You've got less than three weeks to enter this year's Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest sponsored by Winning Writers. We will award the Tom Howard Prize of $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre and the Margaret Reid Prize of $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style. This contest is recommended by Reedsy.

Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $200 each (any style). The top 12 entries will be published online. The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope. Submit published or unpublished work online via Submittable. Most countries eligible. Length limit per poem: 250 lines. Read the past winning entries.

Advice from our judge, S. Mei Sheng Frazier:
Being intimately familiar with the vast poetic terrain, a skilled traditional poet can adeptly navigate meter and structure—guiding readers unwaveringly toward the destination—in a singularly modern way. Thoughtful inclusion of today's events, perspectives, vernacular or themes can render even the strictest villanelle contemporary. And a slight, strategic bending of the rules can make a sonnet feel utterly fresh. Shakespeare took occasional liberties. Poet, so can you.

The fee is just $15 for every two poems you submit. Please enter by September 30. Click to submit online below or, to enter by mail, please send your poems and $15 entry fee to Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060-3998. You may include multiple entries in the same envelope. Checks must be drawn on US banks, payable to Winning Writers. US money orders and currency are also welcome.