The Pulitzer Center Fighting Words Poetry Contest invites poetry responding to its journalism. The published 2026 rules welcomed K–12 students and young adults ages 18–24 worldwide, judged separately, with winners selected in each of five focus areas. Entrants had to include lines from a selected Pulitzer Center story and credit it in an epigraph. These are the published 2026 rules; the 2027 cycle has not yet been announced.
The historical 2026 prizes were $300 for first place, $200 for second, $100 for third and $75 for finalists, with publication. Poems could use any language; judges had reading fluency in English and Spanish. The required text attachment could be accompanied by an optional performance recording. K–12 entrants needed a teacher contact, or a guardian if not in formal education.
The 2026 submission deadline was May 10 at 11:59pm EDT. The entry form explicitly says submissions have closed and directs visitors to await the 2027 announcement. The free English/Spanish workshops for groups of at least 50 K–12 students ran March 4–May 1, 2026; those dates are historical, and no new workshop availability is asserted.
Sources checked November 4, 2026: official contest and workshop rules, 2026 entry form and 2027 announcement check-back link, which still redirects to the 2026 page. Dates for 2027 remain unannounced.