We’ve just wrapped up our third annual Poetry Awards Contest, and we’re so excited to announce the winner for 2023!
Why We Started This Poetry Awards Contest
We decided to host the poetry awards contest as a way to support and empower poetry writers everywhere, regardless of their experience or background. When I won my first poetry awards contest at age 13, it forever changed the course of my life, and I hope that this contest can inspire and support other writers to pursue their dreams regardless of your age, background, or nationality.
You don’t need a creative writing degree or a Pulitzer Prize under your belt to be a poet. Anyone can pick up a pen (or grab their smartphone) and create poetry. That’s why we set out to make this contest as accessible as possible by making it international and maintaining a very low entry fee.
The result this year was a remarkably talented pool of several hundred writers and outstanding poems to choose from. While it was challenging to choose just one winner, we couldn’t be happier with the excellent submissions we received.
2023 Poetry Awards Grand Prize Winner
We’re pleased to announce that the Grand Prize winner of the 2023 TCK Publishing Poetry Awards is…
Heidi Schmidt
and below is their winning poem:
Peace Within
Close your eyes, take a break, find peace within—
Your attitude with gratitude will then begin.
Thankful that the sun rose today
as I got to see the colors in the sky far away.
Thankful for a healthy family, too;
humbled by all they have accomplished and do.
Thankful for me and what I can give back;
continue to help others or those who lack.
Thankful to live another day,
forgiveness and grace found along the way.
Find your happiness, joy and peace within;
each day is a new start to let your life begin.
Honorable Mentions
We had so many amazing submissions. Below, we’re proud to announce the Honorable Mentions for 2023:
I Am
By Sophia Nelson
Wild Woman
By Channie Williams
Peer
By Sophia Valentini
Yours
By Olivia Gittleman
What’s Next
The 2024 TCK Publishing Poetry Awards Contest is now open for submissions.
If you’re interested in more posts about writing contests, then you might also like:
- What to Do After Winning a Writing Contest: 5 Ways to Celebrate Your Win
- How to Enter a Writing Contest: 8 Tips for Success
- List of Short Story Contests
Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of TCK Publishing, and the bestselling author of 27 books including Secrets of the Six-Figure author. He is also the host of the Publishing Profits Podcast show where we interview successful authors and publishing industry experts to share their tips for creating a successful writing career.
Thank you to TCK Publishing and for all your kind words above. I am honored to be this year’s recipient.
Heidi Schmidt
I agree with Kate Burt…there is a time and place for the winner’s poetry, but NOT an international forum!
Poetry changes over the years, but must contain ALL aspects of poetry…the bland and the heart and soul of what makes a poem poetry.
Dr. Glen Swetman taught me well this fact of writing. Not that my poetry was so fantastic, but it did contain what did matter to touch readers everywhere.
Congratulations all who entered this contest. Let’s hope for a better judge in 2024.
I have entered a number of poetry competitions in the past, only to find that the winning poems are so convoluted and ‘cleva’ rather than with any sense of warmth or feeling, I have almost give up as no one reads poetry to be confusticated by none rhyming nonsense…
So heartfelt congrats to Heidi, but mostly to yourselves for rising above the slurry of emotionally starved grey matter and acknowledging warmth and feeling over belly button gazing angst.
Congratulations to Heidi. A very pleasant melodic poem.
Delighted to see winning content about something as important as the God-potential of the inner self.
Congrats to Heidi and TCK.
Please do publish my name too as I too participated in this:)