And the Winners are…

Catholic Literary Arts announces the winners of the 2024 LUX Sacred Poetry Middle School Contest

Sixth Grade: First Place Winner: Ruby Mohr

Sixth Grade: Second Place Winner: Penelope Cueva

Seventh Grade: First Place Winner: Lucia Martinez

Seventh Grade: Second Place Winner: Norah McIntosh

Seventh Grade: Third Place Winner: Annslee Harren

Seventh Grade: Honorable Mention: Hannah Issac

Eighth Grade:  First Place Winner: Susan Schuelke

Eighth Grade:  Second Place Winner: Mariella Gaitan

Eighth Grade: Third Place Winner: Enora Trahan

Eighth Grade: Honorable Mentions: Sara Thompson, Dominic Vultaggio

Join us in celebrating these young winners, their families, and communities at a reading and awards ceremony at the University of St. Thomas, April 3, 2024, 9:00 a.m. in Jones Auditorium.  

From among the first-place winners of the three grade levels, a poet laureate will be named during the awards ceremony.

Please click here to register for the awards ceremony.  Attendance is free, but please register to help us plan the reception.

Contest Information

Eligibility:

The LUX Sacred Poetry Contest is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who are Catholic homeschoolers or enrolled in independent Catholic schools in the Houston, Texas area.

Students who attend official Catholic schools affiliated with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston are only eligible to enter the Archdiocesan Middle School Sacred Poetry Contest. Please go to this page for details of the Archdiocesan Sacred Poetry Contest.

Plagiarism:

New Action Item for 2024 Contest Entries: The Anti-Plagiarism Statement

To maintain the integrity of this contest every poem submitted must include an Anti-Plagiarism Statement at the top of the page.

Anti-Plagiarism Statement

I understand that plagiarism is a serious offense and will result in disqualification from the contest as well as other possible consequences.

Poems submitted without the Anti-Plagiarism Statement may be disqualified from participation in the contest.

To assist students to understand the definition of plagiarism and its seriousness, we offer this resource:

• a downloadable lesson plan

Prizes:

• First, second, and third-place winners will be selected from each grade: sixth, seventh, and eighth.

• All first through third place-winners in each grade will have their poems published in a Catholic Literary Arts Anthology and receive a full-tuition paid scholarship to attend Catholic Literary Arts’ Fearless Catholic Summer Writing Camp on June 10-14, 2024.

• From the first-place LUX winners in each grade: sixth, seventh, and eighth, a LUX poet laureate will be chosen for the LUX communities in the greater Houston area.

• All Honorable Mentions will have their poems published in a Catholic Literary Arts Anthology and will receive a partial scholarship to attend Catholic Literary Arts Fearless Catholic Summer Writing Camp on June 10-14, 2024.

• The first place-winning poems will be published on the Catholic Literary Arts website.

• The LUX Poet Laureate wins:

  • A $500 Cash Prize

  • A full Scholarship to Catholic Literary Arts’ Fearless Catholic Summer Writing Camp, June 10-14, 2024

Theme:

For the 2024 LUX Middle School Sacred Poetry Contest, students will write a poem about Eucharistic Adoration. Click here for a downloadable resource page of Eucharistic themes.

Guidelines:

• Each student may submit one poem.

• Each poem should be a maximum of 32 lines; the title and stanza breaks do not count as lines.

• Poems must be typed with a Times New Roman or Arial 12-point font. We regret that we are unable to accept handwritten pages.

• Both metrical verse and free verse poems are accepted.

• The name of the author cannot appear on the poem/s. However, the student's name must appear on the submission form when the poem is submitted along with all other requested information.

• The name of the school or homeschool organization and the student’s grade must appear on every page of the poem/s submitted.

• All poems must be original, unpublished in print, and unpublished on the web or in limited edition books.

• Simultaneous submissions are not allowed. This means that if your poem is submitted to this contest, it cannot be submitted to other contests or for publication in journals, magazines, newspapers, or online while we are considering it for this contest.

• Entry Fee: $10 for individual students, $55 for independent Catholic schools. If your student is enrolled at a non-archdiocesan-affiliated Catholic school, the school will pay the entry fee via PayPal on this website. If you are a homeschool student, you will pay the individual fee via PayPal on this website.

• All submissions are handled through Submittable.

• IF this contest does not have 50 entries by February 28, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. CST, then it will be regrettably cancelled for this year. Thank you for your understanding.

• Each poem submitted must contain the Anti-Plagiarism Statement below.

Timeline:

• Contest Period: December 1, 2023 to March 1, 2024. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. CST on March 1st.

• Announcement of Winners: On March 20, 2024, CST by 11:59 p.m. Winners will be announced on www.CatholicLiteraryArts.org

• Contacting Teachers/Parents: On March 18, 2024 the winners’ teachers and parents will receive an email and/or phone call confirming attendance at the awards ceremony.

• Awards Ceremony: Winners will be invited to read their entries at the Awards Ceremony in-person with their families, friends, school principals, and submitting teachers. The Awards Ceremony will take place at the University of Saint Thomas in Jones Auditorium on April 3, 2024, beginning at 9:00 am CST.

Submission of Poems is a three-step process:

Step One: Register

• Option A for Independent Catholic Schools:

  • Fill out the entry form for your school. All blanks must be completed. We need correct information to properly credit your school’s payment of the entry fee.

• Option B for Individual Home-School Students:

  • Fill out the entry form for your individual $10 entry fee. All blanks must be completed. We need this completed form to properly match your entry fee to your Submittable poem.

Step Two: Payment (dropdown menu for Schools and Individuals)

• Option A for Independent Catholic Schools:

  • Click the Pay Now dropdown menu button to pay your school’s entry.

• Option B for Individual Home-School Students:

  • Click the Pay Now dropdown menu button to pay your individual entry.

Step Three: Submit Entry

• Click Submit Entry to Submittable to submit your entry/entries and you will be taken to the Submittable website.