Last updated November, 2024. Guidelines for the 2026 contest will be published in late October, 2025. Guidelines for 2026 are expected to be substantially the same, with the addition of a new policy on the use of A.I.
Please also see the General Guidelines relevant to all categories.
Write original poetry that responds to, or reflects on, one or more experience(s) of the Holocaust as described by the survivors in The People Next Door or other Holocaust-related sources.
You may also respond to topic prompts from other categories.
You may submit:
a single poem of 20 – 24 lines; or
a series of related poems totaling 25 – 30 lines.
Poetry submissions should be formatted as follows:
Typed; line spacing of 1.15 to 1.5 at author’s discretion
Margins: 1.0” on all sides.
Font: Arial is preferred. (May also use Roboto, Helvetica, or Verdana)
Title: 16 point bold, center justified
Lines: 12 point normal; left justified (with exceptions at author’s discretion)
Author’s Block: Author, Grade, and School should appear a few lines below poem in 12-point italic.
See template for formatting examples.
Work must be saved and submitted as both PDF and Word.
Please use the following conventions when naming your files. “Lastname” and “firstname” refers to the author’s first and last names. When including the title or the first words of the poem, please use only the first three words of the title or poem.
For poems with titles:
Lastname_firstname_title.doc
Lastname_firstname_title.pdf
For untitled poems:
Lastname_firstname_Untitled_firstwords.doc
Lastname_firstname_Untitled_firstwords.pdf
Examples:
Silverstein_Shel_Where_the_Sidewalk.doc
Silverstein_Shel_Where_the_Sidewalk.pdf
Ladin_Joy_Untitled_Yes_its_true.doc
Ladin_Joy_Untitled_Yes_its_true.pdf