And the Winners are…

Catholic Literary Arts announces the winners of the 2023 Archdiocesan Middle School Sacred Poetry Contest.

Sixth Grade: First Place Co-Winners: Eden Moore, St. Rose of Lima, and Sonja Trimarchi, St. Jerome

Sixth Grade: Second Place Winner: Joshua Jose,  St. Vincent de Paul

Sixth Grade: Third Place Winner: Andrew Landreneau, St. Ambrose

Sixth Grade: Honorable Mention: Jon Carroll, St. Vincent de Paul

Sixth Grade: Honorable Mention: Jacqueline Lundy, St. Laurence-Sugar Land

Seventh Grade: First Place Winner: Halley Abdulahad, St. Helen

Seventh Grade: Second Place Winner: Nikita Dementyev, St. Theresa-Sugar Land

Seventh Grade: Third Place Co-Winners: Danny Vu, St. Laurence-Sugar Land; Anahi Garcia, Resurrection Catholic School; Kristen McCain, Epiphany Catholic School

Eighth Grade:  First Place Winner: Samantha Court, St. Theresa Catholic School-Sugar Land

Eighth Grade:  Second Place Winner: Abigail Phalen, St. Theresa Catholic School-Sugar Land

Eighth Grade:  Third Place Winner: Jayden Guerrero, St. Francis de Sales

Eighth Grade: Honorable Mention: Katherine Lojo, St. Laurence-Sugar Land

Eighth Grade: Honorable Mention: William Chiasson, St. Theresa-Houston

Join us in celebrating these young winners, their families, principals, and teachers at a reading at the University of St. Thomas, April 19, 2023, 8:30 a.m. Jones Auditorium.  

From the first-place winners, a poet laureate will be named.

The reception is free, but please R.S.V.P. to help us plan the reception afterwards.

R.S.V.P. is required through Eventbrite.

Contest Information

Goal:

The goal of the Archdiocesan Middle School Sacred Poetry Contest is to inspire students in the Archdiocesan-affiliated schools to write about spiritual topics, to increase writing skills, and to increase writing confidence.

Eligibility:

The Archdiocesan Middle School Poetry Contest is only open to students enrolled in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade in a school affiliated with the Catholic Schools Office in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

Students who are Catholic home-schoolers or are enrolled in independent Catholic schools in the Houston area are only eligible to enter the LUX Contest. Please go to this page for details of the 2023 LUX Contest.

Prizes:

• First, second, and third-place winners will be selected from each grade: sixth, seventh, and eighth.

• All first through third-place winners in each grade will have their poems published in a Catholic Literary Arts Anthology and receive a paid full-tuition scholarship to attend Catholic Literary Arts’ Fearless Catholic Summer Writing Camp on June 12-16, 2023.

• From the first-place winners in each grade: sixth, seventh, and eighth, one poet laureate will be chosen for the Archdiocesan Catholic schools. 

• Only first-place winners are eligible for consideration for the poet laureate designation. The first-place poems from each grade level will be published on the Catholic Literary Arts website.

• First Prize Poet Laureate wins:

  • A $500 Cash Prize

  • A full Scholarship to Catholic Literary Arts’ Fearless Catholic Summer Writing Camp, June 12-16, 2023.

Theme:

For the 2023 Archdiocesan Middle School Poetry Contest, students will write a poem related to the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary:

• Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan

• The Wedding at Cana

• The Proclamation of the Kingdom

• The Transfiguration

• The Institution of the Eucharist.

 Guidelines:

• Each student may submit one poem.

• Each poem should be a maximum of 32 lines; the title and stanza breaks do not count as lines.

• Poems must be typed with a Times New Roman or Arial 12-point font. We regret that we are unable to accept handwritten pages.

• Form: all forms and free verse are accepted.

• The name of the author cannot appear on the poem/s. However, the author's name must appear in the submission form when the poem is submitted along with all other requested information.

• All poems must be original, unpublished in print, unpublished on the web or in limited edition books.

• Simultaneous submissions are not allowed. This means that if your poem is submitted to this contest, it cannot be submitted to other contests or for publication in journals, magazines, newspapers, or online while we are considering it for this contest.

• Entry Fee: $50 per participating school.

• All submissions are handled through Submittable.

• IF this contest does not have 50 entries by February 28, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. CST, then it will be regrettably cancelled for this year. Thank you for your understanding.

Timeline:

• Contest Period: January 1 to March 15, 2023. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. CST on March 15th.

• Announcement of Winners: On March 31, 2023, by 11:59 p.m. CST. Winners will be announced on www.CatholicLiteraryArts.org

• Contacting Teachers/Parents: On April 3-4 the winners’ teachers and parents will receive an email and/or phone call confirming attendance at the awards ceremony.

• Awards Ceremony: Winners will be invited to read their entries at the Awards Ceremony in-person with their families, school principals, and submitting teachers. The Awards Ceremony will take place at the University of Saint Thomas in Jones Auditorium on April 19, 2023, beginning at 8:30 am CST.

Submission of Poems:

Submission is a three-step process and is completed by a person authorized to act on behalf of the school, such as an instructional specialist or a teacher. Watch a short video of how to submit poems and payments.

If you have more than one entrant, please use this batch submission form.

• Step One: Register

  • Fill out the Payment Form for your school. All blanks must be completed. We need this Form to properly credit your school’s payment for the entry fee.

  • After completing this Payment Form, click REGISTER.

• Step Two: Payment

  • Click the BUY  NOW button to pay for your school’s entry.

• Step Three: Submit Entry

  • Click SUBMIT ENTRY TO SUBMITTABLE and you will be taken to the Submittable website to submit your entry/entries.

Step One: Register

Step Two: Payment

Step Three: Submit Entry