826 National’s Newest Publication with Ada Limón

We’re excited to welcome Ada Limón as our 24th Poet Laureate! 

As a leader in youth writing education and student publishing, 826 National was asked by the Library of Congress to nominate three poets for the Poet Laureate position – one of whom was none other than Ada Limón.

We’ve long admired and been inspired by Ada’s dedication to the craft of poetry, her vulnerability in her writing, and her poetry’s ability to connect with the natural world and with people.

In celebration of this moment, the next 826 student publication will be inspired by Ada Limón’s 826 Digital Spark, “The Beast,” which invites students to consider a personal connection to an animal.

In “The Beast”, Ada says:

“So many of us are connected to certain animals. We see a bird everyday and think that we have a connection with that bird. Or a dog or a cat, or even something smaller like a bee or a mouse. Paying attention to animals that are around us or that we feel connected to even if we don’t see them on a daily basis, is a good way to remember that we are animals too.”

We encourage all students, 13 and up, to submit their writing based on Ada’s prompt, which doesn’t have to be an animal you see everyday. 

All submissions are due by 10/15/2022.

Submission Guidelines, include:

1. Only 1 submission form, with no more than 3 pieces, may be entered per student.
2. For students submitting more than one piece, please note that no more than one piece per student may be selected for publication.
3. If submitting a piece in a language other than English, please include an English translation as well.
4. Piece(s) must be written in response to, or inspired by 826’s resources.
5. If a piece is selected from a student author who is under 18 at the time of publication, a parent/legal guardian must provide the consent and license to publish the student author’s work.

To learn more about how to submit, click here.