Contests

Links and information on contests for haiku and related genres. Deadlines and dates may change; the dates below have been taken from the last postings on their respective websites and news-posts.  IMPORTANT: GUIDELINES, CONTACTS & ADDRESSES MAY CHANGE FROM YEAR TO YEAR: Please see the respective websites for current entry fees, prize descriptions and addresses; or write to their contacts for updates and details.  

Last updated February 5, 2001

HAIKU

DEADLINE DATES

JANUARY

NORTH CAROLINA POETRY SOCIETY AWARDS
    LYMAN HAIKU AWARD  (US)

Deadline: January 9. Entrance Fee for non-Members; Cash Prizes; Submission of one poem per category,  original, unpublished, and not currently submitted to any other contest or publication. 

Submissions (2001)
Joanne Nelson
P.O. Box 3526
Boone, NC 28607

Membership Info:
Guy and Carolyn Pleasants York
315 N. Steele Street
Sanford, NC 27330

FEBRUARY

ITOEN TEA
    ANNUAL HAIKU CONTEST (JP)

Deadline: Postmarked by February 28  Annual Contest, no restrictions as to subject matter; free style haiku welcome; The winning verses will be compiled and published in a volume. The copyright of the winning verses will become the property of Itoen Ltd. One person can enter up to six Haiku verses. Free.

This is a tricky webpage to find. When you click the Itoen Tea Contest hyperlink, you'll find yourself on a Japanese language haiku contest page. On the left column, find: "English Page is Here." Click that link and you will be the English-language haiku contest guidelines page. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the hyperlink to the online contest submission form.

Nomination Divisions:

1. Grade School (including infants)
2. Junior High School Students
3. Senior High School Students
4. General: A (below age 39 ;including University Students)
5. General: B (below age 64)
6. General: C (age 65 and over)
7. Haiku in English

The Office of Itoen"OH-I,OCHA"
New Haiku Contest 
3-4-7 Kojimachi
Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo
Japan 102-0083

FAX:+81-3-3263-5668

still
   still BIENNIAL GLOBAL HAIKU & TANKA CONTEST (UK)

Deadlines biennially, August 15 & February 15, respectively  previously unpublished original & untitled works. Entry fees (subscribers to still receive 1st 6 entries free); cash prizes. Most important guideline: write from a place of truth with a Zen influence. Submissions by postal mail only. 

still
49 Englands Lane
London NW3 4YD
England

email inquiries only to:

NEW ZEALAND POETRY SOCIETY
    HAIKU CONTEST (NZ)

Deadline: in hand February 24 Single haiku or senryu.  Submitted work must not have been published or accepted for publication either in printed or electronic form; All Entrants may enter up to fifteen Haiku / Senryu in 5/7/5 or fewer syllables. The judge will particularly welcome entries that capture ‘the haiku moment’ with a NZ sense of time and place. Submitted work should not have been previously published or accepted for publication either in printed or electronic form. It should preferably be typed, and on A4 size paper – one poem or 1-15 haiku per page, otherwise your entry may be lost or overlooked. There are three sections: OPEN, HAIKU and JUNIOR HAIKU; Please note that names should not appear on poems or haiku Entry fees & cash prizes. Entries must be accompanied by an official entry form, online at:

New Zealand Poetry Society Haiku Contest Submission Form 

NZ Poetry Society Inc.
PO Box 48-002
Silverstream, Upper Hutt
New Zealand

PAPER WASP

    THE ANNUAL JACK STAMM HAIKU CONTEST (AU)

Deadline February 28;Paper Wasp's annual contest in memory of its founding member, American poet, Jack Stamm, a long-time resident of Japan; An anthology of the best haiku submitted will be published from the contest. One copy will be provided free to authors of entries selected for publication. The contest is open to haiku poets worldwide, has no set
theme, welcomes both the modern and traditional forms but it is restricted to the English language and unpublished haiku (including the Internet). Entry fee; cash prizes

paper wasp
7 Bellevue Terrace
St Lucia, Queensland
4067, Australia

MARCH

MIDWEST POETRY REVIEW
    HAIKU COMPETITION (US)

