Contest Overview

• Purpose: To inspire students in Archdiocesan-affiliated schools to write about spiritual topics motivated by St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of All Creatures, to increase writing skills, and to increase writing confidence.
• Eligibility: Only open to students enrolled in 11th or 12th grade in a school affiliated with the Catholic Schools Office in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Click here to view Catholic schools eligible for this contest.
• Deadline: Friday, September 10, 2026, at 11:59 pm CST.

2026 Prompt

• 2026 Poem Prompt: Write a poem responding to any of the themes used by St. Francis of Assisi in his poem entitled Canticle of All Creatures. 

Submission Guidelines

• Format: One Word document.
• Length: Maximum of 18 lines (title and stanza breaks do not count). A poem submitted may contain less than 18 lines. All metrical forms and free-verse are accepted.
• Formatting: Typed in Times New Roman or Arial, font size 12. No handwritten submissions.
• Anonymity: Student names should not appear on the poem but must be included in the submission form.
• Required Details: Include the student’s school, grade, and a unique title for the poem in the top left corner of the page of the poem. Here is an example of a formatted individual poem's page.
• Requirements for Batch Submissions: Each batch submission will include poems by students in one grade level. Note: if a school is submitting poems in eleventh and twelfth grade, then two contest submissions are required, with one batch submission per grade level. In addition, each batch submission will include a Batch Submission Summary Form listing the following information for each poem: student name, grade, and title of poem. Here is an example of the required Batch Submission Summary Form and a formatted individual poem's page.

Anti-Plagiarism 

• Disqualification: Plagiarism is a serious offense and will result in disqualification from the contest and other possible consequences.
• Originality: The poem must be original, not created by AI technology or copied from another source, unpublished in print, unpublished on the web or in limited edition books.
• Anti-Plagiarism Lesson Plan: To assist students in understanding the definition of plagiarism and its seriousness, we offer this downloadable lesson plan.
• Anti-Plagiarism Declaration: Each student submitting a poem must sign an affirmative declaration that his or her writing is unique, original work. Teachers will keep the statements in their files for one year.

Anti-AI Usage

• Disqualification: Use of material generated by AI and claimed to be the work of the submitting is a serious offense and will result in disqualification from the contest and other possible consequences.
• Originality: The poem must be original, not created by AI technology in whole or in part, or copied from another source, unpublished in print, unpublished on the web or in limited edition books.
• Anti-AI Lesson Plan: To assist students in understanding the definition of plagiarism from AI-generated material and its seriousness, we offer this downloadable lesson plan.
• Anti-AI Declaration: Each student submitting a poem must sign an affirmative declaration that his or her writing is not the result, in whole or part, of AI-generated material. Teachers will keep the statements in their files for one year.

Entry Fee

• Cost: $55 per participating school.
• Payment: Check with your school principal or instructional specialist to confirm if the fee has been paid.

Submission Process

• Open Dates: May 10, 2026 – September 10, 2026 (11:59 pm CST).
• Method: Submit individual poems via Submittable, or through a teacher’s batch submission via Submittable.

Finalists and Winners Selection and Announcement

• Finalists: The preliminary round judges will select the finalists, who will be announced on the Catholic Literary Arts website by September 17, 2026.
• Winners:  From the pool of finalists, the final round judge will choose the winners, to be announced on the Catholic Literary Arts website by September 26, 2026.

Awards Ceremony

• Winners (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and honorable mentions) will be invited to read their entries at the Awards Ceremony in-person with their families, friends, school principals, and submitting teachers. The Awards Ceremony will take place on October 8, 2026, and details will be shared at a later date.