Submission Fee: $20 for up to three poems
1st Place: $400
2nd Place: $200
3rd Place: $100
Honorable Mentions: Up to 20 poems will be selected as honorable mentions.
All winners and honorable mentions will be published in the Nebraska Poetry Society’s online publication, The Poet Rabble.
Guest Judge: Brad Aaron Modlin
Brad Aaron Modlin came to Nebraska to be a professor and the Reynolds Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at University of Nebraska, Kearney and teach in undergraduate classes and in the online creative writing master’s program. The sandhill cranes were a bonus!
His internationally viral poetry has been experienced two million times. His book Everyone at This Party Has Two Names is available from Black Lawrence Press. His work appears in the Pushcart Prize anthology, Brevity, Poetry Unbound, The Slowdown. and The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Also orchestral scores, Australian art galleries, Brooklyn public art, and his grampa’s refrigerator.
He has received support from the Banff Centre, Sewanee Writer’s Conference, and the Nebraska Arts Council. He likes talking with strangers and asking friends to share examples of hope.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions will close as soon as we receive 100 entrants or on November 30, 2025, whichever comes first. By submitting poems to our contest, you give us permission to post them to our website. Please do not submit poems that you don't want posted online. Poems cannot be withdrawn from the contest after winners are announced.
Eligibility/Rules:
- Submissions are open to anyone. You do not need a connection to Nebraska or a membership to the Nebraska Poetry Society.
- Only unpublished work is accepted – this includes self-published works (print or digital) as well as personal blogs, social media, and other online platforms.
- Simultaneous Submissions are accepted provided you notify us immediately if the work has been accepted or received recognition in another contest.
- We accept all forms of poetry. No images please, text only.
- By submitting to our contest, you give us permission to post your poem(s) to our online publication. Do not submit poems that you don't want posted online.
- Formatting: Please format your poem the way you want us to read it. We appreciate the use of a 12-point Times New Roman font. We also appreciate poems that are under three pages long. All entries must be in English. Do not include your name on the poem as all entries will be judged blind.
Nonrefundable Submission fee is $20. This includes up to three (3) poems.
The submission fee is a tax-deductible donation to the Nebraska Poetry Society, a non-profit organization whose mission is to make poetry accessible to all. The submission fee includes a subscription to our quarterly newsletter.
Winners will be announced in late 2026.