Deadline: Postmarked by March 1  Unpublished haiku. No email submissions. Entry fees & cash prizes; Write for further information to: 

Midwest Poetry Review
7443 Oak Tree Lane
Spring Hill, FL 34607-2324
USA

MAINICHI SHIMBUN (NEWSPAPER CO.)
    ANNUAL HAIKU CONTEST (JP)

Deadline: March 31 Participants compete for prizes in three sections: general, children, (those of junior high school age or under) and international ( for haiku written in English or French). Applications  can even be made in braille or over the Internet.
Entries must be original haiku and must not have been published elsewhere. With your haiku, include your name, address, age, telephone number and the name of any haiku group to which you belong. FREE/Cash prizes. Submissions may be sent by air mail to:

Mainichi Haiku Contest Office
Mainichi Shimbun
1-1-1, Hitotsubashi
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
100-8051, Japan.

Internet applications are also being accepted:

Online Form: http://mainichi-shuppan.com/taisyou/oubo-en.html

or email:

HAIKU  SOCIETY OF AMERICA
    SACRED HEART CHURCH, CAMDEN, NJ. (Founders)
    NICHOLAS A. VIRGILIO HAIKU MEMORIAL COMPETITION
    FOR HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS  (US)

Deadline: In hand by March 25; open to public: Grades 7-12; Submit up to three haiku per student in triplicate. Cash awards. Judges selected by HSA; Submit entries to:

Tony Virgilio
Nick Virgilio Haiku Association
1092 Niagara Road
Camden, NJ 08104-2859

JAPAN AIRLINES FOUNDATION
    WORLD CHILDREN'S HAIKU CONTEST (JP)

JAL's biennial haiku contest for children, primary & junior high school ages. Childrens' haiku published in anthologies. "The World Children's Haiku Contest is a 2-year project. We will be collecting haiku from Japan and overseas for the 2002 contest between October 2001 and March 2002." Selected winners will be invited to attend a World Children's Haiku Camp in Japan to experience Japanese culture. Contest guidelines and entry form onsite.

YELLOW MOON
    INTERNATIONAL YELLOW MOON  9 LITERARY COMPETITION (AU)

Deadline: March 31; Entry: A sheet of 3 haiku = 1 entry; must be original, unpublished, not under consideration elsewhere, and in English. (Also competitions for haibun, tanka and other short verse.) Entry fees; Cash Prizes; no email submissions; For more information; Write to: 

Beverely George, Editor
PO Box 329
Beecroft  2119
AU

APRIL

HASSEE
    CROATIAN INTERNATIONAL HAIKU CONTEST (CR)
   LUDBREG 2000 International Haiku Contest

Deadline April 30 Contest is open to the public; submissions must be in English and not currently submitted elsewhere; unlimited enties. Send two copies of each haiku on separate cards; on the back of one card print your name and address. Entry fees, cash prizes.

Mr. Mirko Varga
Vrazova 6
42000 Varazdin
Croatia

email:

HASSEE
    HAIKU CLUB ALEKSANDER NEJGEBAUER
     AN3-2000" INTERNATIONAL HAIKU CONTEST (YU)

Deadline: end of April. Haiku Club "Aleksandar Nejgebauer" Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

PEOPLE'S POETRY LETTER
    PEOPLE'S INTERNATIONAL HAIKU & SENRYU CONTEST (CA)

Annual deadline: April 24. Ten poems are selected by a Canadian and international judge. Winning poets and their poems are featured in a special issue of People's Poetry Letter.  All entrants receive a one-year subscription (3 issues) to People's Poetry Letter. Entry fiees.

People's Poetry
Box 31
2060 Queen St.
Toronto, Ontario
M4E 3V7 Canada

email inquiries to:

MAY

Deadline: Postmarked by May 3  Eligibility: The contest is open to the public. Books must have been published in the previous year. An author may submit more than one title. Entry fee; cash prizes. 

