For those of you who are not familiar with “Broadsides” here is the Wikipedia definition for the term “Broadside (printing)”: “A broadside is a large sheet of paper printed on one side only. Historically, broadsides were posters, announcing events or proclamations, or simply advertisements. Today, broadside printing is done by many smaller printers and publishers as a fine art variant, with poems often being available as broadsides, intended to be framed and hung on the wall.”—Wikipedia

Omnidawn will use a local printer who will use high quality paper, suitable for framing.

Suggested poem length:

Poem should fit on one 8 x 11 page for a broadside. Type size can vary.

Click here to see past winners of Omnidawn’s Single Poem Broadside Contest

The winner of the Omnidawn Single Poem Broadside Poetry Contest wins a cash prize of $1,000, publication of the broadside by Omnidawn, 20 free copies of the broadside, and publication of the winning poem in the Omnidawn newsletter.

Guidelines and recommendations for the Omnidawn Poetry “Single Poem” Broadside Contest:

  1. Omnidawn seeks a wide range of styles, approaches, forms, diversities, and aesthetics to send to the judge (for example: lyric, prose poems, experimental, etc.).
  2. There are no citizenship requirements or limitations. Online submissions are accepted from around the world.
  3. No postal submissions will be accepted. We can only accept submissions via Submittable.
  4. If you submit more than one poem we recommend that you begin each poem at the top of a new page and precede each poem with the words “POEM 1,” “POEM 2,” “POEM 3,” and so on to make it very clear to our editors where one poem ends and another begins.
  5. Poems must be in English, although it is perfectly acceptable to include some text in other languages.
  6. Poem submissions for all contests must be original. If you include quotes from other works in your poem, please be sure they are clearly attributed to the author at the bottom of the poem.
  7. Simultaneous submissions to other contests and multiple submissions to this or other Omnidawn contests are perfectly acceptable. Please notify us if your poem is taken elsewhere.
  8. Poems must be previously unpublished in any form. Therefore, poems that have been previously published in print or online web magazines, journals, or books (including self-published books) are ineligible.
  9. If you include photographs or other graphic images, they must only be created by you. No collages are allowed.
  10. This contest is Identity-Hidden. If you include your name, or identifying information, your submission may be disqualified. You may use a pseudonym, including within a poem as needed, but please indicate that this is one.
  11. Revisions are not allowed to a poem after it has been submitted to the contest. 
  12. NOT ELIGIBLE: translations, or collaborations by more than one author.
  13. NOT ELIGIBLE: Students, colleagues, or close friends of the judge.
  14. NOT ELIGIBLE: Omnidawn past and present staff and interns; and authors of books or broadsides Omnidawn has published. 
  15. Note that if you win this contest you are still eligible to enter and win one of Omnidawn’s full book or chapbook contests.
  16. Submissions are final. Sometimes we receive requests to edit poems after submission. We do not allow this because it is unfair to all of the people who have submitted to the contest. We want everyone to follow the same rules. There are also potential problems with opening an “edit submission” box for submittable: 1) There could be an error in the software and the edits might or might not go through correctly. This could still lead to an unhappy result. 2) This backend editing requires more effort from our very small and overworked team, and if we made an error in opening or closing a submission for edits, this could cause controversy for our contest re version control. This could also lead to an unhappy result for both Omnidawn and the submitter. For all of these reasons, and even though it may seem old-fashioned, it’s our policy not to allow edits after submission.

How we judge

Omnidawn abides by The CLMP Code of Ethics. The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, an organization of independent literary publishers, believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our staff, editors, or judges; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines — defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

When will I hear back?

Contest winners are usually announced 7-9 months after a contest closes. We take this amount of time because our year-round, paid, poetry editors carefully read the work, then discuss it in two extensive meetings, and send forward the highest ranking manuscripts to the judge, who also takes time to make their selection. We take time because we want to make the best possible decisions.

Omnidawn is a nonprofit independent press. All contest submission fees go to support Omnidawn Publishing, to pay our staff of poetry editors, to compensate the judge, and to pay a prize to the contest winner. All submission fees and donations large or small meaningfully contribute to our operating costs, and to our ability to continue publishing works of literary insight and cultural vitality.

Note: Ken Keegan was a co-founder of Omnidawn Publishing who sadly passed away in October of 2022 from cancer. He was determined to make sure that there were some submission slots for available in every contest for writers who could not afford the contest fees. In his honor, and because we all feel the same way about it he did, we’re carrying on this tradition. If you are in need of a fee waiver, please write to us at:

free.entry@omnidawn.com