Ekphrastic Poetry Contest 🎨🖌️
Ends on
Deadline
June 1, 2026
Prize
One winner receives $200, a featured publication in a print issue, a uniquely designed physical and digital broadside of their poem, publicity on our social media channels, free contributor copies, and an optional interview.
Check out our past contest winners!
Judging
This contest will be judged by the Bicoastal Review staff and Editor in Chief.
What Is Ekphrastic Poetry?
Ekphrastic poetry is inspired by existing works of art. For this contest, we're looking for poetry that is inspired by, in conversation with, critiquing, or responding to any poem that we have published in any of our past issues (free to read online at www.bicoastalreview.com/issues). Your poem might provide a new perspective, interpretation, or continuation of the other writer's themes, imagery, or language. Be as creative as you want!
Guidelines
- Please submit one previously unpublished poem of any length, style, or form. You can submit up to 10 times - one poem per submission. We prefer .doc or .docx files.
- Your poem must be inspired by or written in response to one piece of writing or work of art previously published in Bicoastal Review. Please indicate the title of that poem or work of art and the BR issue it appeared in—you will be disqualified if this is not included. Include a few sentences about how your poem relates to the other work.
- Please do not include any of your identifying information (name, email) on the document file itself.
- Anyone from anywhere in the world can submit, though our journal tends to gravitate toward topics relevant to the U.S. West Coast/East Coast. Writing must be in English. American spelling preferred. Including words from other languages is fine.
- While not mandatory, we will ask the winner to record their poem as an audio file. Audio files help us expand the accessibility of poetry to anyone who prefers to listen to works. Find examples in our digital issues.
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted as long as we are made aware of acceptance elsewhere - you can simply withdraw via Submittable. (Publishing in your own books or blog is fine.)
- If you win the contest, please respond promptly via email or Submittable (within a week or two) or we may defer to other poems. The winner will have time to make minor revisions if desired. We reserve the right to reject revisions/submissions at any time, or to get a new opinion from the judge if revisions are significant.
- Your submission should not infringe upon copyright or third-party rights. Writing must be original and not plagiarized nor submitted without proper citations – including quotes, borrowed lines, etc.
- Bicoastal Review does not accept works created with the use of AI.
- Bicoastal Review abides by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses' code of ethics.
We may charge a reading fee, as our journal is unaffiliated with a university, is free to read online, and we pay judges an honorarium. If the posted fee presents an economic burden, email us at theeditors@bicoastalreview.com.
Thank you! We can't wait to read your poems💙
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