Haiku Society of America

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The Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Student Haiku and Senryu Competition for Grades 7-12

Founded by the Sacred Heart Church in Camden, NJ, and co-sponsored by the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association in memory of Nicholas A. Virgilio, a charter member of the Haiku Society of America, who died in 1989. The Haiku Society of America is also a co-sponor of the contest, providing judges, and publishing the results in Frogpond and on the HSA Web site.

Virgilio Student Haiku Contest:

Submissions Open: January 20, 2026

Closing Deadline: March 20, 2026

2026 Haiku & Senryu Contest Guidelines

See the 2025 award winning haiku!

Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial
Student Haiku and Senryu Competition Collection

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On the Edge
Haiku Society of America
Virtual Conference

November 21-23, 2025

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Conference Schedule
November 21-23, 2025

PDF of the Schedule

2025 Conference Committee: Crystal Simone Smith (HSA President), Yvette Nicole Kolodi (Conference Coordinator - SCHSG Moderator), Marjorie Pezzoli - (Program Coordinator - SCHSG Promotions), and Michael Dudley (HSA International Coordinator).

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HSA Haiku Awards 2025

Judged by
Meredith Ackroyd & Kelly Sargent
Judges Commentary

~ First Place ~

dandelion chain
I weave myself
into the meadow

Joshua St. Claire, New Freedom, PA

~ Second Place ~

breath prayer
moss breaking stone
into soil

Dan Schwerin, Sun Prairie, WI

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~ Third Place ~

it's not a bug
it's a feature
first firefly

Matthew Markworth, Miamisburg, OH

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HSA Senryu Awards 2025

Judged by
Marilyn Ashbaugh & Paul David Mena
Judges Commentary

~ First Place ~

recycled plastic now a buddha

Matthew Markworth, Miamisburg, OH

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~ Second Place ~

family dinner
our heated discussion
on global warming

Rowan Beckett Minor, Lakewood, OH

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~ Third Place ~

trapped fly
from his sickbed he asks me
to open a window

Alan Peat, Biddulph, United Kingdom

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HSA Haibun Awards 2025

Judged by
Glenn G. Coats & Aubrie Cox Warner
Judges Commentary

~ First Place ~

by John Barlow, Ormskirk, UK

Lucky

Lucky wants to do it. Birdy does too. We’re in the boys’ bogs, Lucky swinging from the frame of the cubicle door. The priest’s just asked if we’d like to be altar servers, and Sir made out it was an honour, an expectation even, like a rite of passage. Birdy’s by the pissers, his shirt still sticking through his open fly. I’m by the sink, just far enough away not to get my face shoved into the manky tap. The water is warm and tastes disgusting. The sense of guilt weighs heavily, but I tell Lucky and Birdy that I’m gonna say no.

the heat of 45 summers what we know now

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~ Second Place ~

by Edward Cody Huddleston, Baxley, GA

Rocky Mountain Postcard

Silhouetted by dust and snow, a moose drinks in profile, sipping from the hole in the ice where your signature trails off. Between the summit and the sunset, I put my finger on your fingerprint, or the inky smudge I pretend is your fingerprint.
 
I wish you were here too.

out of stories—
cold wind creaks
the rocking chair

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~ Third Place ~

by Dru Philippou, Arroyo Hondo, NM

Housecleaning

Each day I walk past him in the hallway, barely glancing his way, but today the light from a window casts a gentle glow on Mañjushri. I lift the bodhisattva from his altar, rousing him from samãdhi. I blow away cobwebs and the whispers of forgotten prayers, although dust will forever lodge beyond reach in the folds of his robe. Using a moistened Q-tip, I tend to his long, flowing hair and imagine easing out the tangles, strand by strand. I gaze at the shimmering ruby-like gem in his earring; its hidden intensity pulls me in. I take my time polishing the stem and leaves of the lotus that cradles the Perfection of Wisdom sutra. Above his head, Mañjushri wields a flaming sword, broken many times by careless handling, yet it remains poised to cut through my delusions.

cloudless sky
          a butterfly
opens its wings

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Haiku Society of America 2025 Rengay Award
in Honor of Garry Gay

Judged by
Jonathan Roman & Agnes Eva Savich
Judges Commentary &
Honorable Mention Awards

