~ The Ellen S. Jaffe Humanist Award for Poetry, 2026 ~
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The Ontario Poetry Society Presents a Chapbook Contest Honouring
The Ellen S. Jaffe Humanist Award for Poetry, 2026
$300 First Place, $200 Second Place, $100 Third Place
plus up to 5 Honourable Mention Awards
Contest held every second year - next contest: 2026
Open to Everyone in Canada and the U.S.A.
The top three winning suites will be published together in a single Chapbook publication
All 3 three top winners receive 10 copies each & an Award Certificate
Honourable Mention winners receive an Award Certificate
All winners receive signed copies of Ellen's Book, Skinny-Dipping with the Muse,
Guernica Editions, 2014
Money prizes paid in Canadian Dollars
All winners to read their sequences at a TOPS Ellen S. Jaffe Tribute Reading
Rules & Guidelines
Accepting a suite of 10 poems: no fewer, no more
on one of (or a combination of) the following humanist themes of family, community,
traditions and customs, social issues, peace and the effects of war,
climate change, ecological issues or the healing power of poetry.
No lewdness, no foul language & no heavy slant on religion.
Free verse poems preferred.
Each poem to be a maximum length
of 32 lines
and the stanza spaces count as lines.
Line width should be up to 55 characters and word spaces.
Poems must be unpublished and not sent elsewhere.
Poems to be printed on one side of 81/2 x 11 plain white paper.
Arial 11 Font size.
Do not attach any pictures or artwork or biographical information.
Blind Judging: No author ID to be anywhere on the poem pages.
Include a cover page with Author name, mailing address, telephone #
& e-mail as well as the poem titles.
Entry fee: $20 for the first submission
and $10 for each additional submission
There is no limit to the number of submissions per entrant.
Manuscripts are not returned unless a larger envelope
is enclosed with sufficient postage.
Entries to be postmarked on or before March 15, 2026
Include a #10 s.a.s.e. for the winners list and $2 in coupons
to spend on another contest sponsored by The Ontario Poetry Society.
Contest entries to be submitted through Canada Post.
No electronic submissions accepted.
Send entries to:
The Ontario Poetry Society
#710 - 65 Spring Garden Ave.
Toronto, ON
M2N 6H9
Contest Judge is Keith Garebian