Expert Overview

Kenyon Review poetry prize for high school sophomores and juniors, from the Kenyon College literary journal published since 1939. Students submit one unpublished poem in November, with no fee. The winner receives a full scholarship to a Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop, and the winner and runners-up are published in the journal.

Format

Individual

Judging Format

Jurors

Monetary

Opportunity

Grade Eligibility

Rising Sophomores, Juniors

Geographic Eligibility

US, International

Discipline

PoetryCreative Writing

Entries

1,500

Percent Awarded

<1%

Important Dates

Submissions Open

November 1, 2026

Submission Deadline

November 30, 2026

Passed

Open

Approaching: < 1 mo.

Priority: < 2 weeks

Urgent: < 1 week

Registration Cost

No entry fee

About

Entrants submit a single unpublished poem through the magazine’s online portal, and the poem may not be under consideration elsewhere. The submission window runs from November 1 to November 30. A published poet judges, and winners are announced the following March. The winner’s scholarship covers a Young Writers workshop, residential, online, or winter; the residential program meets for two weeks on the Kenyon campus in Gambier, Ohio. The page lists no cash prize. Students in other grades enter the Kenyon Review Poetry Contest instead.

Free entry, publication in one of the country’s most respected literary journals, and a funded place in one of its most respected high school writing programs together make this among the strongest credentials available to a high school poet. Only one student receives the scholarship.

A win places a student’s poem in the Kenyon Review and in its workshop community -- one of the most respected lit mags and high school workshops in the country.