Submissions are now open for the 8th Annual Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Contest with a deadline at 11:59 pm EST on January 15, 2023.
$600 for first place, $400 for second, $300 for third, $200 for fourth and additional cash awards for honorable mentions.
Prize-winning and finalist poems will be listed and published on the contest website in March 2023. Published final poems will be paid for.
There are no entry fees.
There is a one poem/one submission limit. The poem must be in English. Do not put your name on the poem. Otherwise, there are no limitations or restrictions. But please proofread your poem before submission. The contest welcomes submissions from all ages and all countries. Submission gives your consent for us to publish your poem.
Click here for more information and to submit your poem.
Bob Sharkey is the editor of the contest which is sponsored by his family. They decided to name the contest after Stephen DiBiase who was Bob’s best childhood friend. They grew up together in the Libbytown section of Portland, Maine. They liked to explore the fields, wooded areas, and marshes in the area between their homes on Wood Street and the Fore River. Stephen was like a big brother to Bob. Stephen went to Vietnam as an Army photographer. After he returned, he
urged his friend Bob to avoid Vietnam at all costs and Stephen and his family helped Bob obtain conscientious objector status. In 1973, Stephen drowned in shallow water off the coast near Bath, Maine.
