International Youth Poetry Competition
Carminis
of the poem · of the song · of the verse
A seasonal poetry prize for high school students — held four times a year. Bold, original, finely crafted. Rigorous judging. Meaningful prizes. A permanent record of achievement.
Open to High School Students · Free Entry
About
carmen, carminis — n. poem, song, verse
Where Young Voices
Earn Their Laurel
Per Year
Lines Max per Poem
No Entry Fee
Carminis — from the Latin carmen, meaning poem, song, verse — is a seasonal poetry prize for high school students, held four times a year. It aims to recognize young poetic voices and celebrate work that is bold, original, and finely crafted.
The competition is open exclusively to high school students. Submissions may be entered into designated categories, and each submitter may send up to 3 poems per category. Each poem must not exceed 70 lines.
Writers may also include an optional description of up to 80 words with each submission. This description will be shared with readers where applicable, but it will not affect the judging process or final decisions.
Award-winning poems and selected works will be published on the Carminis website, which serves as a space to showcase and archive exceptional student poetry.
View Competition Details"Poetry is not a minor art form; it is the crucible of human language."
— Margaret Atwood
Open to high school students worldwide. Poems must be original and unpublished. Up to 3 poems per category. No entry fee.
2026 Spring Edition
Categories,
Rules & Prizes
Carminis is a seasonal poetry prize held four times a year, exclusively for high school students. Each cycle features four themed categories — submit up to three poems per category, each no longer than 70 lines.
2026 Spring Categories
A Place That No Longer Exists
For poems that take us to places that no longer exist — a physical ruin, a lush kingdom buried in ash, a place whose traces still cover your soul. A place you cannot revisit not because it is gone, but because someone else is. Or a palimpsest, where beneath the neat scene of the present, another world still flickers.
Explosions
For poems that capture the moment everything changes. Whether it is the detonation of a heart or the crumbling of old structures — the burst of light in darkness, the sudden crack that splits the sky. Send us your revolutions, both personal and public: the fireworks, the uprisings, the glass shattering on the floor.
Reverie
For poems that drift into trance, dream, and longing. In those moments when the mind slips into the clouds, into a haze, into a realm just beyond the ordinary — how do you convey that ecstatic blur, that delirious restlessness? We invite you to enter the fog and document experiences of rapture, nostalgia, and escapism.
DIY
A category for poems that make themselves — poems that build, break, repurpose, and reconstruct. Send us work that is handmade in the deepest sense: assembled from scraps, stitched from contradiction, forged in the act of making itself.
Rules & Guidelines
Eligibility
Open exclusively to high school students worldwide.
Submissions
Up to 3 poems per category. Each poem must not exceed 70 lines.
Description
An optional description of up to 80 words may accompany each poem. It will be shared with readers but will not affect judging.
Awards
1–3 overall prizes, one category prize per category, and a number of Selective Works recognizing outstanding submissions.
Publication
Award-winning poems and selected works will be published on the Carminis website.
Entry Fee
Free. There is no entry fee.
Key Dates
Organizing Committee
The People
Behind
Carminis
Carminis is organized by a team of student editors and literary enthusiasts who believe in the power of young voices in poetry.
Emily Xu
Organizer
Rachel
Organizer
Lakiesha Zhao
Organizer
Yaoyao
Organizer
Sophia
Organizer
Submit Your Work
Enter
Carminis
2025
We welcome poems of all forms and styles. Our judges look for originality, emotional depth, and command of language. There is no entry fee.
Submission Guidelines
- 01Open exclusively to high school students worldwide
- 02Up to 3 poems per category (one submission file per category)
- 03Each poem must not exceed 70 lines
- 04Optional: include a description of up to 80 words per poem
- 05Submit as PDF or DOCX; include your name on the document
- 06Free entry — no submission fee required
Winners & Selected Works
Carminis 2026
Award-winning poems
will be published here.
Inaugural Edition · Spring 2026
This is the inaugural edition of Carminis. Winners and selected works will be announced following the judging period and published on this page for permanent archiving.
Award Structure
Overall Prize
1–3 awardedThe highest recognition in Carminis. Awarded to the most outstanding poems across all categories.
Category Prize
1 per categoryOne prize awarded per themed category, recognizing the strongest voice within each prompt.
Selective Works
VariableA curated selection of outstanding submissions recognized by the judges beyond the prize winners.