Haiku Contests
Polish International Haiku Competition
Limit 1 haiku in English. Three-line poems only, with kigo within the short-long-short pattern. Judge is Sandra Simpson (with pre-selection). Results announced by December 31.
Closes: November 23.
Cost: Free.
Full details, and an entry form, from the website.
Matsuyama Inspires Photo Haiku Contest
Limit one haiku in each of the two categories: Haiku inspired by a provided photo; haiku inspired by a photo you’ve taken. Cash prizes. Judges are Masako Katutani and Kit Pancoast Nagamura. Results announced at the end of February.
Closes: December 12.
Cost: Free.
Full details here.
Rachel Sutcliffe Memorial Haiku-arts Contest
Judges are Bille Dee, Richard L. Matta and Edward Cody Huddleston. Results announced February 15 and winners published March 15. More details to follow.
Submit: December 1-15.
Cost: Free.
Full details available November 20 at the website.
Touchstone Poem Awards
For haiku/senryu published during 2025. A number of awards will be given for poems the panel believes represent a noteworthy addition to English-language haiku. Anyone who has had a haiku/senryu published during 2025 may nominate 2 poems, 1 of which may be their own. Results announced April 17, 2026.
Closes: December 31.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Touchstone Haibun Awards
For haibun published during 2025. Two haibun may be nominated, one of which may be your own. A panel of judges will bestow a number of awards for poems they believe represent a noteworthy addition to English-language haibun. Results April 17, 2026.
Closes: December 31.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Touchstone Book Awards
The award is open to books, both print and e-books, published in the calendar year 2025.
Closes: December 31 (postmark).
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Irish Haiku Society Competition
Cash prizes totalling €300, plus 7 highly commended awards. Winners announced in January 2026. Judge is Anatoly Kudryavitsky.
Closes: December 31.
Cost: €3/£2.50/$US3 per haiku; or €20/£17/$US20 per 7 haiku.
Full details from the website.
Welkin Writing Prize
Cash prizes totalling £150. For fiction of up to 100 words, haibun welcome. Entries judged on a rolling basis. Shortlist announced January 11; winners announced from January 27.
Submit: December 1-January 2.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
BHS Awards
Haiku: Cash prizes totalling £350, judges are Jim Kacian and Lakshmi Iyer. Tanka: Cash prizes totalling £350, judges are Alan Peat and Michael Dylan Welch. Haibun: Cash prizes totalling £175, judge is Diana Webb. Winning work published in the BHS journal Blithe Spirit in May and posted to the website.
Closes: In-hand January 31.
Cost: From £5.50 for 3 haiku / tanka / haibun on a rising scale.
Full details from the website.
San Francisco International Rengay Contest
First prize of $US100. The winning linked-verse poem will be published in Mariposa, the HPNC membership journal.
Closes: In hand January 31.
Cost: $US5/poem.
Full details from the website.
Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Contest
Twelve haiku will be picked as monthly winners sharing a cash prize of £400/$US600; 40 others as runners-up. All will be published. Haiku should include a seasonal word or activity. Results announced on March 31.
Closes: January 31.
Cost: £10/$US15 for up to 4 haiku; £20/$US30 up to 12 haiku.
Full details (including advice on seasonal words; how to assign months) from the website.
Betty Drevniok Award
Limit of 3 haiku per person. Winners announced in May and published on the Haiku Canada website.
Submit: December 15-February 1.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
HSA Merit Book Award
For excellence in published haiku, translation, and criticism. Cash prizes totalling $US600. A list of winners will be published in Frogpond and the HSA website. Books must have been published in 2025 and clearly must contain a printed 2025©. An author or publisher may submit more than one title. Three copies needed of each book.
Submit: January 1-February 15.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.