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When is ROW 2025?
The River of Words Competition invites students worldwide to express their understanding and connection with the natural environment through creative works. River of Words competition opens its 2025 season on October 15, 2024. Students can submit their poems or artwork between now and January 31, 2025. Residents of Georgia and Arizona have different deadlines – please refer to the official River of Words website linked below this blog.
Who Can Participate?
The competition is open to students aged 5 to 19 years old. Entrants are divided into four categories based on age groups:
- Category I: Grades K-2 (ages 5-7)
- Category II: Grades 3-5 (ages 8-11)
- Category III: Grades 6-8 (ages 11-14)
- Category IV: Grades 9-12 (ages 14-19)
Students can submit either poetry or visual art, and submissions are judged separately within each category.
Entry Fee: Free to enter
Students must submit original work. Include a footnote if your piece references another author’s published piece.
Individually made work with only one primary author/artist is advised. While students may submit collaborative work, only one student will receive the award and recognition. Each participant may submit up to 5 entries for poetry and 5 entries for art.
Theme: The Natural World
At its core, the competition encourages young people to explore and interpret the natural world around them. Whether through words or visual representation, the goal is to highlight the beauty of the earth, reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature, and inspire environmental stewardship.
Poetry Submissions
For poetry, participants are encouraged to write about their observations of nature—anything from a local river to the changing seasons. Poems can be written in any form, but they must be original and should not exceed 32 lines in length.
In 2024, River of Words received over 1,800 poetry submissions, 82 of which were recognized as winners or finalists. This yields a 4% acceptance rate for poetry, making the competition fairly prestigious.
Visual Art Submissions
In the visual art category, students are encouraged to submit paintings, drawings, prints, or mixed media artworks that convey their experience or reflection of the natural world. Vibrant colors and imaginative interpretations of nature are highly encouraged, but the artwork must be original and not copied from existing images.
Accepted mediums include paint, pencil, markers, ink, crayon, chalk or pastel (fixed), photography, cloth, collage, and computer art. All digital art must be printed. Submissions must be mailed to River of Words.No artwork will be returned.
Judging Criteria
Submissions are judged based on creativity, originality, and how well they reflect a deep connection to the natural world. The judging panel includes poets, artists, and environmental educators passionate about fostering a connection between youth and the environment.
Prizes and Recognition
Grand Prizes are awarded to two winners from each grade/age category: one Grand Prize in poetry and one Grand Prize in art. Runner-Up Prizes are also awarded to two students from each category: one in poetry and one in art. The same applies for Second Runner-Up Prizes. Finalists will also be recognized in each category. All winners will have their work published on the River of Words website and the River of Words Anthology, an annually released book collection of selected student work. View previous works on spotlight here.
River of Words also awards Specialty Prizes, regardless of grade/age category. The International Grand Prize is awarded once to select student work submitted from outside the U.S. The Shasta Bioregion Prize is awarded once to a piece honoring a Northern California watershed. The One Square Block Prize is awarded to pieces examining the interaction between manmade and the natural world in cityscapes (up to 3 entries can receive this prize). The Monkey’s Raincoat Prize is awarded exclusively to poetry written in traditional Japanese haiku style (up to 3 entries can receive this prize). The “On Writing” Poetry Finalists prizes are awarded exclusively to poetry featuring narratives pertaining to the writing process (up to 3 entries can receive this prize).
All participants will receive a Watershed Explorer Certificate, even if your submission did not win a prize.
Why Enter the River of Words Competition?
In 2024, River of Words received over 1,800 poetry submissions, 82 of which were recognized as winners or finalists. This yields a 4% acceptance rate for poetry, making the River of Words competition prestigious. Additionally, ROW is a well-known and credited contest, as it’s hosted by a college institution. With the abundance of awards available to be presented to students, River of Words is an intelligent, suitable choice for students of all ages producing exemplar artwork and poetry and looking to rank themselves among students outside their immediate school community.
90% of Aralia Students Win Awards in Poetry Contests
Tips for a Winning Submission
“The goal of River of Words is to connect youth with their watersheds – the environments they live in – through engagement in the art and poetry of place” (River of Words).
In your artwork or poem, tackle a specific environmental idea that appeals strongly to you. The less vague the concept you choose to depict, the more effective your piece will be at conveying a full, mesmerizing experience for your audience. Aim to move your viewer through facts rooted in scientific research as well as bringing them into, perhaps, a personal memory of yours related to environmentalism through evoking their 5 senses or emotions. Think: what do you smell in that memory? What do you feel? What’s unique about your artwork/poem’s concept that is underrepresented in the current environmental discussion or unseen to other people? Bring in your community and show the world how a certain environmental issue or ecosystem affects the people closest to you differently than how affects others far away from you. Take your audience on a journey.
If you choose to create an art piece, some visual elements to consider including (with intention and purpose)may include repeating shapes, patterns, symmetry, complimentary colors, texture, composition, depth of field, movements to guide the eye, flow of scenery, appealing proportions, etc.
Getting started? Check out the River of Words inspiration guide full of tips and prompts.
Prepare for River of Words with Aralia Education
Aralia Education offers a River of Words competition prep class led by experienced, talented teachers who are more than happy to go above and beyond to nurture their students’ growth and success. Aralia’s team of instructors have multiple years of experience teaching in top-ranking private high schools across the U.S.—this is your best chance to get the high-quality, private education you need. Contact us to learn more!
For more details on submission guidelines and deadlines, visit the official River of Words competition page.
