The Results are in for the
2023 “Prime 53 Poem” Summer Challenge
This year we received more than 200 entries and a few were withdrawn from the competition because they were placed for publication elsewhere. Now that is exciting!
Thank you to everyone who entered this year’s free competition. Chris selected the following four poems for publication in Issue 251 of Prime Number Magazine, Jan-Apr 2024
“In a Typical Cathedral” by J. Houlihan
“Passage” by Janette Ostle
“Spring Field” by Patrick Parks
“Lost in Mind” by Spencer Spalding
I hope you will join us in congratulating these poets and that you will read their poems when they appear in Issue 251 on January 1, 2024.
The “Prime 53 Poem” Summer Challenge
June 1 – July 31 every summer
This is a FREE contest!
Enter through Submittable
or by emailing your poem to Press 53
But first, please read the guidelines and be sure to follow the rules that make your poem a Prime 53 Poem
There is no age restriction. This is a free contest open to writers around the world to celebrate a poetry form created in 2019 by Press 53 poetry editor Christopher Forrest and publisher & editor in chief Kevin Morgan Watson: the Prime 53 Poem (description below)
This Summer Challenge runs from June 1 until July 31, midnight Eastern time (New York, USA). Winners announced by October 1.
How many poems can you enter? As many as you care to write. Have fun!
Our top four poems, judged by Christopher Forrest, will be published in Issue 251 of Prime Number Magazine on January 1, 2024 (this is different than stated in our Poets & Writers magazine classified ad. Our apologies.)
Winners receive a free softcover book from Press 53. (Our book printer has facilities in the US, UK, and Australia, so winners living outside of these countries will receive publication only.)
The challenge is to write a “Prime 53 Poem”
Your poem must adhere to the following rules:
· Total syllable count of 53
· Eleven total lines
· First three stanzas are three lines each with a 7 / 5 / 3 syllable count
· Final stanza must be two lines with a 5 / 3 syllable count, for a total syllable count of 53
· Rhyme scheme (slant/soft rhymes work) aba cdc efe gg
Summary: The total line count of a Prime 53 Poem is a prime number (11), the syllable count in each line of the three, three-line stanzas are prime numbers (7 / 5/ 3) and each line of the last two-line stanza are prime number (5 / 3), making the poem’s total syllable count a prime number (53).
Prime 53 Poem Sample
Road trips, beaches, and one-wish (a)
trips, backdrops for your (b)
reading lists. (a)
Why not, too, write poetry? (c)
Count your syllables: (d)
fifty-three. (c)
Pens and pads, your tools to pack. (e)
Leave musings there, bring (f)
poems back. (e)
You will feel better, (g)
and smarter. (g)
By entering this competition, the author grants Press 53 First Worldwide Serial Rights to publish their Prime 53 Poem in Prime Number Magazine, along with the author’s photo and bio, and to archive the poem in Prime Number Magazine indefinitely. All other rights, including copyright, remain with the author. Simultaneous submissions and multiple submissions are acceptable. If your poem is accepted elsewhere before we announce our winners, please let us know so we can help you celebrate. And if anyone has a Prime 53 Poem accepted for publication elsewhere at any time, we would love to know about it.
Enter June 1 – July 31 for free through Submittable or email your poem to Press 53.
Read our past winners:
2022: Issue 229 of Prime Number Magazine
2021: Issue 199 of Prime Number Magazine
2020: Issue 181 of Prime Number Magazine
2019: Issue 163 of Prime Number Magazine