In the spring of 2026, The Orchard Street Press conducted its ninth annual Poetry Contest. Nearly eight-hundred individual poems were submitted for consideration by poets from thirty-eight states. Of those, forty-two were selected for inclusion in Quiet Diamonds 2026. Three were chosen for the Contest’s cash awards. They are: “Foundry” by Jennifer Phillips of Barnstable, MA taking First Place, (winning the 2026 Malovrh-Fenlon Poetry Prize); “How the Forest Changes My Mind” by Tobi Alfier of Torrance, CA earning Second Place; and “Ripples” by Bill Griffin of Elkin, NC winning Third.
We are very excited to announce that next year’s Contest, our tenth, will be a very special event, including increased cash awards for the top three poems and producing a larger edition of Quiet Diamonds with some looks back at the decade of poetry that we have been able to produce in our journal. It will also provide more space for new work. It promises to be a truly exciting year indeed.
