Ghosts, ghouls, and readers, beware: Your health care scare is around the corner. Submissions are now open for KFF Health News’ fifth annual Halloween Haiku competition. KFF Health News has been publishing reader-submitted health care haikus for years and is dying to read how this spooky season inspires you. We want your best scary health care or health policy haiku. Submissions will be judged by a body of experts from our newsroom. We’ll share favorites on our social media channels, and members of our skeletal staff will pick the winners, announced on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
Rules:
- Submit your haiku by clicking here and include the link to the related KFF Health News article.
- Like KFF Health News and California Healthline on Facebook, and follow @KFFHealthNews on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
- (Optional) Include your X or Instagram handle in the submission and let us know if it’s OK to give you a shout-out on social media.
- Submit your haiku by 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 23.
- To win, the haiku should meet the following criteria:
- Follow the format of a haiku (a three-line poem with 17 syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count).
- Contain information related to health care and/or health policy that follows the scary/Halloween theme.
- Reference a KFF Health News story in the haiku — as a bonus.
Prizes:
The top three haikus will be announced with a custom comic illustration drawn by staff illustrator Oona Tempest. The grand-prize winner will have their haiku featured in the KFF Health News Morning Briefing on Oct. 31, and we will give you a shout-out ― or hair-raising scream ― on our social media pages, with the hashtag #HealthCareScare.
2022 Halloween Haiku Contest Winners
