Announcing OPA’s 2022 Youth Poetry Contest

Call for Submissions! 

February 1, 2022

The Oregon Poetry Association sponsors CASCADIA 2022: Oregon’s annual K-12 student poetry contest.  Open for free submissions February 1 through May 1, 2022, via Submittable.

Cascadia, the Oregon Student Poetry Contest, serves to nurture the talent of young Oregon poets by providing an opportunity for their poems to be widely shared, published, and celebrated.

Up to ten unranked winners in each of four age categories receive $50 cash prizes. The winning poems will be published in the first online issue of Cascadia: a journal of award-winning student poetry from the Oregon Poetry Association (OPA). Winning poets will be invited to read their poem in an online celebration June 1 at 6 p.m. PST via Zoom.

The winning poems in both the middle and high school divisions are eligible and may be sent to the 2023 Manningham Trust Student Contest sponsored by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NSFPS). This national competition also awards cash prizes and anthology publication.

Former Cascadia award winners include Sophia Mautz, Portland Youth Poet Laureate and Scholastic Art & Writing Awards fellow, and South Medford alumnus Kylan Rice.

Writing poetry to enter in the contest is often a class project organized by English Language Arts teachers. OPA urges parents and teachers to encourage students to enter the contest. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the writing and creativity of Oregon’s young people. We look forward to celebrating together.

Contact / Cascadia Contest Chair                  

Lauren Mallett
Contact Chair

2022 Cascadia Student Poetry Contest Guidelines

Poems accepted February 1-May 1, 2022, via Submittable.

Division I: Kindergarten – Grade 2

Division II: Grade 3 – Grade 5

Division III: Grade 6 – Grade 8

Division IV: Grade 9 – Grade 12

Contest open to all K-12 students throughout the state of Oregon, including public, private, parochial, and home school students. There is no entry fee.

Each winner will receive a $50 prize and publication in the inaugural online issue of Cascadia. Winners will be announced to all entrants no later than May 25. OPA will host a celebratory reading for the winning poets June 1 at 6 p.m. PST via Zoom.

All winners in Divisions III and IV may be entered into the nationwide 2023 Manningham Trust Student Contest sponsored by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. This contest also awards cash prizes and publication.

Cascadia Student Poetry Contest Submission Guidelines 

1.     Each student may submit one original poem (of their own, individual creative work) on any subject, in any style, form, or language. Bilingual poems are also encouraged. Co-written and collaborative poems will, unfortunately, be disqualified.

2.     The poem should be uploaded to Submittable by the student or their teacher in a .doc or .docx file.

Teachers may submit entries from multiple students within the same document.

3.     Each page of the document should include a header that lists the following:

• Student’s Name
• Student’s Grade
• Student’s School
• Student’s Email (if applicable)
• Parent/Guardian’s Email
• Student’s Teacher

4.     Submissions that do not include complete headers will be disqualified.

5.     The deadline is May 1, 2022. Contact Cascadia Contest Chair Lauren Mallett if you have questions or are unable to utilize the Submittable platform.

To submit, please visit our Submittable link.

CASCADIA

Celebrating Oregon’s Young Poets since 1999

Cascadia, the Oregon Student Poetry Contest, serves to nurture the talent of young Oregon poets by providing an opportunity for their poems to be widely shared, published, and celebrated.

OPA’s 2022 Contest opens to K-12 students February 1 via Submittable. We will accept entries until May 1. The winning poems will be published in the inaugural online issue of Cascadia. The winning poets will be invited to read their poems  June 1 via Zoom.

Follow OPA’s Facebook page for additional contest details and reminders.