Jackson, MI Young Poets Competition | Jackson District Library

Update: The deadline to submit a poem has been extended to Friday, February 20.

Jackson District Library's 22nd Annual Young Poets Contest is now accepting entries from K-12 students in Jackson County.

Enter your poem by February 20, 2026 to qualify. Young Poets is open to K-12 students (including homeschool) in Jackson County only.

Need some inspiration? JDL will be hosting free poetry writing workshops throughout January with local author Michelle Webster-Hein! Learn more here.

Young Poets is open to any K-12 student in Jackson County
Poems must be the original work of the student and cannot be generated, in whole or in part, by Artificial Intelligence
Poems should be no more than one-page (maximum of 500 words) in length - grades 9-12 - two pages (maximum of 1000 words)
Poems should be typed or written neatly
The student’s name, grade, school, and parent/guardian contact
information must appear on the back of the poem
(No identifying information should appear in the poem or on the poem side of the page)
Each poem must be submitted with a student registration form (unless submitted with the online form on our website)
Poems may be submitted through a school, a JDL branch, or
online, or mailed to:
Jackson District Library
Community Engagement Department
290 W. Michigan Ave.
Jackson, MI 49201
All poems become the property of the Jackson District Library and will not be returned. The Jackson District Library retains the first rights for publication of prize-winning poems
All poems must be received by February 20, 2026

Four winning entries (First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention) will be chosen for each grade level.

Poems will be judged by JDL’s Poetry Panel
Poems will be judged by grade level
Poems will be scored on the basis of creativity, vocabulary, quality of verse and creative expression