Lyrical Iowa Competition

A project of The Iowa Poetry Association

About

Since its founding in 1945, the Iowa Poetry Association (IPA)'s Lyrical Iowa Competition is an annual series of poetry contests for adults and students that is free and open to IPA members as well as non-members with residence in Iowa. Winning and high-ranking poems will be published in IPA’s anthology, Lyrical Iowa.
Selections are made anonymously by out-of-state expert judges. Modest cash prizes are available for top-ranked winners. Prestigious Pushcart Prize nominations are also selected.

No Fees! This contest does not charge mandatory fees.

Important: Some contests have different length requirements.

Limited Demographic: Submissions are restricted to Iowa residents.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 1945

Publication Medium & Contest Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication: Awarded 1 x per year

AI Policy

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Poetry Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 January 2027* (approx. 115 days from now) through 28 February 2027.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Adults, Children, Middle grades, Young adults, People in a specific region.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: Up to 20 lines; Up to 5 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms, including: Ghazal, Haiku (or related), Lyric poetry, Pantoum, Sonnet, Villanelle.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Humorous, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Place/Regions: Specific region.
Society/Culture: Current events.
Other: See guidelines.

Winner's Prize:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Professional payment. Details: USD $50-$100 for first place, depending on the specific award.

Submissions:

Methods: Email. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Multiple entries: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

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Lyrical Iowa Competition Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

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Accuracy

We have received 1 report within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 31 May 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 25 Feb 2026.
Date compiled: 07 Sep 2026 19:21 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 25 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.