image into the Word document and positioned/resized as necessary within the document. All ekphrastic artwork must also be attached as individual image files in either JPG or PNG format with a minimum resolution of 200 dpi (if possible) and named the same as the corresponding poems but with “IMAGE” appended to the end. Example: Mark Twain_#7_How Do I Love Thee IMAGE. If joining PSI with the submission, the completed PSI membership form must also be attached. The email must be sent from the same email address provided in the cover sheet. Pay the total submission fee (and membership dues, if applicable) per FEES & PAYMENT above.
2) GOOGLE SHARED FOLDER – The entire submission must be contained in a single Google shared folder named “PSI 2023 Annual Contest – [Poet/Pen Name] Submission.” Example: PSI 2023 Annual Contest – Mark Twain Submission. The cover sheet must be included in the folder as a Word or Google Docs document and named “[Poet/Pen Name]_Cover Sheet.” Example: Mark Twain_Cover Sheet. Poems must be included in the folder as individual files formatted as Word or Google Docs documents and each named as “[Poet/Pen Name]_# [Category#]_[Poem Title (or first line if untitled)].” Examples: Mark Twain_#7_How Do I Love Thee; Mark Twain_#22_There once was a cop named Joe. Note: If a poem’s presentation has a significant visual aspect to it that cannot be rendered effectively as simple line-by-line text, then it should be inserted as an image into the Word or Google Docs document and positioned/resized as necessary within the document. All ekphrastic artwork must also be included in the folder as individual image files in either JPG or PNG format with a minimum resolution of 200 dpi (if possible) and named the same as the corresponding poems but with “IMAGE” appended to the end. Example: Mark Twain_#7_How Do I Love Thee IMAGE. If joining PSI with the submission, the completed PSI membership form must also be included in the folder. After all files for the submission are in the folder, it must be shared to poetrysocietyofindiana@gmail.com, with “Notify people” checked and a message added that includes this info from the cover sheet: Poet/Pen Name, Personal Name, email address, total number of poems entered, and total payment amount. Do not grant access to this folder to any other email addresses. Pay the total submission fee (and membership dues, if applicable) per FEES & PAYMENT above. When the submission has been processed, the contest director will rename the folder with “:) “ added to the start of the folder name. After that, no files in the folder may be added, removed, or replaced. Example: 🙂 PSI 2023 Annual Contest – Mark Twain Submission. After publication of Ink to Paper, any submission folders still shared with PSI will be deleted by the contest director. Please stop sharing the folder after the contest winners are announced or save separate copies of the submitted files elsewhere. PSI will not be responsible for files lost through this process.
3) POSTAL MAILING OF PRINTED PAGES – Print all cover sheet, poem pages, and ekphrastic artwork as stipulated in contest rules, single-sided only. Ekphrastic inspiration artwork must be printed on plain 8.5”x 11” paper, with each artwork on a separate sheet. On the back of each ekphrastic artwork sheet, hand print in pencil the category number and category name and below that the title of the poem. Do this lightly so the hand-printing does not “show through” the page. Place all paper items for the submission in a single, large envelope. Do not fold or crease any pages, and do not staple anything. Include in the envelope: Cover sheet, all poems, arranged IN ORDER by category number, Any ekphrastic artwork, each placed immediately behind its associated poem, a completed PSI membership form, if joining PSI with the submission. Check or money order for the full amount due, if not paying via PayPal. If a printed copy of the winners list is desired in addition to (or in lieu of) the copy that will be emailed to all entrants, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (business letter size). Mail the submission envelope, postmarked within the US or Canada on or before September 1, to: Kathy Gerstorff, PSI Annual Poetry Contest, 5502 Evans Road, Gas City, IN 46933.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Category judges cannot discuss judging their categories with entrants to those categories.
No submitted materials will be returned, so entrants should retain copies.
First, Second, and Third Place are awarded in all categories. Up to three honorable mentions may also be awarded in each category at the judge’s discretion. Winners are announced and celebrated at the PSI Fall Rendezvous, October 27-29, 2023 at Pokagon State Park, Angola, IN, and will be posted on the PSI website.
Until the close of submissions this document may be viewed/downloaded via the PSI website at poetrysocietyofindiana.org/psi-annual-poetry-contest. If you have trouble accessing it, please contact the contest director.
JOIN PSI! Anyone may become a member of Poetry Society of Indiana. Members automatically become members of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). More information about Poetry Society of Indiana, including the membership form, is available at: poetrysocietyofindiana.org.
Questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the PSI Annual Poetry Contest should be directed to the PSI
Annual Poetry Contest Director:
Kathy Gerstorff
poetrysocietyofindiana@gmail.com
(765) 280-3385