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Atlanta Haiku Festival Competition Submissions Open

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February 1 - February 28

Atlanta Haiku Festival Competition Submissions Open

Venue

Atlanta Botanical Garden
1345 Piedmont Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
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As part of the Garden’s inaugural Atlanta Haiku Festival on April 19, writers from around the country are invited to submit up to two original and unpublished haiku to our competition during the month of February. Submission details are below.

Prizes
Three winners will be selected in each category: first, second and third. Each winner and one guest will receive complimentary admission to the festival on April 19, including lunch with our panel of haiku experts. Winning haiku will be posted in the Garden and on the Garden’s website and social media.

In addition to admission on April 19, winners will receive:

Third place: two additional Garden admission tickets*
Second place: four additional Garden admission tickets
First place: six additional Garden admission tickets

*Garden admission tickets are valid only during regular, daytime hours. Garden special events are not included. Not valid during Garden Lights, Holiday Nights. Travel expenses not included. Non-local winners may be mailed their prize.

People’s Choice Grand Prize: $100 Education Class Credit good for any class in 2025.
After winners are announced on April 1, all nine haiku (three winners from each category) will be published online for voting by the public. Voting closes at noon on April 18. The People’s Choice Grand Prize winner will be announced during the festival at the Atlanta Botanical Garden on April 19.

Submit Haiku


Competition Details
Submissions are open Feb. 1 – 28, 2025 and must be submitted using this form. The competition is free and open to anyone in the United States. Submissions by authors under the age of 18 must include parental consent. The competition will be judged by three Atlanta haiku authors and experts.

2025 Theme: Moments in a Garden
Competitive haiku submissions will be inspired by the theme Moments in a Garden. What moments occur in a garden? What can you see, smell, hear, taste or feel in a garden? What makes a garden special? Write from real experiences or your imagination.

To be considered for the competition, submitted haiku must be:

1. The author’s own original work
2. Unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere
3. Limited to two original haiku per applicant.

Submissions are open in three divisions:

1. Bonsai: Writers ages 13 and under
2. Sakura: Novice youth and adults ages 14 and older
3. Ginkgo: Advanced haiku poets

Standard form for modern English haiku is recommended:

1. About 11-15 syllables
2. 10 or fewer words
3. 1-3 lines
4. Doesn’t rhyme

Modern English haiku doesn’t have to follow a 5-7-5 syllable structure. Because English and Japanese have different rhythms when spoken out loud, 5-7-5 sounds natural in Japanese, but it can actually restrict the flow of English haiku. Instead of limiting yourself to exactly 17 syllables, focus on writing haiku that describes a single moment in time, relates to a specific season or pairs two poetic images.

Learn more about English haiku form at The Heron’s Nest and the Haiku Society of America.

Questions about submitting?
Email Heather Chiller, Atlanta Botanical Garden Public Programs Manager.


About the Judges

Tom Painting teaches at the Paideia School in Atlanta, Ga. He has been a member of the haiku community for more than thirty years and is an associate editor for The Heron’s Nest haiku journal.

Abigail Friedman is a retired American diplomat and national security official and prize-winning poet composing haiku in English, French and Japanese.

Diane Alleva Caceres is a lecturer at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She writes haiku, haibun and tanka. She is cofounder of the Atlanta Haiku Festival.

Submit a Haiku

Read the competition details above, or at the registration link below. Participation is free and open to all US-based writers.

Learn More & Submit

Atlanta Haiku Festival

Celebrate the connection between art and nature through haiku with an online poetry competition leading to a month of haiku activities and programs in April, including the festival itself on April 19.

Learn More