The application period for the 2025 Stanislaus County Youth Poet Laureate contest is now open; contest runs through Monday, March 3, 2025.
RULES
The application packets consists of 4 items: (1) The application, (2) a Word or PDF file containing original poems, (3) a video of yourself explaining why you want to be Youth Poet Laureate and reading one or more of your poems (not more than 5 minutes total, and (4) a letter of recommendation from a community member/teacher who is familiar with you and your work as a student/poet/volunteer.
APPLICATION:
● Tell us all about yourself here. Part A consists of your personal info as well as a bio/artist statement .
● For the bio/artist statement, describe why you want to be a Youth Poet Laureate. Who are you, where do you live, what do you write? What or who inspired you to write poetry? What topics do you love writing about? What issues do you care about? Where can we find your writing online? Do you have a website, blog, or social media presence? Share those with us. (GoTeenWriters has a great page on how to write a bio when you haven’t published much yet.)
● For Part B, please tell us about your achievements! How have you been recognized at school, in your church, in community organizations? In what other literary events or activities have you participated? This is where you can make a list of awards/honors, activism or community organizations, and literary achievements and participation.
POEMS:
● Please attach a Word or PDF doc with a sample of your poems: at least 3 but not more than 5.
● Poems may be in any style or form.
● Poems must be the original creative work of the poet. Plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification from this and all future Youth Poet Laureate opportunities.
● All poems must be typed. Single or double spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman preferred unless the poem’s form dictates the format (example: blackout poetry, erasures, visual poetry, spoken word, etc.)
● No gratuitous violence or sexual content. No hate speech. No slander.
LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION:
Ask a teacher or other adult who knows your work to write this letter–the sooner the better. If you need extra time for this part, let us know–email us at ypl@mostpoetry.org.
VIDEO:
Make a video of yourself–using your phone is fine! In the video, introduce yourself and tell us why you’re seeking the laureateship and what you would do with the platform. In addition, read us a few poems. The video should be no longer than 5 minutes long. Please share the video with ypl@mostpoetry.org in whatever way works best for you–email attachment, link to YouTube or iCloud, etc. If you need help with that, please email us at ypl@mostpoetry.org.
Submission Dates:
The contest deadline is March 3, 2025. DOWNLOAD PDF APPLICATION