John Stevenson
P.O. Box 122
Nassau, NY 12123-0122

JUNE

HASSEE
     SLOVENIAN HAIKU CONTEST (SL)

Deadline: June 11 The Annual Slovenian Haiku Contest is organised by the literature magazine Apokalipsa; no entry fees; Up to 6 haiku in Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian or English, in three separate copies signed by code, should be sent to the following address:

Apokalipsa Society Haiku Contest
Lili Novy, 25
1111 Ljubljana

email: (subject: Haiku Contest)

BUDDHIST TEMPLE OF CHICAGO
    NATSU MATSURI HAIKU CONTEST (US)

Deadline: In hand by June 24; 5-7-5 entries, annual contests; mail on  3" x 5" card with your poem on one side and your name, age, address and phone number on the other. Please be sure to indicate that these haiku are intended for the contest. Voting for contest winners will be carried out, as in previous years, by actual festival attendees. (Festival June 24 - 25) 

2000 Haiku Contest Entry
Buddhist Temple of Chicago
1151 W. Leland
Chicago, IL 60640;fax to: (773) 334-4726
: 

TALLAHASSEE WRITERS  ASSOCIATION
    TWA PENUMUBRA ANNUAL POETRY & HAIKU AWARD (US)

Deadline = June 30; Categories: (1) Poetry of up to 50 lines, any style or subject (2) 3-line haiku; Cash prizes + publication in and one copy of Penumbra Chapbook; Entry fees; cash prizes. 

TWA Penumbra
P.O. Box 15995
Tallahassee, Florida 32317-5995
USA

JULY

Deadline: Postmarked  by July 31; See Website for updates; contest is open to the public; may submit up to 10 unpublished senryu, each poem on 3 separate cards. Entry fees; cash prize

John Stevenson
P.O. Box 122
Nassau, NY 12123-0122

THE HAIKU SOCIETY OF AMERICA (HSA)
    HAROLD G. HENDERSON AWARDS FOR HAIKU (US)

Deadline: Postmarked by July 31; Annual awards for best unpublished haiku; open to general public; may submit up to 10 unpublished haiku, each poem on 3 separate cards.  Entry fees. Cash prizes.

AUGUST

FLORIDA STATE POETS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONTESTS
     BERNIECE McCONAHAY MEMORIAL AWARD (US)

Deadline: August 7 Cash prize; 3 lines HAIKU (no title);  RULES: The same poem must not be entered in more than one category. No onion skin, colored or illustrated paper. Use black ink in a standard font. Poems must be the original work of the poet, unpublished, not currently entered in any other contest or for publication, and must not have won more than $10 in any contest. FORMAT: Typed, single-spaced, in English, on one side of 8 1/2 X 11 white paper. Poem must be titled (except Haiku & Sijo). Submit 2 copies, Category and Number on BOTH, (upper left). Poet's name & address on DUPLICATE only (upper right). Mail all categories at once, with one check for fees. Remember that the fees listed above are PER POEM. Use regular first class mail. Entry fees; cash prizes. SASE for winner's list or additional flyers. Winners not present at Convention will be notified by mail in November, 2000; Send entries to: 

Esther Marie Latz
33 S. Columbus St.
Beverly Hills, FL 34465 

HASSEE
   INT'L COMPETITION OF HAIKU MAGAZINE LOTOS (YU)

Deadline: August 1  The author sends 5 unpublished haiku poems in maternal and English language in one sample till 01. August 2000. Send one envelope and two IRC forms for information.

Haiku Magazine "LOTOS"
Dejan Bogojevic, Editor
14202 Rajkovic
Valjevo
Yugoslavia

Phone: 014/68-293 
email:

still
    still BIENNIAL GLOBAL HAIKU & TANKA CONTEST (UK)

Deadlines biennially, August 15 & February 15, respectively  previously unpublished original & untitled works; Entry fees (subscribers to still receive 1st 6 entries free); cash prizes. Most important guideline: write from a place of truth with a Zen influence.

still
49 Englands Lane
London NW3 4YD
England

SEPTEMBER

ASHIYA INTERNATIONAL HAIKU FESTA (JP)

Deadline: September Themed; Annual contest; Each entry may consist of up to two unpublished haiku in Japanese or English; No limit to number of entries. A fee of 1,000 yen will be charged for each Japanese entry.  If the applicant is 17 years old or under, or applying from overseas, the application fee will be waived. 

