High School Contest FAQs

Who can participate in the contest?

We invite poetry submissions from all US and international high school students, grades 9–12. Students will submit their work to their teachers, who will then submit their students’ poetry via our Submission Portal. Winners and finalists, along with their teacher representatives, will be asked to provide identification.

When’s the deadline?

The submission deadline is February 4, 2022, at 5p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The contest results, including winners and finalists, will be announced in mid-April.

When you hear the phrase Blind Spots it conjures the notion of seeing. In our world today, there is much we are asked to see, as humans, that we can’t quite capture. Can you point to a blind spot in your life or in the lives around you? Those obscured places just beyond one’s vision, in the past, present, or future. Blind spots come in all shapes and sizes—and in your poem we look forward to reading how your unique experience and identity sculpt those edges.

Perhaps there’s a memory forgotten or a question left unanswered, a miscommunication with someone you love, a conversation lost in translation. Or, zoom out a bit: what blind spots might you share with your family, your friends, your city, your country, the world?

Can you capture in a poem a moment or story when you or the world around you was blind to something important? What happened that made things a bit more clear? You could turn toward the metaphorical or the literal, the small or the large, the individual or the systemic. Lean into that space of self-questioning and ask others to join you. We each have something to learn, and something to teach. Shine some light on the corners we’ve left in the dark, and tell us what we’re missing.

We invite you to write a poem, 10 to 50 lines long, in response to the prompt: BLIND SPOTS.

Is there a fee to enter the contest?

Entering the contest is free. If you haven’t already done so, take a minute to create a Narrative account for free access to all the stories, poems, and essays we publish.

Students must share their previously unpublished submissions—meaning that anything posted on your personal blog or on social media is not eligible—with their high school English teachers, who will submit poems via our Submission Portal on each student’s behalf by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on February 4, 2022.

How should I format my poem?

Your poem should be in 12-point type, single-spaced, and ten to fifty lines long, excluding line breaks. Your poem must be in English.

What else should I be sure to include in my poem?

Pick a situation or story that truly resonates with you. If it has heat for you, it’s much more likely to have heat for your reader. We encourage you to focus on using vivid images and effective line breaks. Choose your words wisely. If it can be said in three words, don’t use six. Your poem doesn’t need to rhyme, but it should have rhythm. Read your poem aloud to test it for its musicality. Tell us a story, paint us a picture, bring us into your world.

Why can’t I submit video or audio of a spoken-word performance?

We want to encourage you to take the time to express yourself through the written word, and we very much want to meet you on the page. That being said, winners will have the opportunity to read their poetry for our popular Narrative Outloud podcast.

How will the winners be chosen, and when will they be announced?

All judging will be blind—meaning the names, grades, and school affiliations will be removed, and entries will be sorted randomly—and will be done by Narrative’s editorial team led by Narrative cofounder/editor and New York Times–bestselling author Carol Edgarian and Narrative poetry editor and executive editor of Copper Canyon Press Michael Wiegers. Guest judge Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Jericho Brown will select the ultimate winners and finalists. A first-, second-, and third-place winner, along with several finalists, will be announced in April. Narrative editors will mentor winners prior to publication in the magazine. Cash prizes totaling more than $1,000 will be awarded.

What awards will the winners receive?

The winning author will be presented with a $500 award. The second-place winner will receive $200, and the third-place winner will receive $100. Each finalist will receive $50. The schools of the winners will also receive special recognition. The winning works will be published in Narrative, alongside many of today’s great writers. The winners will also have an opportunity to perform a reading of their work for our Narrative Outloud podcast.

Is it okay if I get feedback on my work from my teacher for revision?

Yes! We believe that great writing comes through vigorous revision. Of course, the final product should represent your original work and voice. We do not tolerate plagiarism of any kind.

Will finalists from each school receive anything?

The schools of finalists will receive special awards, to be announced this spring.

How many of my students’ works am I allowed to submit?

Each English or writing teacher will be allowed to submit the work of ten students, with one poem per student and each student's work submitted separately. Each school may submit the poems of no more than thirty students.

Am I allowed to edit my students’ work?

Of course, within reason. We encourage teachers to review their students’ drafts and to create space for peer editing, just as long as the students’ work remains their own. You might direct your students to Narrative’s targeted student resources for this contest, which include writing tips to help your students set pens to paper, a Poetry Video Tutorial, and a Reading Guide for Poetry of exemplary written works. We also urge both you and your students to familiarize yourselves with the array of works already published in Narrative’s virtual stacks—like that of our guest judge and Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown—to gain an understanding of the quality of writing we publish.

Read work by last year’s contest winners.

When you and your students are ready, please submit to our Seventh Annual Narrative High School Writing Contest via our Submission Portal.

I have a question!

If there’s something we haven’t covered, feel free to reach out to us at @email. We love to hear from students and teachers.