Announcing the winners of the Inaugural Poem Contest and NPM Poster Contest

In the fall of 2020, the Academy of American Poets, the originator and organizer of National Poetry Month, invited students in grades 9 through 12 to enter artwork to be considered for the official April 2021 National Poetry Month poster. We are pleased to announce that twelfth grader Bao Lu from Brooklyn, New York, has been named the winner of the 2021 National Poetry Month Poster Contest. Lu’s artwork was selected by renowned illustrator Maira Kalman and New York Times-bestselling YA author and poet Renée Watson from among eleven outstanding finalists and more than 145 student submissions.

The 2021 poster, which will help commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of National Poetry Month, will be sent to 100,000 libraries, schools, bookstores, and community centers nationwide, will be made available to download for free on Poets.org, and will be featured on the cover of American Poets. Thank you to all teachers and students who participated.