The Janice Colbert Poetry Award

This award was created by visual artist and award-winning poet, Janice Colbert, a graduate of the Creative Writing Certificate Program. The Janice Colbert Poetry Award is open to students who have taken at least one creative writing course in the previous year. One prize of $1,000 and two prizes of $500 annually.

2026 ENTRY GUIDELINES

1. This award is open to students who started a creative writing course at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies within the period of May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026.
2. The entry form must accompany the submission.
3. We will accept only one entry per student.
4. Entries must consist of a minimum of three poems, a maximum of five poems, and be no more than six pages or 180 lines in length.
5. Entries must be unpublished and not currently under consideration by a publisher either in print or online.
6. Entries must be saved in one file and submitted via "document upload" in the form below. Mailed entries will not be accepted.
7. Please save the document with your name and student number in the file name, using the format of LastName_StudentNumber_JaniceColbertPoetryAward. To ensure impartial judging, there should be no identifying marks contained in the body of the document.
8. Deadline: Submissions must be received by May 3, 2026. Entries received after the deadline will not be accepted.
9. The School of Continuing Studies reserves the right to publish the award-winning entry in its entirety or excerpted on our website and/or in other media for the promotion of the competition. To receive the award the winner will enter into a contract with the School of Continuing Studies for the rights to use the award-winning material. Copyright will remain with the winner.

Note: Only award winners and finalists will be contacted.