WEST HAVEN – The Connecticut Poetry Society (CPS) is now accepting submissions for its 2026 Experimental Poetry Contest. Entries will be accepted through July 31 at 6 p.m. via Submittable. There is a $15 reading fee for this contest, which features a $1,000 prize.
In its sixth year, the Experimental Poetry Contest welcomes poems in text, audio, or video files, exploring entirely new forms, experimental existing forms, or radical subversions of tradition. CPS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of poetry.
“We are seeking poems that explore the creative alchemy of words, form and visuals,” said Ed Dzitko, contest coordinator.
Up to three previously unpublished poems without any personally identifiable information can be submitted.
Work that is in any way created, fully, or partly, with AI software, or entries that include personal information will be disqualified.
Only electronic submissions through Submittable will be accepted. Visit the CPS contest page to enter: https://ctpoetry.org/cps-contests/
For more information, email contests.ctpoetry@gmail.com.
Katherine E. Schneider, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Northeast Coast literary journal and press and poet laureate of Norwalk, Connecticut, is the 2026 judge. She holds an MFA from Fairfield University’s MFA in Creative Writing program and is a co-founder and co-host of FUMFA Poets & Writers Live.
Schneider has two poetry collections — I Used to Remember the Story of How (Finishing Line Press, 2019) and Breaking the Fever (Northeast Coast, 2026). Her publication credits for individual poems include Ruminate, Blue Line, The Poetry Porch, The Paddock Review, Collateral, Orenaug Mountain Poetry Journal, the 2023 and 2024 Connecticut Literary Anthology, and more.
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