What are the Spring Into Poetry Contest Submission Guidelines?

  1. Contest is open to writers of all ages.  
  2. Contest is limited to amateur authors only.  
  3. Only one submission/entry per person/contestant.  
  4. Submitted work must be a fully original work. Submissions created with artificial intelligence (AI) will not be considered.         
  5. Entries must not have been previously published, self-published, published on a website or made public on social media, broadcast or featured among the winners in another competition.  
  6. For entries written by those age 13+, entries may be submitted online via Short Edition Portal.  
  7. For entries written by those under age 13, you must submit your entry via email to shortstories@sjlibrary.org as an attached Word Document, linked Google Doc, or pasted into the body of an email.  
  8. All submissions must include a completed Contest Entry Form. Please ensure all names, poem title, and contact info are accurate.  
  9. Paper Contest Entry Forms are available at SJPL locations upon request. 
  10. Contest runs from April 1, 2024 to April 30, 2024. 
  11. Entries and registration forms must be received by 11:59:59PM on April 30, 2024.  
  12. Submissions will be categorized into 5 different age groups: 0-7, 8-9, 10-12, 13-17, 18+.  
  13. Submitted work must be no more than 8,000 characters long, including spaces, punctuation, and special characters.  
  14. Submitted work must be for general audiences. We will not accept entries with explicit language or mature content.  
  15. All submissions must be proofread for spelling and grammatical errors before submitting. 
  16. Submissions must be text only. Images or drawings will not be considered.  
  17. All submissions will be judged according to the following rubric and scoring criteria.  
  18. The judges read all the entries; their decision is final. Neither the judges nor San José Public Library staff will enter into any correspondence regarding appealing scores.  
  19. Prizes will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners for each age category. Any cash prizes will be awarded as gift cards.  
  20. Prizewinners will be notified by email or phone (information used from Contest Entry Form) of their prize status. Prizes will be available for pickup at the winner’s preferred SJPL location. 
  21. Prizewinners will be announced on San José Public Library’s Website.  
  22. Winning entries and selected works will be published in San José Public Library’s online collection in Short Edition and BiblioBoard. 
  23. San José Public Library reserves the right to reproduce your work. You can reuse all your work after the contest.  
  24. San José Public Library staff may not enter submissions for the General Public contest. Library staff may enter into the staff-only contest. 

Related Page: Spring Into Poetry