Poems may be submitted by the poet, or by a parent/legal guardian, or a teacher. Teachers may select at most five students per year and submit on their behalf, with the assurance to us that you will be able to help us get a parent’s signed permission prior to publication. Please remember that we will be choosing our favorite 20 poems from thousands submitted—try not to get anyone’s hopes up prematurely.

The author of the poem must have been age 15 or younger when the poem was written, and 18 or younger when submitted. The poets may use their whole name, first name, or a pseudonym at their parents’ discretion. We will not publish any contact information.

Upon acceptance, a parent or legal guardian must sign a release allowing us to publish the poem. Contributors receive ten complimentary copies of the anthology as payment, which will also be shipped to every Rattle subscriber with our summer issue. Parents and family members may purchase additional copies at our cost to print/ship.

Try to send several poems as opposed to a single piece, but no more than four in a submission per child. Alternatively, you may paste up to four poems into the text field provided. 

For this category only, feel free to make additional submissions any time in the future, if the child writes new work. We only publish one anthology per year, every June, and a year is along time to wait.