The annual William Carlos Williams Poetry competition
Celebrating medical-student poets for four decades
The 44th annual William Carlos Williams poetry competition is open for submissions through December 31, 2025.
Each year, the William Carlos Williams competition receives hundreds of entries, which are judged by the Cleveland State University Poetry Center.
Categories and Prizes
The WCW competition will be awarding prizes in two categories:
- a medical student category, open to students enrolled in M.D. and D.O. programs in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or Canada, and
- a physician category, open to any rank of physician (M.D. or D.O.) at any career stage, from residency to retirement, in the US, Puerto Rico, or Canada.
Submissions will be judged on the merits of craft, originality and content.
First-, second- and third-place winners in each category will receive a cash prize and will be considered for publication in the Journal of Medical Humanities.
Winning poets will be notified by March 1, 2026.
Eligibility and submission
Eligibility
- Entrants for the Medical Student category must be actively enrolled in programs leading to a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) degree in the United States, Puerto Rico or Canada.
- Entrants for the Physician prize category must have received their medical degree (M.D. or D.O.) before the submission deadline. Physicians at any career stage, from residency to retirement, and in any career role (patient care, education/academic medicine, administration, etc.) are welcome to submit.
- Submissions must be original, unpublished (with the exception of college publications), and must not have won a contest at the time of submission.
- Previous monetary winners of the WCW student competition are not eligible to compete in the student category again in 2025-26. If otherwise eligible, previous monetary winners of the WCW student competition may submit to the physician category.
How to enter
- All entries will undergo blind review and should contain no identifying information other than the title of the poem; a cover sheet including name and contact information will be submitted separately.
- Entrants may submit up to three poems; one poem per page.
- Each poem submitted is not to exceed 750 words.
- Poems must be written in English.
- Poems may address medical and/or non-medical subjects.
Video: 2022 Competition Winners
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