Here is how this contest works, step by step:

(1) Submit your poem above and wait to hear from us. You are required to provide a valid email address and it is important that you keep it active because that is how we communicate with you. You can also look up your results at anytime using our new Contest Results feature at our website.

(2) Your poem will be evaluated by our judges and either selected or declined for publication.

(3) If declined, you will receive a DECLINE email informing you that your poem has been declined for the current quarter. If you are declined, you can submit another poem RIGHT AWAY in the same quarter. You can continue doing this as time allows in the contest.

(4) If your poem is Selected, you will receive a SELECTED email informing you that your poem has been selected for publication in our contest publication.

(5) If your poem is SELECTED and you want it to be included for FREE in our current contest publication, then you must fill out the Permission Slip that was included with your SELECTED email and return it to us by regular (snail) mail.

(6) After our Permission Slip Deadline passes, the Selected poets are instructed to go to a web page on our site where they can view their proofs.

Additional Contest Information

All Contest Correspondence is accomplished via email, so if you enter, please use an email address that you plan to keep active.

There are no cash prizes.

Who is Eligible?

Poets must be 18 years or younger at some time during the contest cycle. If you are 19 but were 18 when the contest started, then you are still eligible.

How and When to Submit

We ask that you submit your poems by January 1st, May 1st, and September 1st of each calendar year.

Submission Requirements
We have these basic requirements for poems to be considered for publication in the VoicesNet Youth Web Words® Competition.

Poems must be original works.
Please submit only one poem at a time.
The poet's full name and email address must be provided.
The poet must be able to be notified via email if their poem has been selected for publication.

There are several criteria used for acceptance of the writing.

The younger children are judged by less stringent requirements, as the age of the poet goes up so do the standards for selection.

The editors who read the poems look for originality, rhythmic sounds, rhymes, and audience appeal.

The editors also look for poems where the authors really care about the subjects or trivial subjects approached in a novel way.