Calling Maryland poets age 18 and older! Submit a poem to the Enoch Pratt Free Library Poetry Contest for the chance to be published and featured.

Maryland poets, this free contest is for you! The winning poem will be published in Little Patuxent Review and celebrated at a public reading hosted by the Pratt Library and Little Patuxent Review. It may also be displayed at the Central Library or turned into a collectible broadside.

Contest Rules

• Entrants must be Maryland residents, 18 or older.
• Paid or volunteer staff of the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Little Patuxent Review and their immediate families are not eligible, nor are previous Pratt Library Poetry Contest first-place winners.
• Please send only one original poem, on any theme and in any form, for consideration.
• Your entry must be unpublished, either in print or online, including personal blogs, Facebook, or Twitter. It cannot be currently under review for possible publication.
• Your entry must not exceed 100 lines.
• Submit your typed entry as a Microsoft Word attachment by email to email hidden; JavaScript is required or by mail to:
  Poetry Contest
  Humanities Department Pratt Library
  400 Cathedral St.
  Baltimore  MD  21201-4484.
• All entries must be received by Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
• Please submit your name, address, phone number, and a brief biography on a separate page. Please do not put your name, address, phone number, or biography on the entry itself. Our judges will see only the poem.
• Confirmation of receipt and comments on your entry will not be provided, nor will your entry be returned to you. These rules are also available on the contest page, where an announcement of the winner will be posted in mid-April: prattlibrary.org/poetry-contest
• The winning poem will be published in Little Patuxent Review and celebrated at a public reading hosted by the Pratt Library and Little Patuxent Review. It may also be displayed at the Central Library or turned into a collectible broadside.

Learn More

Questions? Email email hidden; JavaScript is required or call (410) 396-5430.

Questions? Email email hidden; JavaScript is required or call 410-396-5430.

Interested in past winners? Check out the poems that won in previous years. (.pdf)