PoeFest is back to commemorate the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and you can be a part of it all at multiple locations throughout Phoenix, Arizona this October. PoeFest has been a labor of love for a decade. When PoeFest first opened, it did so to just six audience members. With a packed audience on the third night, they knew they had something special. The fest includes mainstage productions of Poe’s short stories every weekend during the month of October with Poe’s stories rotating nightly. Bookmans is honored to be a sponsor for this awesome writing competition. 

Here are the updated rules for 2025:

STUDENT WRITING COMPETITION

Short Story Contest

**Eligibility:**

1. Open to all Arizona students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades for the 2025-2026 school year.
2. Home-schooled students are eligible
3. Participants must be residents of the State of Arizona.

**Submission Guidelines:**

4. Submission deadline: Midnight, October 29, 2025.
5. Word count: 1,000 – 7,500 words.
6. Genre: Horror and/or mystery.
7. Stories must be original.
8. Authors retain all copyrights.
9. Revised previous submissions are accepted.

**Submission Process:**

10. Submissions must be in electronic format (Word document or PDF) and sent to contest@poefest.org
11. Each submission must include the email and phone number of a parent or Parental/guardian permission is required to participate.
12. Each submission must include the author’s name, birthdate, school, and grade for the 2025-2026 school year (home-schooled students are welcome).

**Judging & Awards:**

13. One winner will be selected and notified via email and/or phone on October 31, 2025 – Winners’ initials and city will be posted on social media after initial contact.
14. A panel of judges will evaluate all submissions
15. Prize packages will be provided by Bookmans Entertainment Exchange

Poetry Contest

**Eligibility:**

1. Open to all Arizona students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades for the 2025-2026 school year
2. Home-schooled students are eligible.
3. Participants must be residents of the State of

**Submission Guidelines:**

4. Submission deadline: Midnight, October 29, 2025.
5. Maximum length: 422 lines.
6. Themes: Love, horror, and/or death.
7. Poems must be original.
8. Poets retain all copyrights.
9. Revised previous submissions are accepted.

**Submission Process:**

10. Submissions must be in electronic format (Word document or PDF) and sent to contest@poefest.org.
11. Each submission must include the email and phone number of a parent or guardian. Parental/guardian permission is required to participate.
12. Each submission must include the poet’s name, birthdate, school, and grade for the 2025-2026 school year.

**Judging & Awards:**

13. One winner will be selected and notified via email and/or phone on October 31, Winners’ initials and city will be posted on social media after initial contact.
14. A panel of judges will evaluate all submissions.
15. Prize packages will be provided by Bookmans Entertainment Exchange.

We can’t wait to see all of the submissions! Happy writing everyone!