Youth Art & Poetry Contest

Express yourself in the form of poetry and art!

All qualified poems will be judged separately in each grade level category and language (English and Spanish entries accepted). Categories include grades: 2-5, 6-8, and 9-12. All poems will be judged on originality, creativity, clarity, and spelling. Three winners from each category and in each language will be selected.

Your artwork could be on the cover of our official poetry anthology! All qualified art will be judged separately in the following grade categories: 2-5, 6-8, 9-12. One overall winner will appear on the cover of the official anthology, and 3 finalists in each grade category will appear within the anthology.

Winners will receive a prize and selected poems and artwork will be published in the official Youth Art & Poetry Anthology. All winners and finalists will be notified in April of 2024.

• All poets and/or artists must be in grades 2-12.
• The deadline for submitting poems and artwork is Saturday, March 30, 2024.  
• Entries will not be returned.
• The participant’s information must be complete.  All incomplete forms will be disqualified.
• Please include your name and grade on your file name attachment.
• Poems may be submitted online or at any open El Paso Public Library location. No late entries will be accepted.
• Poems must be the writer’s own work and written in either English or Spanish. Plagiarized poems or songs will be disqualified. No chat GPT or AI-assisted/written poems will be accepted.
• Poems must not exceed 20 lines.
• Handwritten entries must be legible. If judges cannot read the poet’s handwriting, the poem will be disqualified.
• Artwork must be the artist’s own work and be an original concept that is not a copy of anyone else’s copyrighted material. If your image infringes upon another’s copyright, it will be disqualified. No AI-generated images or artwork will be accepted.
• Any drawing or painting medium, including pencils, watercolors, crayons, and acrylics may be used. Non-reflective sturdy paper such as cardstock or watercolor paper is preferred, or you may submit a scan of your artwork, provided it is scanned at 300dpi or higher. Any graphic design software may be used. Digital submissions are best represented at 1200px on the longest side. Acceptable file formats: JPG or PDF.     
• Artwork should be vertical (portrait) orientation.