We’ve just wrapped up our fourth annual Poetry Awards Contest, and we’re so excited to announce the winner for 2024!
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. I might never have become a writer or founded TCK Publishing without that contest.
I hope the TCK Publishing Poetry Awards contest can inspire and support other writers to pursue their dreams regardless of age, background, or nationality. In addition to the recognition from this contest, the Grand Prize winner will also receive a $1,000 honorarium.
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 keyboard 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.
This year we had a remarkably talented pool of several hundred writers with so many outstanding poems to choose from. While it is always a challenge to choose just one winner, we couldn’t be happier with the excellent submissions we received.
2024 Poetry Awards Grand Prize Winner
We’re pleased to announce that the Grand Prize winner of the 2024 TCK Publishing Poetry Awards is…
Lyz Kelley
and below is their winning poem:
Embrace Your Extraordinary
In a world of labels, tags, and lines,
Where conformity beckons, where judgment defines,
There’s a whisper within, a voice pure and true,
Calling you to break free, to embrace what’s new.
Ignore the boxes, the molds they create,
For you are a masterpiece, not a template.
Shun the echoes of expectations, be bold,
Forge your own path, let your story unfold.
In life’s sprawling narrative, chart your own course,
Splash your brilliant colors where light has no source.
Embrace the quirks, the flaws, the scars,
For they make you unique, they raise you among stars.
Listen to the rhythm of your own beating heart,
It knows the way, it’s been there from the start.
Embrace the journey, the twists, the turns,
For in the dance of life, your spirit burns.
Rise above the noise, the clamor, the crowd,
Stand tall and proud, let your voice resound.
For you are more than society’s gaze,
You are the sunrise, the dawn’s first blaze.
So let the world label, let them try to define,
For you are your own story, your own brilliant shine.
Forge your own path, become who you’re meant to be,
In the garden of life, bloom wildly and free.
Honorable Mentions
We had so many amazing submissions. Below, we’re proud to announce the Honorable Mentions for 2024:
Tell Me a Story
By Karen Rigley
Symbol of Love
By William Pell
Laughter
By Jacque Fryday
Poem About Socks
By V.K. Munn
What’s Next
The 2025 TCK Publishing Poetry Awards Contest is now open for early 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.
