The Ontario Poetry Society
~ The Once Upon My Time Poetry Contest ~
~ The Once Upon My Time Poetry Contest ~
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The Ontario Poetry Society Presents:
The Once Upon My Time Poetry Contest
Open to Paid Members Only
Awards
1st Prize: One Year Free Membership , 14 Honourable Mention Awards
All contest winners receive an award certificate and a chapbook with the winning poems.
Subject Guidelines:
All themes and styles welcome. Poems must be unpublished and not sent elsewhere.
Poems need to be about your childhood. You may write a poem about a significant incident, or a situation encountered over several years, about being a latchkey child, a favourite childhood toy or pet, or a school experience, field trip, favourite teacher, being an older or younger sibling, being bullied, getting lost, a fear you once had, or something that amazed or inspired you.
Submission Rules:
Submit up to 5 poems no longer than 28 lines each on 8.5 x 11" paper, single spaced in Arial 12 font. Poem titles are not counted as lines but stanza spaces are. Up to 40 characters per line, including all punctuation and spaces between the words.
Blind Judging:
No author ID to be anywhere on the same page as the poem, front or back.
Include a cover page with author name, complete mailing address, including apt.# and postal code, tel. number and e-mail if possible and poem titles [or first line(s) if no poem title(s)].
Deadline, Entry Fee:
FREE!! Submissions to be mailed on/or before August 31st, 2026 to
The Ontario Poetry Society, #710 -65 Spring Garden Ave., Toronto, Ont. M2N 6H9
Contest Judge is Blaine Marchand.
The Once Upon My Time Poetry Contest
Open to Paid Members Only
Awards
1st Prize: One Year Free Membership , 14 Honourable Mention Awards
All contest winners receive an award certificate and a chapbook with the winning poems.
Subject Guidelines:
All themes and styles welcome. Poems must be unpublished and not sent elsewhere.
Poems need to be about your childhood. You may write a poem about a significant incident, or a situation encountered over several years, about being a latchkey child, a favourite childhood toy or pet, or a school experience, field trip, favourite teacher, being an older or younger sibling, being bullied, getting lost, a fear you once had, or something that amazed or inspired you.
Submission Rules:
Submit up to 5 poems no longer than 28 lines each on 8.5 x 11" paper, single spaced in Arial 12 font. Poem titles are not counted as lines but stanza spaces are. Up to 40 characters per line, including all punctuation and spaces between the words.
Blind Judging:
No author ID to be anywhere on the same page as the poem, front or back.
Include a cover page with author name, complete mailing address, including apt.# and postal code, tel. number and e-mail if possible and poem titles [or first line(s) if no poem title(s)].
Deadline, Entry Fee:
FREE!! Submissions to be mailed on/or before August 31st, 2026 to
The Ontario Poetry Society, #710 -65 Spring Garden Ave., Toronto, Ont. M2N 6H9
Contest Judge is Blaine Marchand.