COLUMBIA COUNTY, Any Columbia County student in grades 6 through 12 can enter one poem in a national contest with no entry fee, cash prizes, and publication for the winners, and the deadline is Sunday, Nov. 15.
The Manningham Student Poetry Contest is run by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies and promoted in Oregon by the Oregon Poetry Association. It has two divisions, grades 6 to 8 and grades 9 to 12, and is open to any middle or high school student in the country, “whether in public or private school or homeschooled,” according to the contest rules.
Ten prizes go out in each division: $75 for first place, $50 for second, $40 for third, $35 for fourth, $30 for fifth, and $10 each for five honorable mentions. Winning poems are printed in the federation’s student anthology, and each winner’s school gets a copy for its library. The top poems are read at the federation’s convention in Phoenix next July.
How to Enter
- One poem per student, typed, on a single page, with lines no longer than 60 characters including spaces. Times or Times New Roman, 12 point.
- No name or other identifying information on the poem itself. Poems may have been published or won awards before.
- Submit through Submittable at nfsps.submittable.com, where a student account is free. Entrants fill in their school and grade and sign an originality statement that also bars any use of artificial intelligence tools for brainstorming, drafting, or revising.
- Entries are accepted through Nov. 15, 2026.
Oregon students have placed in the contest before. The poetry association’s past results list first, fourth, and fifth place in the senior division and an honorable mention for Portland students, and second place in the junior division for an Ashland student, in one recent year. The association’s listing does not show a Columbia County winner.
Winners are announced to each state’s poetry society, and awards are mailed to students directly.