2026 Poetry Contest Submission Guidelines

The Eastport Arts Center Prize for Poetry has two submission categories:

•   Adult (18 years and older)

•   Youth (17 years and younger)

 

Poems should be on the following themes:

•   Sounds                                

•   Silence
 

Submission Guidelines

•   All poems must be original and unpublished. If a poem is contained in a book available either online or in retail outlets, whether self- or commercially published, that poem is not eligible for our contest.

•   All poems must be submitted in 12pt Times New Roman font, single spaced, and comprise no more than 48 lines in length. Poems that require mid-line breaks, indents, or other unique spacing should be composed in 12pt Times New Roman font and submitted as a PDF in order to preserve the structure.

•   The deadline for submissions is May 31, 2026.

•   Only one entry per person.

•   All poems must be submitted by emailing to eastportpoetry@gmail.com

•   All submissions must have a name, age category (adult or youth, and age for the youth category), and email address in the body of the email. Submissions will be anonymized before judging.

•   Please submit a one-sentence bio as well as your town or city of residence to be included with your byline

•   Entries that do not follow the guidelines will be disqualified.

•   Poets withdrawing their submissions must do by the submission deadline. The EAC cannot guarantee that a submission will be removed from the print anthology if withdrawn after that date.
 

Prize Information

•   There will be 3 cash prizes awarded in each age category (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) and honorable mentions at the judges’ discretion.

•   Poets who attend the poetry celebration and book launch on Saturday, August 16, 2026, at the EAC will be given the opportunity to read their poems.

•   All submissions will be published as a paperback anthology available for purchase at the EAC. Contributors attending the poetry celebration will receive a print copy; others, due to postage costs, will be emailed a PDF version but may purchase copies through the EAC or on Amazon. 

•   The EAC reserves the right to disqualify submissions whose content is deemed inappropriate to the spirit of this contest.      

•   No employee or board member of the EAC or their family members may enter the contest.