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The Official Rules
Originality & Rights: Poems must be the original, unpublished work by the entrant. They must not have been previously published, self-published, or accepted for publication elsewhere. Neuse River Writers will retain the first rights of publication to any winning work for publication in an anthology at a later date. After publication in said anthology, the rights will revert back to the author in full. Once an entry is sent in, it cannot be changed in any way.
Entry Limits: There is a strict one poem limit per entrant. The maximum line count is limited to 35 lines, not including the title.
Formatting: Poems should be typed in a standard Arial, 14pt font, sent as an attached document in an email, with the name of the poem centered at the top of the page. The body of the email will include: the name of the poem, entrants name, address, phone number, email and a brief five sentence bio about the author. DO NOT put any of the identifying personal information on the actual attached poem.
Anonymity: To ensure fair judging, entries will be sent to Char Vinar, President of the Neuse River Writers at: redshoenation@yahoo.com. The names and any identifying information of all entrants will not be included when the poem is presented to the judges.
Deadlines: Entries will be accepted between 6am on April 1, 2026 through 12:59pm on April 30, 2026. Anything submitted before or after this time will be disqualified.
Winners: Will be decided by May 6, 2026 and winners will be notified May 7, 2026 by email and will be featured in the June edition of the Neuse River Writers newsletter, as well as on our website. Prizes will be awarded on May 14, 2026 at the Neuse River Writers Members Meeting, held at the Smithfield Public Library, 5-7pm. You must be present to win, you will be asked to read your winning entry aloud, sign a release for your work and pictures and then collect your prize money.
Informed consent: By entering your work in our contest, you understand and agree that, in the event that you win one of the prizes being offered, you give your consent to your winning work being posted on the Neuse River Writers website. You further understand that by doing so, your work then is considered to be “previously published” by the standards of the current literary market and therefore, it cannot be represented in the future as an unpublished piece.
AI Policy: We maintain a strict NO AI policy. Any entry found to have been generated, in part or in whole, with AI or any language generating program of any kind, will be disqualified.