2026 MUSE PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN POETRY
CONTEST RULES
CONTEST OPENS NOVEMBER 1, 2025 – FEBRUARY 1, 2026
1. Contestant must be a Wisconsin resident 18 years of age or older.
2. Only one original unpublished poem not under consideration elsewhere may be entered in the WFOP Muse. “Published” includes any print or electronic presentation except copies of drafts shared with critique groups. Seventy-five line maximum.
3. Prizes are: 1st place - $200.00, 2nd - $100.00, 3rd - $75.00.
4. Contest opens on November 1, 2025. The deadline is February 1, 2026.
5. Send the submission in the body of a single email to 2026wfopmusecontest@gmail.com
The subject line should read: "Muse Contest Entry from (Last name, First name)”. Attachments will not be opened.
The body of your email should include your name, address, email address, phone number, poem title and confirmation of payment of entry fee (see #7, below).
6. Snail mail entries will be accepted from people who have no access to email. Deadline for receipt of snail mail submissions is January 25, 2025 because the poems will have to be retyped into the email file going to the judges. PLEASE DO NOT SEND SNAIL MAIL IF YOU HAVE EMAIL!
Mailing address: Cristina Norcross, Muse Prize Coordinator, Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, P.O. Box 343, Oconomowoc, WI 53066. Include your name, address, phone number, poem title and confirmation of payment of entry fee or a check (see #7, below). Do not send a SASE. Entries will not be returned.
7. There is an entry fee of $4.00 for WFOP members and $8.00 for non-members. The payment may be made on the WFOP website, www.wfop.org/annual-contests Include confirmation of payment in the email with the poem.
Paper checks may be made out to WFOP Literary Fund and mailed to: Cristina Norcross, Muse Prize Coordinator, Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, P.O. Box 343, Oconomowoc, WI 53066.
Payment will be matched to submissions. Submissions without payment will not be judged.
8. You will receive a return email acknowledging that your poems have arrived. There will be no notification if an entry is disqualified for failure to follow any of the above rules.
9. Winners will be notified after April 1, 2026. A list of winners will be published in the WFOP Museletter and posted on www.wfop.org. Winning poems, with the poet’s permission, will be published on the WFOP website. Contest winners will be announced at the annual conference in May 2026, and those who place 1st-3rd will be invited to read their poem.
10. Prizes will be awarded only if there are sufficient entries and the contest judge determines that an entry warrants a prize award.
11. The first-place winner of the Muse Prize will be ineligible to enter for three years.
12. Author retains all rights to their work.