Genre: Poetry

Poetry Book Prize

Barrow Street Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
June 30, 2026
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Srikanth Reddy will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $30 entry fee by June 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Idaho Prize for Poetry

Lost Horse Press
Entry Fee: 
$28
Deadline: 
May 15, 2026
A prize of $1,000, publication by Lost Horse Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $28 entry fee by May 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Prizes in Poetry and Prose

Bellevue Literary Review
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
July 1, 2026
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay about health, healing, illness, the body, or the mind. Natalie Diaz will judge in poetry, Daniel Mason will judge in fiction, and Meghan O’Rourke will judge in creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems totaling no more than five pages or up to 5,000 words of prose with a $20 entry fee by July 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry and Short Fiction Awards

Moon City Press
Entry Fee: 
$27
Deadline: 
June 1, 2026
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Moon City Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages of poetry or 30,000 to 65,000 words of a short story collection (novellas may be included in the short story collection) with a $27 entry fee by June 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Blessing the Boats Selections

Boa Editions
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
June 15, 2026
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Boa Editions is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S.-based poet who is a woman of color, “including poets who identify as cis, trans, and non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers women’s experiences, regardless of citizenship.” Evie Shockley will judge. Submit a manuscript of 65 to 120 pages and a cover letter by June 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

National Book Awards

National Book Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$135
Deadline: 
May 13, 2026
Four prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and young people’s literature written by U.S. writers and published in the United States during the previous year. A $10,000 prize is also given for an English translation of a book of fiction or nonfiction by a living writer and translator published in the United States during the previous year. Finalists in all categories receive $1,000 each. Using the online submission form, publishers may submit titles published or scheduled for publication between December 1, 2025, and November 30, 2026, with a $135 entry fee per title by May 13. Additionally, a digital copy and six hard copies (or bound galleys) of the books must be submitted to the judges and the National Book Foundation by June 5. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets

Boulevard
Entry Fee: 
$18
Deadline: 
June 1, 2026
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed press. The editors will judge. Submit three poems of any length with an $18 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Boulevard, by June 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Literary Awards

New Letters
Entry Fee: 
$24
Deadline: 
May 18, 2026
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in New Letters are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up to six poems totaling no more than 30 pages or a story or an essay of up to 8,000 words with a $24 entry fee, which includes a digital subscription to New Letters, by May 18. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Bridport Prizes

Bridport Arts Centre
Entry Fee: 
$16
Deadline: 
May 31, 2026
Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $6,699) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. A prize of £1,500 (approximately $2,010), publication, and mentorship with the Literary Consultancy is also given for a debut novel-in-progress. Additionally, a prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,340) and publication is given for a work of flash fiction. Two second-place prizes of £1,000 each (approximately $1,340) and publication are also given for the poetry and short story awards. Anthony Anaxagorou will judge in poetry, Manuel Muñoz will judge in short fiction, Jennie Godfrey will judge in debut fiction, and Tania Hershman will judge in flash fiction. Submit a poem of up to 42 lines, a story of up to 5,000 words, between 5,000 and 8,000 words of a novel’s opening chapters with a 300-word synopsis, or a work of flash fiction of up to 250 words by May 31. The entry fee is £13 (approximately $17) for poetry, £15 (approximately $20) for short fiction, £26 (approximately $35) for debut fiction, and £12 (approximately $16) for flash fiction. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Award

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
July 1, 2026
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a single poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit.” Submit up to three poems of no more than 30 lines each with a $15 entry fee by July 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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