Haiku Contests
Sakura Haiku Challenge
Limit 1 entry. Original artwork also welcome. Theme is “sakura” or “cherry blossom”.
Closes: March 27.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Haiku Society of Serbia Contest
Send up to 10 haiku (published or unpublished) on the theme of ‘loneliness’. Three to five poems will be awarded. An anthology of contest entries will be published by the end of the year.
Closes: March 31.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website (use Google translate for English).
Haiku Magazine Contest
Limit of 6 haiku, 5-7-5 format. Results will be published in the (northern) spring/summer issue of Haiku magazine.
Closes: March 31.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website (scroll down to the third post for English rules).
Magic of Maples
Haiku Competition
Limit 2 haiku inspired by the magic of autumnal maples. The top five from each category (under and over 18) will be specially printed to be part of an exhibition at Westonbirt National Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England. Judges are Andrew Shimield, Lev Hart and Emiko Miyashita.
Closes: March 31.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
High/Coo Chapbook Competition
Winning authors will receive $US100 and 10 copies of their collection. An entry comprises 30-50 haiku/senryu/tanka, poems may have been previously published.
Closes: April 1.
Cost: $US30 (annual subscription to the High/Coo Chapbook series = 3 issues a year).
Full details from the website.
Solitary Daisy
Haiku Contest
Limit 2 haiku. Cash prizes totalling $C60. Judges are Sally Quon and Michele Rule.
Closes: April 4.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Fish Haiku Prize
Ten haiku/senryu will be selected to appear in the Fish Anthology 2026, which will be launched in July at the West Cork Literary Festival. Judge is Mary-Jane Holmes. Results announced April 25.
Closes: April 5.
Cost: €5/haiku.
Full details from the website.
Kaji Aso Studio
Haiku Contest
Cash prizes totalling $US525 for haiku and $US75 for senryu. Results by May 15.
Closes: April 6.
Cost: $US3/ poem.
Full details from the website.
Haiku Association
of Sri Lanka Contest
Theme is ‘Whispers of Nature’. Limit 3 haiku. Results by April 17.
Closes: April 10.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
NZ Flash Fiction Day
Contest open to New Zealand citizens and residents only. Cash prizes totalling $1,600. Limit 3 stories of 300 words or less. Winners announced on June 22. Judges are Ingrid Horrocks and Louise Wallace.
Closes: April 30.
Cost: $10/story or $24/3 stories.
Full details from the website.
Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest
Cash prizes totalling $US175 for haiku in 5-7-5 pattern. Each haiku must use one kigo (season word) from the contest list. Haiku with more than 1 listed kigo, or that do not use a listed kigo will be disqualified.
Closes: April 30.
Cost: $US8/3 haiku.
For full details, including the kigo, see the website.
Kyoto Writing Competition
One cash prize of ¥20,000, plus book prizes. Limit 1 entry. Haiku sequence, haibun, etc are welcome with the limit of 300 words.
Closes: April 30.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
San Francisco
Haibun Contest
First place receives $US100. Results will be announced at the autumn HPNC meeting and the top three haibun will appear in Mariposa, and the full results, including judges’ comments, will be posted to the HPNC website.
Closes: May 1.
Cost: $US5 for 1-3 haibun.
Full details from the website.
Confluence
Poetry Prize
For Japanese short forms, including, eg, haibun and linked forms. Limit 1 poem on the theme of ‘death and dying’. Cash prizes totalling $US500.
Closes: May 1.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Virtual Japan Fair
Haiku Contest
Limit 2 haiku. Winners announced on June 27 and winning poems published on the website. Judge is Michael Dylan Welch.
Closes: May 24.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
NZPS Haiku Contest
Top five haiku/senryu will be awarded $NZ100 each; first place will also receive the Jeanette Stace Memorial Prize of $NZ150. Winners will be published in the NZPS annual anthology. Judge is Graham Bates.
Closes: May 31.
Cost: $NZ4/haiku or $NZ17 for 5 haiku ($NZ2.50/haiku or $12.50/5 haiku for NZPS members).
Full details from the website (click on ‘enter here’ and then see the dropdown menu for the Guidelines).
NZPS Junior
Haiku Contest
Open to entrants 17 years or younger on May 31, 2026.
Primary/intermediate: 3 prizes of $NZ50; Secondary: 3 prizes of $NZ50. Plus one of the first-placed haiku will also receive the Jeanette Stace Memorial Prize of $NZ100. Schools may send bulk entries, but poems must be clearly attributed. Winners in the NZPS annual anthology. Judge is Sandra Simpson.
Closes: May 31.
Cost: $1/haiku.
Full details from the website (click on ‘enter here’ and then see the dropdown menu for the Guidelines).
Star Haiku Contest
Limit 1 haiku on the theme of ‘stars’ with an international section for English-language haiku. Results announced on July 5.
Closes: May 31.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
HSA Garry Gay
Rengay Award
Cash prizes totalling $US450. Open only to 2- or 3-person entries. The winning linked-verse poem will be published in Frogpond and on the HSA website.
Open: April 1-May 31.
Cost: $US5/poem.
Full details from the website.
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational
Limit 2 haiku. Winning poems celebrated in various ways, including appearing on the VCBF website.
Closes: June 1.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Hexapod Haiku Challenge
Limit 3 haiku inspired by insects (or spiders or millipedes or other related arthropods). Winning haiku published on the website of the Frost Entomological Museum at Penn State University and via their social media. 2026 Special Category: Best haiku featuring arthropod recyclers.
Closes: June 15.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.