First Light Spring 2026 Poetry Contest (#2) -

First Light Poetry Contest (#2)

SUBMISSIONS WILL OPEN NOVEMBER 15

Coming soon

All contest submissions are automatically considered for publication in First Light Journal Issue #2.

March 9, 2026

Your submission can have up to three poems.
Only one submission per contestant.
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 contest. Exception is if submission bears a timestamp prior to the date we assigned a judge to the contest.
Poems must be the original work(s) of the author
Poems submitted must not be previously published in another journal
Poems must be no more than 60 lines, including the title, tag line and empty lines between stanzas

SUBMISSIONS WILL OPEN NOVEMBER 15

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.

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.