‘Riyadh Rocks!’ Poetry Contest: Calling all high school poets and poetry enthusiasts.
Jump into our first ever Riyadh Rocks! Poetry Contest for high schools students in Riyadh.
Contestants may submit up to three poems, but only one per category:

• Category 1: a HAIKU poem
• Category 2: an ACROSTIC poem
• Category 3: a SONNET poem
• Category 4: a FREE VERSE poem
• Category 5: an AI-GENERATED poem

Submission Deadline: February 2, 2025
Awards – February 19, 2025 – at Alfaisal University

Prizes in each category include an invitation to our awards ceremony February 19th at Alfaisal University.

• Top three winners: a certificate for each of the top three poems in each category.
• Top two winners: a certificate and an invitation to read your poem to an audience of family, friends, and co-contestants.
• Top winner: a certificate, an invitation to read your poem to an audience of family, friends, and co-contestants, and a personalized troph

And….we will publish several winning poems in Alfa Press, the Alfaisal University newspaper.

Poem Details:

• No identifying information (e.g., name, school, grade) should appear on the poem itself.
• All poems must be between 3-20 lines (excluding title) and submitted in PDF.
• Poems must be typed in 12-point Times New Roman font and double spaced.
• Contestants may submit up to three poems, but no more than one per category.
• All submissions must be uploaded to the contest submission portal.

Judging Criteria:

Poems will be judged based on:

• Creativity
• Poetic technique
• Concrete imagery
• Emotional impact
• Clarity & coherence

Final notes:

The contest is open to all high school students (G9-G12) currently enrolled in a high school in Riyadh.
With the exception of the AI-GENERATED category, all poems must be original student work.
Poems must not have been previously published or submitted in other contests.