Announcing the Judges of the 2022 National Poetry Month Poster Contest for Students

The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce that Rafael López, New York Times-bestselling illustrator and artist, and Nikki Grimes, New York Times-bestselling author and poet and recipient of the 2020 ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, will judge the 2022 National Poetry Month Poster Contest for Students. 

One student’s winning artwork, which will incorporate a line from Amanda Gorman’s poem, “In This Place (An American Lyric)”, will be featured on the official National Poetry Month poster in 2022. The Academy will distribute 100,000+ free copies of the poster to classrooms, libraries, bookstores, community centers, families, and individuals nationwide in time for the April celebration. The winning student will receive $1,000 in cash and prizes and be featured in American Poets magazine and on Poets.org, which reaches millions of readers each year. The judges will also select a runner-up to receive Honorable Mention and a $250 cash prize. 

Submissions are open from September 29 to November 15, 2021. Students living in the United States, U.S. Territories, or Tribal Nations and enrolled in grades 9 through 12 during the 2021–2022 academic year are eligible to submit. The winner will be announced in January 2022.

For more information about the contest, including the full guidelines, visit: https://poets.org/national-poetry-month/national-poetry-month-poster-contest-students