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2025 First Place

Current

sweat bees
drowned migrants
look up 

head down
they shave his hair

her grandpa's corrido
crying is part
of the joy 

ICE van idling
outside the taquería
a baker’s dozen

huddled masses
she knows it by heart 

they cross the river
with the moon
on their backs

Anton R–kelian, San Diego, CA 1, 3 & 5
Orense Nicod, Paris, France 2, 4 & 6

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2025 Second Place

Maiden Voyage

early morning mist
the shipwright's hands
pungent with oil

a whisper of white oak
curls from the blade

the dinghy
made of ancient Huon pine
rigged for a sail

tacking planks
to the steam-bent ribs
scent of red cedar

a last coat of varnish
warming twilight

starboard  side . . .
polishing the fog bell
for its maiden voyage

Ron C. Moss, Tasmania, Australia 1, 3 & 5
Paula Sears, Exter, New Hampshire 2, 4 & 6

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2025 Third Place

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Between Worlds

deep in the marsh
one watches, one weaves
nest-making geese

a grey heron pauses
where the river bends

soft as fog
hard as seed
cattail fluff

clatter of white storks 
a courting dance
ruffles the reeds

half dead half living
lightning struck pine

empty duck blind
where a hunter’s shadow  
used to fall 

John Thompson, Sonoma, CA 1,3 & 5
Neena Singh, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 2,4 & 6

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Haiku Society of America Student Haiku Awards
in Memorial of Nicholas A. Virgilio

Student Haiku Awards for 2025

The judges for the 2025 competition were Eavonka Ettinger and John Pappas. See the web page of comments from the judges.

Download a free
PDF copy of the award winning student haiku & senryu up to 2022 to share with teachers and students (does not include award haiku since 2022).

Here are the winning haiku for 2025 (in alphabetical order):

autumn leaves
her last words heard
in a voicemail

Phoebe Bain – Grade 12, Colorado Springs, CO

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                    blood moon
                           keys between my knuckles
                                  like my mother before me

Brynn Jensen – Grade 12, Colorado Springs, CO

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grandma's kitchen
mooncake softens
in my mouth

Frances McIlvoy – Grade 8, Atlanta, GA

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autumn wind
the scent of the bonfire
on a borrowed hoodie

Evelyn Reynolds – Grade 8, Atlanta, GA

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war victory
the names of the dead
misspelled

Tenzin Tinley – Grade 12, Colorado Springs, CO

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empty hallway
one shoe sideways
after the argument

Connor Wong – Grade 12, Newport Coast, CA

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Haiku Society of America Merit Books Awards 2025
for books published in 2024

Patricia J. Machmiller and Scott Mason, judges

Judges' comments will be added to the web site after
they are published in the Autumn issue of Frogpond.

First Place

Francine Banwarth. Bare Necessities: Selected Haiku of Francine Banwarth. Taylorville, IL; Brooks Books, 2024

Second Place

Jennifer Hambrick. A Silence or Two. Winchester, VA; Red Moon Press, 2024

Third Place

Debbie Strange. Random Blue Sparks. Ormskirk, Great Britain; Snapshot Press., 2024

Honorable Mentions (not ranked but in alphabetical order by author)

Roberta Beary. Carousel. Ormskirk, Great Britain; Snapshot Press., 2024

Deborah P Kolodji. Vital Signs. Cuttlefish Books, 2024

paul m. Magnolia Diary. Champaign, IL; Modern Haiku Press, 2024

Peter Yovu. Shine Shadow. Winchester, VA; Red Moon Press, 2024

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HAIKU ANTHOLOGY AWARDS:

Best

Janice Doppler, editor. One Thread: Zoka in Contemporary Haiku. Massachusetts; self-published, 2024

Honorable Mention

Susan Antolin, Garry Gay, and Carolyn Hall, editors. The San Francisco Haiku Anthology, Volume Two. Spare Poems Press 2024

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HAIBUN BOOK AWARDS:

Best

Bob Lucky. My Wife & Other Adventures. Winchester, VA; Red Moon Press, 2024

Honorable Mentions

Joe McKeon. A Man on Horseback. Winchester, VA; Red Moon Press, 2024

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Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku and Senryu Competition Anthology

edited by Randy M. Brooks
designed by Ignatius Fay

© 2022 HAIKU Society of America

To commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku and Senryu Competition, the executive committee of the Haiku Society of America published this anthology of award-winning haiku and senryu. The student observations, insights, experiences, emotions and insights evident in these haiku and senryu are a wonderful testament to the fresh voices and vivid imagery of young people. We believe the judges’ commentaries add a valuable layer of meaning as we see how leaders, editors, writers and members of the Haiku Society of America carefully consider the significance of each award-winning poem.

Download your PDF copy for a teacher in your area.

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