Haiku Grand Prix in honor of Takahama Kyoshi

Inspirational Award by The Minister of Education, Science and Culture

Inspirational Award Honoring Takahama Kyoshi

Ashiya International Haiku Grand Prix

Ashiya International Haiku Inspirational Award

Mayor of Ashiya International Haiku Prize

Inspirational Award (awarded by judges)

Secretariat
Ashiya International Haiku Festa 
c/o Citizen's Center
8-24 Narihira-cho, Ashiya
Hyogo 659-0068 Japan

OCTOBER

HAIKU SOCIETY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (HPNC)
    San Francisco International Haiku, Senryu and Tanka Competition

Deadline: in-hand deadline for entries is October 31st, 2001. There is no limit on the number of submissions. Entry fee; Cash prizes; no limit on number of submissions; Entries must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.Type or print each entry on two 3 X 5 cards. In the upper left corner of each card identify its category as being Haiku, Senryu, or Tanka.On the back side of one card only print your name, address and telephone number. All rights revert to authors after the contest results are announced.

Guidelines posted at:

http://www.creativeideasforyou.com/hpnc_2001_contest.html

 

NOVEMBER

BRITISH HAIKU SOCIETY, BLITHE SPIRIT
    BHS JAMES W. HACKETT ANNUAL HAIKU AWARD (UK)

Deadline: in hand 30 November; Entry fee; Cash prizes. Up to 5 unpublished haiku per entrant, each poem on 3 separate 5" x 3" cards/sheets.

HAIKU CANADA
    BETTY DROVNIAK AWARD (CA)

Deadline November 30; Up to 10 unpublished haiku in triplicate on 3x5" cards; Entry Fee; Cash Prizes; 

The Betty Drevniok Award
c/o LeRoy Gorman
51 Graham West
Napanee,Ontario 
CANADA K7R  2J6 

MEKLER & DEAHL ANNUAL POETRY COMPETITIONS
     THE HERB BARRETT AWARD FOR SHORT POETRY 
     IN THE HAIKU TRADITION  (US)

Deadline: Postmarked by November 30. Entrance Fee; Cash Prizes plus copy of anthology of contests' haiku. Poems must be no more than 4 lines long. They may or may not follow the traditional 17-syllable form, but  should be in the haiku tradition. Poems may be published or unpublished, up to 10 haiku,1 per page. 

DECEMBER

DAICHUJI TEMPLE
    SURUGA-BAIKA ANNUAL LITERARY FESTIVAL (JP)

Deadline is December 15. All award winners will be notified by early January 2001. ; Prize of  Excellence- Baika Literary Prize; previously unpublished Haiku ; Senior & Junior  divisions. 

Daichuji Temple
457 Naka-Sawada Numazu-shi
Shizuoka-ken JAPAN 410-0006

email:  
Fax: International entries: 81-559-25-8778

SAKI PRESS
    VIRGIL HUTTON HAIKU MEMORIALl AWARD
    CHAPBOOK CONTEST(US)

The contest opens September 15  and submissions must be received by December 31. Biennial contest for the best collections of up to 50 haiku. Prize includes chapbook publication (25 copies to winners) and sometimes a cash prize will be announced. First 3  prize winners published as Saki Press chapbooks. May enter more than one collection; Entry fee for each collection submitted.  Winners will be announced the following February, and publication will be in March, by Saki Press (Normal, Illinois). Send haiku collection of up to 50 haiku and entry fee (from US poet: US funds) along with a S.A.S.E. to: 

Saki Press
1021 West Gregory
Normal, IL 61761
USA

 ANNUAL & BIENNIAL AWARDS

BRITISH HAIKU SOCIETY (BHS)
    BIENNIAL SASAKAWA PRIZE
    FOR ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE FIELD OF HAIKU

Prize £2.500 partly in the form of a return air ticket to Japan; Full details and entry form, send sae marked Sasakawa Prize to:

The British Haiku Society
Lenacre Ford
Woolhope, Hereford HR1 4RF
England

CHIYO'S CORNER: LAUGHING CYPRESS
      CHIYO'S AWARDS (US)

Kathleen P. Decker, Ed.; Annual awards from poetry and artwork published in Chiyo's Corner journal during the year. Includes haiku,
renku, free verse, and art. 

