The ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition has always looked boldly to the future and created spaces where change-makers and library leaders can share their ideas to promote literature around the globe.

This year, as ALA celebrates its 150th anniversary, you’re all invited to commemorate this milestone with a series of events!
What better way to celebrate literature, libraries, and ALA than by sparking your creativity and bringing your inspiration to life?
ALA and Short Édition are excited to invite you to participate in a Haiku Writing Contest!

From April 13 to May 24, share your haiku about ALA or the city of Chicago for a chance to have your poems featured and printed in Short Édition’s Short Story Dispensers.

Two haikus will be crowned ALA 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition winners—one selected by our jury and one by the public, as all submissions will be open to online voting following the submission period.

Together, let’s share this fun experience and create a truly memorable moment.

Be part of the celebration. Be part of the future.

What is a haiku?

Born in Japan in the 17th century, haiku are short, unrhymed, poems that usually evoke the present moment and the ephemerality of things.  

Evocation of nature and vivid imagery can often be found in haiku.

How to write a haiku?

Nowadays, in the Western world, haiku follows this structure:

• three-line,
• 5-7-5 syllable pattern,
• no rhyme.

Here's an example of a traditional haiku, written by Matsuo Bashō:

An old silent pond…

A frog jumps into the pond,

splash! Silence again.

To participate:

Submit here

Find more information about the contest and our conditions of submission here:

Info & Guidelines