Eligibility
This contest is open to poets worldwide. Multiple entries welcome.
Topic
The topic is open. Any type of entry that meets the submission criteria below is eligible.
Submissions…
• must be works of poetry (see form below).
• must be previously unpublished and not under consideration by any other publication.
• must not be a translation of a previously published work.
Language
• Submissions must be in English.
• Submissions can be an English translation of the author’s unpublished original work in another language.
The form is open…
• formal verse (i.e., sonnet, haiku, villanelle), free verse, prose poetry, rhymed, non-rhymed, blank verse, etc.
• Maximum 40 lines in length.
IMPORTANT
• No pseudonyms.
• No email submissions.
• Attachment must be in Word or .txt format.
Participants
The contest is open to all poets, established and emerging (including students), worldwide.
Entry Fee
$20.00 per submission, non-refundable.
Deadline
The 2026 Accenti Poetry Contest will accept submissions until September 30, 2026, midnight, Eastern Time. See below to enter. To stay up to date, register to receive the Accenti Newsletter.
Judging
Winners are chosen by blind judging. Four finalists make the shortlist from which the judges choose the winner. The judges’ names are announced with the winners.
Announcement of Results
Winners’ names, bios and poems will be published at accenti.ca and announced in the Accenti Newsletter.
Prizes
Grand prize: $1500.00 (CDN) and publication in Accenti.
Three runner-up prizes: $100.00 (CDN) each and publication in Accenti.
How to Submit
Each submission must be accompanied by a duly completed online entry form and the entry fee.
Click HERE to submit.
Disclaimer
Submissions that are deemed defamatory or that promote violence, hate or intolerance against an individual or an identifiable group, that are objectionable, offensive or are otherwise devoid of artistic merit will be eliminated.
Questions
Write to us: accenti@accenti.ca