Chicago Youth Poet Laureate Competition

The National Youth Poet Laureate Competition is an initiative of Urban Word, run in collaboration with literary arts organizations across the country. The Chicago Youth Poet Laureate program, coordinated and championed by YCA, identifies powerful youth poets in the Chicagoland area who have a history of artistic success, community engagement, social justice, and youth leadership.

The Youth Poet Laureate will have opportunities to elevate their craft, their voice, and their profile. They will also join an extraordinary network of poet laureates from across the country, including the three National Poet Laureates who hail from Chicago. Any young person ages 13-18 in Chicago, and the surrounding suburbs, can apply.

Applications will open in February, 2026, learn more here.