Genre: Poetry

Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference

January/February 2026

The Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference will be held online from January 16 to January 19. The conference features workshop evaluations and discussion of book-length and chapbook-length poetry manuscripts with poets, editors, and publishers. The faculty includes poet Joan Houlihan and poet and editor Peter Covino (Barrow Street Press). The cost of the conference is $1,000. To apply, submit four or five poems and a brief bio via e-mail. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Visit the website for more information.

Type: 
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
no
Event Date: 
January 16, 2026
Rolling Admissions: 
yes
Application Deadline: 
January 17, 2026
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
January 17, 2026
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference, c/o Colrain Conferences, 40 Stow Street, Concord, MA 01742. Joan Houlihan, Director.

Joan Houlihan
Director
Contact City: 
Online
Genre: 
Poetry

Hambidge Creative Residency Program

January/February 2026

Hambidge offers residencies of two weeks to two months from February through December to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers on 600 forested acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia. Each resident is provided with a private cottage, which includes a bedroom, a studio, a full kitchen, and a bathroom. The cost of the residency is $300 per week; dinners Tuesday through Friday are included. Limited financial aid scholarships and several merit-based Distinguished Fellowships are available.

Type: 
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
no
Event Date: 
June 1, 2026
Rolling Admissions: 
no
Application Deadline: 
January 15, 2026
Financial Aid?: 
yes
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
January 15, 2026
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Hambidge Creative Residency Program, P.O. Box 339, Rabun Gap, GA 30568. (706) 746-7324. Beth Loveland, Office and Residency Manager. 

Beth Loveland
Office and Residency Manager
Contact City: 
Rabun Gap
Contact State: 
GA
Contact Zip / Postal Code: 
30568
Country: 
US
Genre: 
Poetry
Fiction
Creative Nonfiction

First Book Award

Academy of American Poets
Entry Fee: 
$35
Deadline: 
September 1, 2025
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Graywolf Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who has not published a book of poetry in a standard edition. The winning book will be distributed to over 5,000 members of the Academy of American Poets. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid, six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center, a 15th-century castle in Umbria, Italy. Brenda Hillman will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $35 entry fee (fee waivers may be requested via e-mail) from July 1 to September 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Off the Grid Poetry Prize

Grid Books
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
August 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in print and audiobook formats by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. John Yau will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 50 pages with a $25 entry fee by August 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction Contest

Sewanee Review
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
July 31, 2025
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a single poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Cindy Juyoung Ok will judge in poetry, Lauren Groff will judge in fiction, and Roger Reeves will judge in creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to six poems or a story or essay of up to 10,000 words with a $30 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Sewanee Review, from July 1 to July 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Civitella Ranieri Foundation

May/June 2025

The Civitella Ranieri Foundation “Nature of Wonder” workshop was held from November 15 to November 24 at the 15th-century Civitella Ranieri Castle in Umbria, Italy. The workshop featured writing sessions, craft lectures, and excursions to museums, local towns, religious sites, and natural settings for poets. The faculty included poets David Baker, Camille T. Dungy, and Linda Gregerson. Residents were provided with a private apartment that includes a bedroom, a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a studio.

Type: 
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
yes
Event Date: 
January 17, 2026
Rolling Admissions: 
ignore
Application Deadline: 
January 17, 2026
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
January 17, 2026
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Civitella Ranieri Foundation, 28 Hubert Street, New York, NY 10013. (212) 226-2002. Greta Caseti, Program Assistant.

Greta Caseti
Program Assistant
Contact City: 
Umbria
Country: 
IT
Add Image: 
Genre: 
Poetry

Creative Writing Award

Aesthetica
Entry Fee: 
$16
Deadline: 
August 31, 2025
Two prizes of £2,500 (approximately $3,324) each and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. In addition, the winner in poetry receives a membership to the Poetry Society in London, a course from the arts organization Poetry School, and two online master classes from the London-based creative writing nonprofit Arvon. The winner in short fiction receives a five-day online course from Arvon and a consultation with the literary agency Redhammer Management. Both winners receive subscriptions to Granta, London Magazine, and Mslexia; membership to Litopia, an online writers’ community; and a six-week writing course from Curtis Brown Creative. Using only the online submission system, submit a poem of up to 40 lines with a £12 (approximately $16) entry fee or a short story of up to 2,000 words with an £18 (approximately $24) entry fee by August 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Radcliffe Institute Fellowships

Harvard University
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
September 11, 2025
Fellowships of $78,000 each, as well as office space at the Radcliffe Institute and access to the libraries at Harvard University, are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers to allow them to pursue innovative projects. Fellows, who are expected to reside in Cambridge, Massachusetts, or the surrounding Boston area during the fellowship period, September through May, also receive $5,000 to cover project expenses. Poets who have published a full-length collection or at least 20 poems in magazines or anthologies in the last five years and who are in the process of completing a manuscript are eligible. Fiction and nonfiction writers who have published one or more books, have a book-length manuscript under contract for publication, or have published at least three shorter works are eligible. Writers who are graduate students or enrolled in a degree-granting program at the time of application are not eligible. For 2026–2027 fellowships, submit up to 10 poems of any length or a short story, a recent book chapter, or an essay totaling no more than 30 pages; a curriculum vitae; a project proposal; and contact information for three references by September 11. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Cantor Prize

Talking Gourds
Entry Fee: 
$12
Deadline: 
August 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem about the state of Colorado or written by a poet residing in Colorado. José A. “Tony” Alcántara will judge. Submit a poem of up to 125 lines totaling no more than three pages with a $12 entry fee ($30 for three poems) by August 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Translation Awards

American-Scandinavian Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
September 15, 2025
A prize of $2,500 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction written in a Nordic language (Danish, Faroese, Finnish, Greenlandic, Icelandic, Norwegian, Sami, or Swedish). A prize of $2,000 and publication is also awarded annually to a translator whose literary translations from a Nordic language have not previously been published. An additional prize of $2,000 and publication is awarded for a translation from the Danish. Translations of works by 20th- and 21st-century Nordic authors that have not been published in English are eligible for all three prizes. Using only the online submission system, submit 15 to 25 pages of poetry in translation or 25 to 50 pages of prose in translation, a copy of the original work, a biographical statement about the author whose writing is being translated and the significance of their work, a document signed by or on behalf of the author granting permission for the translation to be entered into the competition, and a curriculum vitae by September 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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