TWFest POETRY Contest 2026-2027

We are proud to announce that our 2026-2027 Poetry Contest is sponsored by Duotrope!

The 2026-2027 TWFest Poetry Judge is Gina Ferrara.

Gina Ferrara is the current Poet Laureate of Louisiana. Her poetry has recently appeared or is forthcoming in The Southern Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, The Gyroscope Review, and Italian Americana. Since 2007, she has curated The Poetry Buffet, a monthly reading series in New Orleans. Her sixth collection, The Rooted and Recurrent, is forthcoming from ULL Press. She teaches at Delgado Community College.

Grand Prize

• $1,000
• VIP All-Access Pass ($600 value) for the next Festival
• Public reading at the next Festival
• Publication in French Quarter Journal
• Photo and bio on our website for approximately one year
• Interview feature in our newsletter and social media pages
• Two-year Duotrope Gift Certificate ($100 value)

Finalists 

The top finalists will receive a LitPass ($100 value) to the Festival. Their photos and bios will be published on our website, in our newsletter, and our social media pages. 

 Eligibility

• This contest is open only to emerging writers who have not yet published a book of poetry. Published books include self-published books, chap books, or any book with an ISBN. Those who have published books in other genres besides poetry remain eligible.
• Only previously unpublished poems will be accepted.
• Poems submitted to this contest in previous years that did not place are eligible.
• Poems that have won and/or placed in any other writing contest are ineligible.
• Students and faculty of the University of New Orleans Film & Theatre Arts Graduate Program and Creative Writing Workshop are ineligible.
• Unlimited entries allowed. One collection per submission. 
• Simultaneous submissions accepted; please notify the Festival if a poem or collection is accepted elsewhere.

 Guidelines 

• Submit a collection of 2-4 original, unpublished poems of any style or theme, written in English, with a combined length of up to 400 lines.
• The author’s name must not appear on the collection or in the file name.
• Pages must be numbered.
• Please use a standard font, either Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia in 12 point font size.
• Do not use bold or italics unless necessary.
• Give a unique title to the collection of your submission, as well as a title for each individual poem. 
• Please do not include professional resumes or biographies with your entry. Entries are judged anonymously; the judges only consider manuscript quality.
• Please take the judges of the contest into consideration. If you know the judges personally, or have ever attended classes or workshops they instructed, please send manuscripts that the judges would not have seen before.
• Content is not limited to Tennessee Williams or New Orleans-related themes.
• Include a total line count for the collection on the first page.
• Revisions or edits will not be accepted once submitted for judging. 

Failure to follow these guidelines may result in entry disqualification.