BEALS PRIZE FOR POETRY

Beals Prize for Poetry
Call For Entries

Submission deadline: Friday, August 14, 2026

Prize money: $250 first / $100 second / $50 third

Competition rules:

Contestants must reside in Massachusetts or in the
New Hampshire towns within 20 miles of Winchendon
You may submit only one poem
Only original, unpublished poems will be accepted
Submissions must be emailed to:Bealspoetryprize@gmail.com (word docs preferred)
Notification of entry will be sent via email
Ten finalists will be chosen to compete for the prize money on Thursday, September 24, 2026 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.
All submissions are judged blindly.

Submission deadline: Friday, August 16,2026

Competition rules:

Contestants must live in Massachusetts or in one of the New Hampshire towns listed :Keene, Swanzey, Richmond, Fitzwilliam, Troy, Marlborough, Dublin, Peterborough, Jaffrey, Rindge, New Ipswich, Greenville, and Sharon.
You may submit only one poem
Only original, unpublished poems will be accepted
Submissions must be emailed to Bealspoetryprize@gmail.com (word docs preferred)
Notification of entry will be sent via email
All entries will be judged blindly, meaning that the judges will not know who the poet is.
Previous Beals Prize first place winners are not eligible to participate.
Immediate family members of Beals Library staff are not eligible to participate.
Submitters should be at least 18 years of age.
There is no theme to the competition.
Competition finalists will be notified on or before Friday, September 11.

Submission Information:

In the body of the email put the following:
- Your Name
- Contact Information (email preferred)
- Address
Email Attachment:
- Poem Title
- Poem Itself