2026 Contest Now Open

The editors are proud to announce the 2026 Porchlight Prize in Poetry which will present a minimum of $300 and a trophy to the first place winner, $150 to second place, and $50 to third, along with a featured presentation on the Porchlight website and publication in the planned 2026 print anthology. Prize money may increase based on the volume of entries.

GUIDELINES:

Entries must be original, unpublished, non-AI-generated poems submitted by emerging and established writers whose voices embody the literary South.

Entries will consist of three poems of any length that share some commonality—theme, subject, symbol, metaphor, place, etc.—or a single long poem in three connected movements.

A short statement of no more than 50 words must be included at the beginning of the submission (not on a separate document) to explain the common element.

Because of copyright concerns, ekphrastic poems are not acceptable.

Entries should be devoid of any information that indicates authorship since judging—to be done by Porchlight editors and our panel of readers—will be anonymous. If the submission is in the top three, Porchlight will request an author photo and biography.

Entries should be in Times New Roman 12 point in Word doc or pdf format. Only digital entries through Submittable will be accepted.

Entry fee is $20, payable through Submittable.

Deadline is midnight, Sunday, May 31, 2026.

Winners will be contacted by June 30, 2026, via email, and announced on the Porchlight website after the award recipients are contacted.