Unlock Your Writing Potential: Students in Our Writing Competition Preparation Class Are More Likely to Secure Awards
What is the Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize?
Established in 2007, the Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers is among the most prestigious awards for high school students, and its purpose is to celebrate the remarkable talent of high school students with a passion for poetry. The competition is sponsored by The Kenyon Review and is named in honor of Patricia Grodd, who supported The Kenyon Review and its various programs, as well as her unwavering dedication to education and profound affection for the art of poetry.
In addition to the Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize, the Kenyon Review also hosts the Kenyon Review Poetry Contest for Aspiring Poets for anyone around the world.
Who can participate in the Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize?
The competition is open to high school sophomores and juniors (grades 10 and 11 in the U.S. or international equivalents).
The poems of the winner and runners-up will be published in The Kenyon Review, and the winner will receive a full scholarship to a Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop.
Winners will be announced in March 2026 via email, on The Kenyon Review website, and in the March 2026 Kenyon Review newsletter.
How to Submit Your Poem
Before submitting your poem, make sure that your work follows the rules and guidelines of the competition:
Submission Link: Submittable
Submission Details: Each entrant may submit only one poem. The poem must be original and unpublished (including on personal blogs or social media).
Cost: Free
Deadline: November 1 to November 30, 2025 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time
Submission Format: Submit your poem in one of the following formats – PDF, Word document (.doc or .docx), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Microsoft Wordpad and Notepad, Apple TextEdit (.txt).
Selection Process and Prizes
The judging process is rigorous and conducted by the editors of The Kenyon Review, along with a guest judge. This year’s final judge is Krysten Hill.
Krysten Hill is a poet and educator whose chapbook How Her Spirit Got Out (2016) won the 2017 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, and she has received awards including the 2016 St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award and a 2020 Mass Cultural Council Poetry Fellowship. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she currently teaches.
90% of Aralia Students Win Awards in Poetry Contests
Tips for Crafting a Winning Poem
The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers is a competitive contest attracting various aspiring poets nationwide. Below are some tips we have compiled to help you stand out in the contest:
Be creative but authentic to your true self: Since there’s no limit to what kind of topics, forms, or styles of poetry you can write, we recommend that you explore ideas and themes that genuinely resonate with you, your personal experience, and your emotions to best connect with readers.
But, don’t forget to be experimental: A significant part of winning poems is their willingness to think outside the box. This doesn’t mean you must completely change your writing style, but play with structure, rhythm, and language to communicate your story.
Always ask for feedback: Great poems rarely come to life from the first draft. Mentors, teachers, and peers are great resources for feedback and new perspectives.
Seek inspiration: Being in the creative field means that you will likely feel stuck at one point or another when writing your poems. A great way that Aralia writers feel inspired is to look for new poems with diverse styles and techniques for inspiration.
The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers is a remarkable platform for high school poets to shine. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just beginning to explore poetry, this competition offers a chance to challenge yourself, gain recognition, and connect with the literary world.
Creative Writing with Aralia
Aralia Education helps students brainstorm, edit, and curate their poetry collections for submission to the Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers. We are an innovative online education platform with a track record of helping students succeed in and out of the classroom. Our team of instructors from top-ranking US high schools propels students forward by building stronger foundations in traditional school subjects and crafting exceptional applications for extracurricular competitions.
Introduction to Creative Writing
This course will focus on three genres: poetry, fiction, and personal narrative. In each 90-minute session, students will complete creative writing exercises, read, short anchor texts, and write their own original work.
