2019 Terry Plunkett Maine Poetry Contest

All University of Maine System students are welcome to submit their poems to the annual Terry Plunkett Poetry Contest. The festival takes place on Friday, April 5, 2019, where winners will be invited to read their work.

The first place winner will receive $100; second place, $75; and third place, $50.

Each student may submit up to three poems via Submittable. Deadline is March 2, 2019. For more details, email Ellen Taylor.

The Terry Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival, held in April each year, was established in 2002 to honor the memory and accomplishments of Terry Plunkett, an English professor at the University of Maine at Augusta for nearly thirty years. An outstanding teacher and mentor to many students, Terry was also co-editor of Kennebec: A Portfolio of Maine Writing, an annual magazine published by the university from 1977-1992 and distributed free throughout the state. Many Maine writers first saw their work in print in Kennebec, thanks to Terry’s encouragement and guidance.

A poet and fiction writer as well as a teacher and editor, Terry helped organize and direct the Maine Poets Festival, a hugely popular celebration of poets and poetry, which ran from 1976-1983 at UMA, the College of the Atlantic, and the Maine College of Art.