THE HAIKU SOCIETY OF AMERICA (HSA)
    MUSEUM OF HAIKU LITERATURE AWARDS (US)

 

This award is a gift of the Museum of Haiku Literature in Tokyo. A single best-of-issue haiku from each issue of Frogpond; cash prize.

THE HERON'S NEST
    MONTHLY AWARDS: EDITOR PICKS  (each month)
     ANNUAL VALENTINE AWARDS (US)

Valentines Awards: Open voting by readership (mail or email) on haiku published in the  previous year's editions of The Heron's Nest. February

INTERNATIONAL HAIKU  FESTIVAL
    SHIKI MASAOKA INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL AWARD PROJECT (JP)

Festival: August 10 - September 19; Festival, Awards, Ceremonies, International Haiku Symposium, Banquet, Programs, Exhibitions, Haiku Workshops, International Haiku Salon, Cultural Exchange; Organizers: Ehime Culture Foundation, the Ehime Prefectural Government, the Ehime prefecture Board of Education, the City of Matsuyama, the City of Matsuyama Board of Education, NHK, The Ehime Shimbun Co. Ltd.

From an historical and international point of view, the Shiki Masaoka International Haiku Prizes will be presented to outstanding contributors to the development of haiku as world poetry, including every form of poetry, which has haiku spirit.

Establishment of the International Haiku Award 'Masaoka Shiki Prize' (est 1999): To promote the haiku spirit in world poetry, an International Haiku Award will be set up at the International Haiku Research Center, for poets worldwide. The specific agenda is as follows. 1. Judging poems from various regions of the world and in various languages once a year. 2. Presenting awards at the International Haiku Festival 3. Nobel Prize class poets will be sought, therefore there will be no winners some years. 4. Establishment of "contemporary" and "posthumous" categories 5. Award money as secondary prizes.

Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Grand Prize
Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Prize
Masaoka Shiki International Haiku EIJS Special Prize

Ehime Culture Foundation
Ichiban-cho 4-4-2, Matsuyama City
Ehime Prefecture, Japan

email:

HAIKU SOCIETY OF AMERICA (HSA)
    MUSEUM OF HAIKU LITERATURE AWARDS (US - JP)

This award is a gift of the Museum of Haiku Literature in Tokyo. A single best-of-issue haiku in each issue of Frogpond will be awarded a cash prize. Haiku are judged and selected by HSA Executive Committee from those published in each issue of Frogpond and are announced in the following issue. These haiku will also be published on the HSA Web site.

SHIKI INTERNET SALON
      ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL HAIKU CONTEST (JP)

The Shiki team volunteers have held an annual Japanese style Kukai on the Internet since its beginnings. Haijin composed and sent in haiku and also acted as judges. The contest was managed by the Shiki team, who organized the Shiki Internet Haiku Salon site on a voluntary basis. Winner won a trip to Japan. At this time, the Shiki List is temporarily out of operation. It is uncertain if and when the annual contest will resume. The results of the contest over the past five years may be seen at

The Shiki Salon Contest Pages

email: Shiki Team

 INTERNET MAILING LIST KUKAI

WHF2000 WORLD HAIKU CLUB
     WHChaikuforum QUARTERLY KUKAI (INT)

The first WHC World Haiku Festival was held 2000 in London/Oxford, UK with international seminars, conferences,  contests and exhibitions. WHChaikuforum is the flagship  online discussion list; four yearly kukai (haiku contests) are held on WHC haikuforum, along with various other contests.   Special competitions  for 2001 include essays and poetry  for "Masaoka Shiki Revisited: A Year-Long Celebration of  the Centenary of His Death." See Announcements and the WHChaikuforum list site for updates.

SHIKI-TEMP BIWEEKLY KIGO KUKAI
     SHIKI-TEMP  BI--WEEKLY FREE FORMAT  KUKAI (INT)

The Shiki List is temporarily out of operation. There is a Shiki-temp mailing list on YahooGroups in the interim. The Shiki-temp team is continuing the tradition of the bi-weekly Kigo and Free-Format Kukai.

