Lyrical Iowa Competition
Lyrical Iowa is an annual anthology of 300 or more poems chosen from those submitted to the competitions listed below. Contests are open to all persons with an Iowa address; you do not need to be a member of the Association. No entry fee. Contest is open January 1 through February 28.
2026 Lyrical Iowa Winners - Adult Division
Lucille Morgan Wilson Award
Judge: Christine Stewart-Nunez (Winnipeg, MB Canada)
Sponsored by: Jerrold Narland, IPA Past President
Entries: 551
1st: Maggie Westvold; Ames
2nd: Jacquie Marietta; Sac City)
3rd: Alanna Clutter; Des Moines
1st Honorable Mention: Margaret Hamilton; Jefferson
2nd Honorable Mention: David Menees; Davenport
3rd Honorable Mention: Craig Running, Decorah
Grant Wood Country Poetry Award
Judge: Kyle McCord (Des Moines)
Sponsored by: Grant Wood Country Forum, an online art-history-culture-creative-writing community
Entries: 20
1st: Suzanna de Baca; Huxley
2nd: Janet Carl; Grinnell
3rd: Thomas W Case; Clear Lake
1st Honorable Mention: Barbara Edler; Keokuk
2nd Honorable Mention: Renee Moenk-Corkery; Cedar Rapids
3rd Honorable Mention: Patricia Tiffany Morris; Bondurant
Haiku
Judge: Michael Dylan Welch (Sammamish, WA)
Underwritten by: IPA
Entries: 117
1st: Del Todey Turner; Waterloo
2nd: Roberta Beach Jacobson; Indianola
3rd: Virginia Mortenson; Des Moines
1st Honorable Mention: Angela McGlothlen; Cedar Rapids
2nd Honorable Mention: Timothy Wheatly; West Des Moines
3rd Honorable Mention: Shelly Reed Thieman; West Des Moines
National/World Events
Judge: Robbin Farr (Doylestown, PA)
Sponsored by: The family of Carl Stiefel in his memory
Entries: 28
1st: Ali Arsanjani; Fairfield
2nd: Liz Lynn Miller; Iowa City
3rd: D Ramsey; Des Moines
1st Honorable Mention: Lisa Morlock; Johnston
2nd Honorable Mention: Pat Underwood; Colfax
3rd Honorable Mention: Michael Wellman; Des Moines
Special Award: First-Time Entrant
Provided by: Julie Allyn Johnson
In honor of all the poets gone before us and in celebration of those with whom we still work
Samantha Allum; Boone
Traditional Forms
Judge: John Sibley Williams (Milwaukie, OR)
Sponsored by: Southwest Iowa Poetry Group in memory of Marilyn Jacobsen and in honor of Christine Brink.
Entries: 27
1st: Skye Rozario Steinhagen; Tiffin
2nd: Linda MJ Muller; Iowa City
3rd: Jim Hackett; Cedar Rapids
1st Honorable Mention: Samuel McAlpine; Treynor
2nd Honorable Mention: Mike WIlson; Des Moines
3rd Honorable Mention: Kathy Stauffer; Osage
Poems FOR Children
Judge: Dorothia Rohner (Eyota, MN)
Sponsored by: IPA
Entries: 35
1st: Laura Sohl-Cryer; Cedar Falls
2nd: Karen Schmitt; Solon
3rd: Jan Blankenburg; Donnellson
1st Honorable Mention: Virginia K Westbrook; Des Moines
2nd Honorable Mention: Robin Ostedgaard; Iowa City
3rd Honorable Mention: Pamela Blomgren; Oskaloosa
Humorous
Judge: Matt Mason (Omaha, NE)
Sponsored by: Kathy Geren Christy in honor of the poets who make us smile
Entries: 46
1st: Frank Kutchen; Des Moines
2nd: Judy Hunter, Grinnell
3rd: Milli Gilbaugh; Iowa City
1st Honorable Mention: Lori Shannon; Manning
2nd Honorable Mention: Chris Schultz; Humboldt
3rd Honorable Mention: Vicki Minor; Winterset
2026 Lyrical Iowa Winners - Student Division
College awards are sponsored by Ginnie and Tony Padden. All other Student division awards are sponsored by the Albert Lyell & Jauvanta M. Walker Endowment Fund, by memorial gifts from family and friends of Virginia Blanck Moore and by a bequest of Marie Jacobsen.
College
Judge: Erin Lynch (Los Angeles, CA)
Sponsored by: Ginnie and Tony Padden
Entries: 74
1st: Taeda Bakker (Stanton, ND), Dordt University
2nd: Seth Herman (Boise, ID) Dordt University
3rd: Miriam Drabek (Savage, MN) Dordt University
1st Honorable Mention: Claire Hofer (Freeman, SD) Dordt University
2nd Honorable Mention: Skylar Cooper (Anaheim, CA) Waldorf University,
3rd Honorable Mention: Rachel Brown (Sioux Center, IA) Dordt University
Upper Grades (5-8)
Judge: Rober Schinzel (Argyle, TX)
Entries: 347
1st: Jeremiah A Kuenzli, Grade 8, St Albert Schools, Council Bluffs
2nd: Mari Hurst, Grade 6, Grinnell MS, Grinnell
3rd: Liliana Anderson, Grade 8, Burlington Notre Dame, Burlington
1st Honorable Mention: Mae Whipple, Grade 8, Burlington Notre Dame
2nd Honorable Mention: Elin Rinker, Grade 8, Burlington Notre Dame, Burlington
3rd Honorable Mention: Cadence Schwab, Grade 7, Osage Community Schools
High School
Judge: Sofia Aguilar (El Monte, CA)
Entries: 234
1st: Emilee Rushton, Grade 10, West Fork HS, Sheffield
2nd: Addison Masker, Grade 12, Atlantic HS, Atlantic
3rd: Vanessa Beadle, Grade 10, Oskaloosa HS, Oskaloosa
1st Honorable Mention: Katelyn Nath , Grade 11, Grinnell HS, Grinnell
2nd Honorable Mention: Hannah Burrows, Grade 10, Bondurant-Farrar HS, Bondurant
3rd Honorable Mention: Cooper Simms, Grade 11, St Albert Schools,Council Bluffs
Lower Grades (K-4)
Judge: Robert Schinzel (Argyle, TX)
Entries: 127
1st: Ellie Potter, Grade 3, Prairie City Elementary, Monroe
2nd: Regan Adams, Grade 3, Prairie City Elementary, Monroe
3rd: Owen Defont, Grade 4, Anderson Elementary, Bondurant
1st Honorable Mention: Charlotte Weno, Gr 3, Anderson Elementary, Bondurant
2nd Honorable Mention: Malia DenHerder, Gr 1, Cardinal Elementary, Maquoketa
3rd Honorable Mention: Belle Kiel, Grade 2, Cardinal Elementary, Maquoketa