Minnesota Center for the Book

Submission Guidelines:

Submissions are open to poets 18+ who are residents of the state of Minnesota OR enrolled university students.

There is no fee for submission.

Writers may only submit for one theme (only one submission accepted).

Only previously unpublished poems will be accepted.

Submitted works must be human-authored. We do not accept works that are generated fully or partially by A.I./LLM engines or services (i.e. ChatGPT, Jasper, Sudowrite). This includes translations. Submitted works found to be in violation will be removed from the contest. 

Poems must adhere to these formatting guidelines:

• 45 line maximum or 200 words for prose poems
• Single-spaced with double spaces between stanzas
• 12 point, readable font (e.g. Times New Roman, Calibri, Aptos, etc.)
• Poems must specify which theme they are addressing in a header or footer.
• Author names should not be included on submitted poetry.

Submissions should be made through our Wufoo form.

Poems will be separated from the author information form so poems can be judged anonymously.

No changes will be accepted between submission and selection.

Submission deadline is Monday, December 15th.

Judging Process

A panel of judges will review the submitted poems and select one winner from each theme that best addresses that theme. Winners will be announced in spring 2026. The authors of the five selected poems will each receive a $2,500 award that includes a stipend for a public reading and discussion.

Promotion of Winners

The winning poems will be shared broadly across the state in 2026. The Friends will post the poems on www.thefriends.org, and through various communication channels. The Friends will retain non-exclusive use of the poem in perpetuity (broadsides, etc.); the copyright lives with the poet. Other potential printing opportunities may be determined.

Dates for the public reading and discussion will be determined after winners are announced.

Judges

Gwen Westerman, Minnesota Poet Laureate

Dr. Gwen Westerman holds her BA and MA in English from Oklahoma State University, and PhD in English from the University of Kansas. She teaches American and Native Nations literatures. She is Minnesota’s acting Poet Laureate. Her books include Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota, Follow the Blackbirds, and Songs, Blood Deep. She is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate and a citizen of Cherokee Nation.

Jean Prokott, Rochester Poet Laureate

Jean Prokott is a graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato and Winona State University. She teaches English in Rochester where she is the city’s Poet Laureate. She is the author of The Second Longest Day of the Year and The Birthday Effect. She is a 2024 American Academy of Poets Laureate Fellow.

Heid Erdrich, Minneapolis Poet Laureate emerita

Heid Erdrich received a BA from Dartmouth, MAs from Johns Hopkins, and PhD from the Union Institute. She has been the Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota Morris and served as the 2022 Elliot writer-in-residence at the University of Cincinnati. Her books include Little Big Bully, Curator of Ephemera at the New Museum for Archaic Media. She was the Minneapolis Poet Laureate from 2023 – 2025. Heid is Ojibwe, enrolled at Turtle Mountain.

The five themes from American Association for State and Local History (AASLH)are in bold below. The questions below each theme are intended as possible prompts.

1. Unfinished Revolutions
   • What stories does the nation tell about the idea of revolution?
   • Beyond the Revolution, what are other revolutionary moments in the history of our country, our state, and our communities?
   • When have members of your community advocated for liberty and equality?
   • How do we think about the ongoing process of becoming “a more perfect union”?
2. Power of Place
   • How has your “place” changed over time?
   • How did the natural environment shape past events? How did those events affect the environment?
   • What places are typically preserved today for their historic value? What other kinds of stories could be told there?
3. We the People
   • Who is considered an “American” – and who gets to decide?
   • How, when, and why have definitions of “the people” and ideas about belonging changed in the United States, in Minnesota, or in your community?
   • Who has been, and remains, excluded from full participation and representation in our democracy?
4. American Experiment
   • What kind of nation did the American Revolution create and how is the “American Experiment” still ongoing?
   • How have different groups of people engaged in civic action in the past? How have those actions changed over time?
   • The original government was created to be representative of the people (though narrowly defined): how do we ensure representation today?
5. Doing History
   • What is history? How is it different from “the past”?
   • How can poetry make sense of the past using different kinds of sources – written records, oral traditions, material culture, archaeological evidence, folkways?
   • Whose stories have been collected in archives and museums and whose have been excluded? How has that influenced the way history is typically told?
   • How can the poetic form uncover and discuss the lives of individuals traditionally silenced by the written record?