Genre: Poetry

Juniper Prizes

University of Massachusetts Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
September 30, 2025
Five prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a debut poetry collection, a poetry collection by an author who has previously published a book, a short story collection, a novel, and a book of creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 60 to 95 pages, a story collection or novel of 55,000 to 75,000 words, or a memoir, book of narrative nonfiction, biography, or essay collection of 50,000 to 70,000 words with a $30 entry fee by September 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Minds on Fire Open Book Prize

Conduit Books & Ephemera
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
November 3, 2025
A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 15 author copies is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages with a $25 entry fee by November 3. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Cullman Center Fellowships

New York Public Library
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
September 26, 2025
Fifteen fellowships are given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators, whose work will benefit directly from access to the research collections at the New York Public Library. The fellows each receive $90,000, an office at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library’s main branch in the Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, and full access to the library’s collections from September 2026 through May 2027. Fellows are required to work on their projects at the Cullman Center for the duration of the fellowship. Writers currently enrolled in a graduate degree-granting program are ineligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of up to 4,500 words, a project proposal of no more than 1,500 words, a curriculum vitae, and three reference letters by September 26. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
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Vassar Miller Prize

University of North Texas Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
October 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Karen An-hwei Lee will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25 entry fee by October 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Vivian Shipley Poetry Award

Connecticut Poetry Society
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
September 30, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Connecticut River Review and on the Connecticut Poetry Society website is given annually for a single poem. Brendan Walsh will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of no more than 80 lines each with a $15 entry fee by September 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry Contest

One Page
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
September 30, 2025
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also given. Mark Graham, Monique Jonath, Mridvi Khetan, and Ann Tinkham will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a one-page poem and a cover letter with a $25 entry fee by September 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

Winning Writers
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
October 1, 2025
Two prizes of $3,500 each, two-year gift certificates for membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a poem in any style and a poem that either rhymes or is written in a traditional style. Briana Grogan, Michal ‘MJ’ Jones, and Dare Williams will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit any number of poems of up to 250 lines each with a $25 entry fee for each submission of up to three poems by October 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Garrett Hongo and Edward Hirsch

Caption: 

In this Poets House event, Garrett Hongo reads from his fourth poetry collection, Ocean of Clouds (Knopf, 2025), and Edward Hirsch reads from his new memoir, My Childhood in Pieces: A Stand-Up Comedy, a Skokie Elegy (Knopf, 2025), followed by a conversation between the authors about their friendship and humor.

Details and Images

“If the dandelion on the sidewalk is / mere detail, the dandelion inked on a friend’s bicep / is an image because it moves when her body does,” writes Rick Barot in his poem “The Wooden Overcoat,” published in Poetry magazine in 2012. The speaker of the poem draws a distinction between a “detail” and an “image” defining the latter as something connected to a larger context and personal history that is “activated in the reader’s senses beyond mere fact.” Compose a poem that experiments with this distinction, perhaps incorporating both a “detail” and an “image” so that each functions in an intentional way. You could consider beginning with an item and slowly shifting the reader’s understanding of its significance as the poem progresses. Look to Barot’s poem for inspiration on form and use of space.

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