Annual Poetry & Prose Contest
Since 2017, Puerto del Sol has named one poetry and one prose piece as the winners of our annual contest. Contest winners receive publication in the next Spring issue of Puerto del Sol as well as $750 cash prize, and $250 for the runner-up. Winning pieces are selected with the help of well-known writers, serving as final judges. Contest submissions are open from March 15t to September 1st.
Contest submissions will be open between March 15th and September 1st
2026 Judges TBA
Previous Winners & Judges
2025 POETRY: Emiliano Gomez "Oulipo Torsos" | Judge: Sylvia Chan PROSE: Charli Spier "Theophilia" | Judge: Danielle Dutton 2023 POETRY: "July Fourth Parade" by Tom Laichas | Judge: Wo Chan PROSE: “These and Other Fine Ingredients” by Matthew Pitt | Judge: Amanda Goldblatt 2022 POETRY: "I have never seen a wild poetic loaf of bread" | Judge: Anthony Cody PROSE: "Exoticolalia" | Judge: Kali Fajardo-Anstine 2021 POETRY: "The Stain" by Bernardo Wade | Judge: Todd Dillard PROSE: "Mother's Milk" by Alexa Dodd | Judge: Eileen Pollack 2020 POETRY: "American Sonnet for My Medical History" by Babette Cieskowski | Judge: Rodney Gomez PROSE: "is the watermelon sweet?" by Emily Yang | Judge: Vi Khi Nao 2019 POETRY: "The Room Divider" by Rainie Oet | Judge: Emily Pérez PROSE: "The Misdeeds of the Root" by Bridget Brewer | Judge: Camille Acker 2018 POETRY: “Langauge in Question” by Benjamin Garcia | Judge: Farid Matuk PROSE: “How I Came to Live Here Now” by Sean Alan Cleary | Judge: Danielle Dutton 2017 POETRY: “Cuadrado de Sabzeh” by Natalie De Paz | Judge: Carmen Giménez-Smith PROSE: “The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln” by Shane Kowalski | Judge: Lily Hoang