Genre: Poetry

Literary Prizes

New Ohio Review
Entry Fee: 
$22
Deadline: 
April 15, 2026
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Submit a poem or group of poems of up to six pages or a story or essay of up to 20 pages with a $22 entry fee, which includes a subscription to New Ohio Review, by April 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Iowa Poetry Prize

University of Iowa Press
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
April 30, 2026
Publication by University of Iowa Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 150 pages with a $20 entry fee between April 1 and April 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry

Arrowsmith Press
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
April 1, 2026
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who is not a citizen of the United States and was published in English during the previous year. Authors or publishers may submit two copies of one or more books published in 2025 with a $20 entry fee by April 1. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Book Award

Noemi Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
May 1, 2026
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of any length with a $30 entry fee by May 1. Financial assistance is available upon request to those in need. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize

University of Pittsburgh Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
April 30, 2026
A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages and a curriculum vitae with a $25 entry fee by April 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Backwaters Prize in Poetry

Backwaters Press
Entry Fee: 
$32
Deadline: 
May 1, 2026
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Backwaters Press, an imprint of University of Nebraska Press, is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,000 and publication by Backwaters Press is also given. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 60 to 85 pages with a $32 entry fee by May 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry Prize

Oberon
Entry Fee: 
$18
Deadline: 
April 10, 2026
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Oberon is given annually for a single poem. Submit up to three poems of no more than two pages each with an $18 entry fee, which includes an issue of Oberon, by April 10. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Tomaž Šalamun Prize

Verse
Entry Fee: 
$17
Deadline: 
March 15, 2026
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Factory Hollow Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner also receives an invitation to give a reading at the Tomaž Šalamun Centre for Poetry, translation of their published chapbook into Slovenian from the English, and a monthlong residency in a private apartment at the Tomaž Šalamun Centre for Poetry in Ljubljana, Slovenia, during the summer of 2027. Prose poetry, hybrid works, and translations of works of poetry by living writers from any language into English (with the relevant permission) are also eligible. Heather Christle will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 20 to 28 pages with a $17 entry fee ($13 for students) by March 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation

Banipal Trust for Arab Literature
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 31, 2026
A prize of £3,000 (approximately $4,038) is given annually for a poetry collection or a book of fiction translated from Arabic into English and published for the first time in English during the previous year. A runner-up will receive £1,000 (approximately $1,346). Translations of Arabic works of poetry or fiction originally published in or after 1967 are eligible. Publishers may submit five copies of a book in English translation published between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, three copies of the original work, and a digital copy in both languages by March 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Prizes in Poetry and Fiction

Orison Books
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
April 1, 2026
Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication by Orison Books are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction. Leila Chatti will judge in poetry, and Margot Livesey will judge in fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 50 to 100 pages or a novel, novella, or collection of short stories or flash fiction of at least 30,000 words with a $25 entry fee by April 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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