Genre: Poetry

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chapbook Prize

Oversound
Entry Fee: 
$18
Deadline: 
May 31, 2026
A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ari Banias will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 15 to 30 pages with an $18 entry fee ($21 for a back issue of Oversound or a chapbook) by May 31. 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.

Cow Creek Chapbook Prize

Pittsburg State University
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
May 15, 2026
A prize of $1,000, publication by Pittsburg State University, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Using only the online submissions system, submit manuscript of 15 to 30 pages with a $15 entry fee by May 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Gravity of Kindness

Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Kindness,” which appears in her 1995 book, Words Under the Words: Selected Poems, begins: “Before you know what kindness really is / you must lose things….” The next two stanzas start similarly with: “Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness / you must travel…” and “Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, / you must know sorrow….” Compose a three-stanza poem that takes a cue from this parallel structure, starting the first line of each stanza with: “Before you know _____, you must _____.” Think about a quality, such as kindness, that you highly value and how your understanding of it has changed over time. What are the lessons you have learned and what do you hope to pass on to others?

Aurora Writers Workshop

The 2026 Aurora Writers Workshop will be held from June 5 to June 7 at several locations throughout downtown Aurora, Illinois. The workshop will feature small-group craft workshops, a keynote address, a group dinner with a faculty reading, an open mic reading, and generative writing sessions for poets and fiction writers. The faculty includes poet Faisal Mohyuddin and fiction writer Meg Cass. Poet and fiction writer M. Rae Henry will give the keynote address. The cost of the conference, which includes one dinner and a continental breakfast on Sunday, is $200.

Type: 
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
no
Event Date: 
June 5, 2026
Rolling Admissions: 
yes
Application Deadline: 
June 13, 2026
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
June 13, 2026
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Aurora Writers Workshop, 1030 Northfield Drive, Aurora, IL 60505. Kristin LaTour, President.

Kristin LaTour
President
Contact City: 
Aurora
Contact State: 
IL
Country: 
US

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