Beginning in 2022, the BYU Studies writing contests are open to all serious writers except employees of BYU Studies, their immediate families, and members of the Editorial Board.
Authors who receive an award are not eligible to compete in that category for the next two years but may enter the other category.
All entries must be received by email or postmarked on or before January 31, 2022.
Prizes will be awarded as follows for both the poetry and essay contests in the following amounts:
First Place: $200
Second Place: $150
Third Place: $100
Honorable Mention: $50
First Place: $300
Second Place: $200
Third Place: $100
Honorable Mention: $50
Entries should be accompanied by a cover page that includes:
Submissions without the requested cover page and information will be rejected unread.
Entering a contest indicates that you agree to give BYU Studies the right of first refusal to publish your poem or essay. We do not accept work that has been published or is under consideration elsewhere, that has previously won any award from another contest, or that may be the property of another publisher. Do not simultaneously submit your poem or essay to our contests and to any other periodical or writing contest. Authors may not submit contest entries for consideration to any other contest or publication until BYU Studies contest results are announced. In most cases, poems and essays published in BYUSQ are chosen from contest entries.
Neither the name of the author nor any other identifying information should appear in the poems or essays themselves, including document headers and footers.
Please use a plain font, and do not include photographs or other graphics as part of your poem or essay. You may indicate in the submission form if you have appropriate graphics to add to your entry in the event that it is chosen for publication.
Poets may submit up to three poems for consideration. For publication formatting reasons, poems should not exceed thirty-five lines, not including the title but including lines between stanzas.
A wide variety of subject matter is encouraged. Religious themes are welcome, but not required.
Please call the BYU Studies staff at (801) 422-6691 or send us an email: submissions@byu.edu.