Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize/ Submission Guidelines (Prize: $1,500)

Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize recognizes outstanding work by student writers in the 11th grade in the U.S. or abroad.

Contest judges are poets on the Princeton University creative writing faculty, which includes Michael Dickman, Katie Farris, Ilya Kaminsky, Lynn Melnick, Paul Muldoon, Kathleen Ossip, and Patricia Smith. You might want to read this article on Tips For Making Your Writing Perfect.

Submission Guidelines For Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize

• Submissions for the 2024-25 contest will be accepted from October 21 through the deadline of November 10, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (ET).

• Open to 11th-grade students globally.

• No late entries will be accepted after the deadline.

• A student may submit up to 3 poems, including published works.

• Submissions in other languages are allowed but must be translated into English by the student.

• Students may submit their contest entries using the online submission form, which will no longer be available after November 10, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (ET).

Prize Structure

First Prize: $1,500

Second Prize: $750

Third Prize: $500

Winners and honorable mentions will be notified directly and listed on the official website.

Past Winners Of Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize

The contest has honored many gifted young poets. The most recent winners of the Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize include:

2024 First Place: Acadia Reynolds, “Dissection of a Cow Eye”

2023 First Place: Vivian Huang, “Femininity Test for the Rotting Daughters”

For more information and past winners’ poems, visit the official Lewis Center for the Arts website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can submissions for the poetry contest be poems that are currently submitted to other contests?

Yes.

Can the poems also be poems that have won other contests?

Yes.

Can the poems be previously published?

Yes. If the poem(s) was published, please provide a reference for the date and media of publication.

I attend online school and/or I am home-schooled. Can I still participate in the contest?

Yes, any student currently enrolled in the 11th grade (or international equivalent) in the U.S. or abroad—in public, non-public, charter school, or a home-school setting—is eligible to participate.

How will I know that my entry was successfully submitted online?

After a student successfully submits their poems using the online entry form, the student will receive an email confirmation/copy of their entry sent to the student email address provided in the entry form.

Will students receive a certificate of participation for submitting entries to the contest?

No, due to the volume of entries, only the prize winners and honorable mentions will be recognized in the contest.

How will I learn about the contest winners?

Only the prize-winning students and those who earned honorable mentions will be contacted directly in advance of the contest prize announcement. The names of contest winners will be published to this web page.