Submissions for contests require a small submission fee ($5), and each contest will have a paid winner and runner-up, unless otherwise specified. All general guidelines for submissions apply to contest submissions. Guidelines specific to each contest will be explained on this page.
To read the work from winners in previous contests, visit our Contests page:
The apocalypse has begun. You must bunker down in a concrete shelter to survive. What do you bring with you? What is the one thing that cannot be left behind, no matter what? After choosing your desired object, use it to create a concrete poem that explains why you need it.
Think of what would fill you with hope. What would be an inspiring light to you in dark times? What emotions does it inspire? In honor of Inscape’s motto, choose something bizarre, something believing, and/or something beautiful.
A concrete poem, also known as a shape poem, is a poem that is not in the standard block format but instead is placed within the frame of a certain shape that connects to what the poem is about. For example, a concrete poem about a dog could be in the shape of a dog, or a bone, or a collar, etc. Here’s a link for a tutorial on how to create a concrete poem on Microsoft Word: floridawriters.blog/using-microsoft-word-to-write-concrete-poetry
First Place Prize: $50
Second Place Prize: $25
The Dos
The Don’ts
Any submission that does not follow these guidelines will not be considered. Visit our contests page and get a feel for what we publish.
Letters are stories written with specific readers in mind. For this collaborative contest, Inscape Literary Magazine and Whirligig Magazine, BYU’s new children’s literature magazine, invite writers of all ages to tell a story in the form of a letter!
Contributors may write to anyone: a childhood friend, someone far away, someone imagined, or someone they have lost. Letters may also be addressed to a past or future self. However it is framed, each submission should tell a story, using the closeness of the letter form to explore relationship, change, and feeling.
Submissions will be divided into two categories, based on which magazine you are submitting to (considering the intended audience). Not sure which category to submit to? Here are some questions to help you figure it out:
Whirligig (for children)
Inscape (for adults)
Whirligig Magazine and Inscape Literary Magazine will judge the submissions in their respective categories. One winner will be selected from each group. Each winner will receive:
This contest invites writers to imagine a reader and speak directly—to say something that matters. By partnering across magazines and age groups, Inscape and Whirligig hope to celebrate storytelling as an act of connection and to make space for voices discovering, in a letter, what they most want to say.
The Dos
The Don’ts
Any submission that does not follow these guidelines will not be considered. Visit our contests page and get a feel for what we publish.
Submissions should demonstrate care for craft and a thoughtful engagement with the chosen theme, whether through direct response, imaginative expansion, or subtle interpretation. Poems are due each Thursday at 12:00 p.m. Winners will be selected each week based on quality of craft and fidelity to the theme. The selected poem is chosen on Friday and featured on the Inscape website the following Monday.
The Dos
The Don’ts
Any submission that does not follow these guidelines will not be considered. Visit our contests page and get a feel for what we publish.
© 2026 Inscape.
