First Light Fall 2025 Poetry Contest

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Starboard Press
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First Light Fall 2025 Poetry Contest

SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

Meet Contest Judge, Oliver Khan

Oliver Khan received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in 3:AM, the Bangalore Review, the Breakwater Review, the Dewdrop, the Chicago Reader, and elsewhere. Oliver practices law and lives in Illinois with his family. 

Entry Guidelines

All contest submissions are automatically considered for publication in First Light Journal.

Deadline

August 26, 2025

Entry Fee

  • Entry fee is $5 for up to three poems.

Eligibility

  • Contestants must be at least 13 years old to participate
  • Friends (those in close and constant association with the judge), relatives and current/former students of the judge are not eligible to enter the competition
  • Poems must be the original work(s) of the author
  • Poems submitted must not be previously published in another journal

How to Submit

SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

  • All poems can be typed up in a single Word document.
  • Type each poem on a new page.
  • Give each poem a title if it has one. If no title is provided, we will use the first line of the poem as its title.
  • DO NOT include your name in the document containing your poems.
  • Include your full name or preferred pseudonym in the body of the email.
  • Include a brief biography (2 – 3 lines) in the body of the email that will be published with your poem if it is selected.
  • Email your submissions in a Word/PDF document to submissions@starboard.press with the subject line: First Light Fall 2025 Poetry Contest.
  • Send your payment using Paypal to submissions@starboard.press.

Prizes

  • Cash prize of $100 for the First Place winner with certificate of award
  • Second place winner will receive $50 with certificate of award
  • Third place winner will receive $30 with certificate of award
  • Additional poems may be selected as Honorable Mentions
  • All submissions are automatically considered for publication in the Fall issue of First Light. Winning entries will be highlighted.

Results

  • Results will be available in the second week of October
  • Authors of winning entries will be notified by email