Poem of the Year Contest

In 2026, Arc will be awarding one $5,000 grand prize to the Poem of the Year and a $500 prize for an Honourable Mention. 

Shortlist: A shortlist of 10 to 12 poems, selected by Arc’s editorial board, will be eligible for the Readers’ Choice Award. The winner receives $250. Visit Arc’s website in April 2026 to read our shortlist selections and cast your vote! Shortlisted poets will be contacted prior to the shortlist announcement.

Publication: Shortlisted entries for the Poem of the Year will be published online and in a print issue of Arc, and will receive page-rate payment for online and print publication. Arc secures First Canadian Serial Rights, meaning the poems should not appear in any print or digital publication before the release of the issue in which the work appears. All rights will revert to the author upon publication.

Contest Guidelines:

The entry fee is $40 CDN, and includes a one-year Canadian subscription of Arc*.

For submissions received via Submittable, the contest entry fee must be paid through this platform. 

If the submission fee is prohibitive to your entry in this contest, we are offering a select number of free entries. These free entries are meant to open the contest up to those who need financial assistance, but we will not be giving free entries a one-year subscription to the magazine. For more information please send queries to poty@arcpoetry.ca.

*or two issues to US entrants, or one issue to overseas entrants. Entrants who are currently subscribers may pass along their contest subscription or complimentary issues to a friend. Please include the name and address to which the contest subscription is destined.

Rules:

• Arc welcomes Poem of the Year entries from Canada, the United States, and around the world. Entrants outside Canada must submit entry fees in Canadian funds.
• Entrants may submit up to three unpublished poems with each $40 fee before the Early Bird Deadline on December 31, 2025 (extra poems: $5 per poem).
• The length of an individual poem must not exceed 100 lines.
• Entrant’s name, address, e-mail and phone number must not appear in the document with the poem.
• Entrants’ information is concealed during deliberations.
• No entrants (including winners, honourable mentions, or authors of shortlisted poems) may substitute, before, during, or after judging, a revision of any poem already submitted to the contest.
• No poems will be returned.

Response Timeline: Submissions will be read by Arc’s editorial board after the contest deadline, and a shortlist will be announced on Arc's website in April 2026. Please do not contact us before the end of April to query about the status of your submission.  

Shortlist: A shortlist of 10 to 12 poems, selected by Arc’s editorial board, will be eligible for the Readers’ Choice Award. Visit us in April to read our shortlist selections and cast your vote!

Publication: All shortlisted poems will receive paid publication in an upcoming issue of Arc and on the Arc website.

Eligibility: Poems published elsewhere (including excerpts and revised versions) are not eligible for consideration. Should the Arc editorial board discover grounds for disqualification at any point during the judging process (including shortlisting and final judging), the poem will immediately be considered ineligible for the contest. The entry fee will not be refunded, but the poet will still receive the subscription to Arc Poetry Magazine.

Privacy Notice: Unless you indicate otherwise, Arc may share addresses of entrants to the 2026 Poem of the Year Contest with similar literary magazines or related organizations for promotional purposes.