WINCHENDON — Beals Memorial Library is seeking poets to submit one original, unpublished poem for the seventh Beals Prize for Poetry competition.
Ten poets will be selected by a panel of judges to read their poems aloud at the 50 Pleasant St. library on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 24, with three finalists being selected to win cash prizes. The prizes for the contest will be in the amounts of $250, $100 and $50 for first, second and third place, respectively.
Interested participants have until Friday, Aug. 14, to enter their original work by emailing bealspoetryprize@gmail.com. A Word document is preferred.
Library Director Manuel King said he founded the poetry competition in 2018 to “encourage the art of poetry.” He noted that participation in the poetry contest and its prizes have grown every year.
King added that “the quality of the judging and the quality of the poems that are submitted” has stood out most for him over the years.
“I like poetry and being involved in that world,” King said.
King was inspired by his former colleague and poet Candace Curran, and their time working together at Orange’s Wheeler Memorial Library.
“Candace inspired me to start the Beals Prize,” he said.
The poetry contest, which is free for participants to enter, is supported by funding from the Winchendon Cultural Council and by the Friends of the Beals Memorial Library. Contestants must live in Massachusetts or in one of the following New Hampshire towns: Keene, Swanzey, Richmond, Fitzwilliam, Troy, Marlborough, Dublin, Peterborough, Jaffrey, Rindge, New Ipswich, Greenville and Sharon.
Previous first-place winners are not eligible to participate and participants are required to be at least 18 years old.
Previous first-place winners of the Beals Prize for Poetry include:
- The 2025 winner Karolina Zapal, of Florence, with her poem “Cost of Love.”
- Northampton resident Cleo Rohn, who took first place in 2024 for her work, “Not Every Poem Has to Be About God.”
- Sara Letourneau of Foxborough, who won in 2023 with “At the Immersive Monet and Impressionists Exhibit.”
In addition, the library will host the fourth annual Beals Prize for Young Poets for students in grades nine through 12.
This fall, the library will also hold the inaugural Beals Indie Author Book Fair on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event invites authors, writers, illustrators, editors and literary agents to network, sell and read aloud original works. The book fair is also open to the public.
For more information about the 2026 Beals Prize for Poetry or Beals Memorial Library, visit bealslibrary.org or call 978-297-0300.