The North Branch Area Library encourages young poets from across the area to participate in the annual North Branch Poetry Contest. Children from kindergarten to grade 12 are invited to write and submit a poem based on the “heroes” theme.
To participate in the competition, participants must complete the participation form available at https://ecrlib.org/events/youth-poetry-contest. Registrations are due before 6 p.m. on Friday, April 22. Judging will take place on Saturday April 23 and the winners will be announced on Saturday April 30.
The contest age groups are K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. A grand prize of $25 will be awarded to the best poem in each age group. All entries are eligible to win cash prizes via random drawing.
Friends of the North Branch Area Library sponsors will be hosting a casual drop-in reception from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 30, featuring refreshments and poetry-related activities. Selected winners can collect prizes that day.
A video of participants reading their poems will be created and shared upon receipt of the contest. There are two options to participate in the video:
• Film and record yourself reading your poem, then submit it to us via Dropbox — accessible via a link on our events calendar on ecrlib.org
• Come and attend our filming day on Wednesday, April 13, between 3 pm and 5:30 pm, at the Antenne Nord Library. Staff will be available to record you reading your poem.
Additionally, contest entries will be published in an e-book that will be published via MN Writes – MN Reads and will be submitted to the Indie Author Project collection.
For more details, including an overview of previous years’ competition entries and winners, visit the Youth Poetry Competition page on ecrlib.org.
The North Branch Area Library, a branch of the East Central Regional Library system, is located at 6355 379th St., North Branch, and can be contacted at 651-674-8443. For more information, visit ecrlib.org or follow the library on Facebook and Instagram (@ecrlmn).