TANKA

FEBRUARY

AHA!POETRY, LYNX Journal for Linking Poets (online)
    TANKA SPLENDOR (US)

Deadline: October 1 Werner & Jane Reichhold, Editors; Annual tanka contest; anonymous tanka selections - judged by the entrants. Rules are on Aha!Poetry.com with entry form. 

email  with "TSentry" in the subject line

still
   still BIENNIAL GLOBAL HAIKU & TANKA CONTEST (UK)

Deadlines biennially, August 15 & February 15, respectively; previously unpublished original & untitled works; entry fees (subscribers to still receive 1st 6 entries free); cash prizes. Most important guideline: write from a place of truth with a Zen influence. 

still
49 Englands Lane
London NW3 4YD
England

MARCH

WORLD TANKA CONTEST (JP)

Deadline: March 31 Themed; Judges: James Kirkup, Mutsuo Shukuya. Submissions of  original, previously unpublished tankas written in traditional 5-7-5-7-7 syllable, five-line form by email, fax or postcard.

The 2nd World Tanka Competition
2-37-2-202 Shibuya
Tokyo, JAPAN 151-0051

email: Fax:  03-5772-2678 

NIHON KAIJIN CLUB
    NIHON KAIJIN CLUB INTERNATIONAL TANKA COMPETITION (JP)

Deadline: March 31; Competition takes place: September 

Nihon Kajin Club
Building 2F
1-12-5 Higashi-Gotanda
Sinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0022
Japan 

AUGUST

still
   still BIENNIAL GLOBAL HAIKU & TANKA CONTEST (UK)

Deadlines biennially, August 15 & February 15, respectively; previously unpublished original & untitled works; entry fees (subscribers to still receive 1st 6 entries free); cash prizes. Most important guideline: write from a place of truth with a Zen influence. 

still
49 Englands Lane
London NW3 4YD
England

DECEMBER

HOSHI TO MORI
    INTERNATIONAL TANKA CONTEST (JP)

Deadline: December 15  Sponsored by Hoshi To Mori (Stars and Forest);
Supported by The Japan Times themed; Free / No application fee for those outside Japan snail mail: 

Office of International Tanka Contest
5-15-11 Matsugaoka
Funabashi, Chiba
Japan 

email: T

RENGA & LINKED VERSE

OCTOBER

HSA: THE HAIKU SOCIETY OF AMERICA
     THE HAIKU SOCIETY OF AMERICA RENKU COMPETITION (US)

Deadline: Postmarked by October 1 Rules: renku may consist of 36, 20, or 12 stanzas (kasen, nijûin, or junicho forms) written by two or more persons, each of whom contributes a substantial number of individually - authored stanzas. Any particular author may appear in no more than three different renku entered. Entries must be in English. Entries must not have been previously published, nor contain any stanzas previously published, submitted for publication, nor entered in any other contest. Entry fees; cash prizes 

John Stevenson
PO Box 122
Nassau, NY 12123

ANNUAL AWARDS (NO DEADLINES)

CHIYO'S CORNER, LAUGHING CYPRESS
     CHIYO'S CORNER POETRY AWARDS (US)

Kathleen P. Decker, Ed. Annual selections from best renku, haiku, free verse, and art published in the year's editions of Chiyo's Corner. 

Laughing CyPress
15127 N.E. 24th, Suite #122
Redmond, WA 98052-5547

email:

SIJO

AUGUST

THE FLORIDA STATE POETS ASSOCIATION  (US)
    SIJO AWARD

Deadline: August 7  3 or 6 lines;  entry fee; cash prizes. For guidelines send an SASE:  

Donna Dickey Guyer
1508 22nd Ave SW
Boynton Beach, FL 33426

ARIZONA STATE POETRY SOCIETY
    SIJO CONTEST

Guidelines can be obtained from: 

Genevieve Sargent
1707 N. Sunset Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85281

OTHER

The links on this page have been shared by and are the same as those contest listings on the Paper Lanterns website. Please refer to Paper Lanterns Contest "Other Contests" and "Contest Lists" pages  for other, non-genre specific contests:

Other Contests
Contest Lists
See the NewsBoard for Contests listed by others.

 

Links compiled & Edited by Debi Bender

 

Links compiled and edited by