The Open Junior and Haiku Junior categories for individuals and schools in the 2023 New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition are now OPEN for entries.

The Open Junior category for both individuals and schools has the theme of mythology and you will find more details here. All Open Junior poems submitted must be based on this theme. The entire poem (32 lines or less) could be written about (for example) the Trojan horse, or the mythology theme can be alluded to in one or two lines in the poem. Haiku Junior entrants do not have to use the mythology theme unless the young poet wishes to do so.

The Open Junior category is being sponsored this year by the World History Encyclopedia, which is the world’s most-read history encyclopedia freely available online. The winner (both individual and school) will receive a box of goodies from the World History Encyclopedia along with a cash prize of $200 from the New Zealand Poetry Society (runners-up receive $50.00 each).

The winner of the Haiku Junior (individual) category will receive a mystery box from the New Zealand Poetry Society (intriguing!) plus a $100 cash prize and the Jeanette Stace Memorial Award of $150 (runners-up receive $50.00 each). The Haiku Junior winner school group will also receive a mystery box and a $100 cash prize.

Note that for schools, there will be a Primary/Intermediate winner (i.e., to Year 8 or age 13 for home-schooled students) and a Secondary winner (Years 9-13) (plus runners-up) in both the Open Junior and Haiku Junior categories.

The entry forms are below.

We also invite young poets to submit digital artwork, which the New Zealand Poetry Society Committee will consider for the cover of the 2023 anthology. This is a great opportunity to showcase youth talent!!

Young poets who enter the Open Junior category for individuals and schools can also submit digital artwork with a mythology theme. The artwork does NOT have to be the same theme as the poem. Let’s say the poem is based on Polynesian mythology and the goddess Pele, who is the goddess of fire, lightning, and volcanoes. If digital artwork is also submitted, it does not have to depict Pele, volcanoes, etc. The artwork could depict something from Greek or Roman mythology. As long as there is a mythological theme!

Haiku Junior entrants can also submit digital artwork whether or not their haiku is based on mythology.

Digital artwork submitted is to be a high-quality image in jpeg or png file format. Please do not submit AI artwork from sites like Midjourney or DALL-E and DALL-E 2 – we want to see original artwork. Submit images to competition@poetrysociety.org.nz

The youth competition and digital art submission close on May 31, 2023, at midnight New Zealand time – six weeks to go!