Genre: Poetry

Calabash International Literary Festival

The Calabash International Literary Festival was held from May 23 to May 25 at the Jack Sprat restaurant and bar in the fishing village of Treasure Beach, Jamaica. Programming included author readings, panels, and live music events.

Type: 
FESTIVAL
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
yes
Event Date: 
December 8, 2025
Rolling Admissions: 
ignore
Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Free Admission: 
yes
Contact Information: 

Calabash International Literary Festival, 2A Bamboo Avenue #4, Kingston 6, Jamaica. Justine Henzell, Cofounder and Festival Producer.

Justine Henzell
Cofounder and Festival Producer
Contact City: 
Treasure Beach
Country: 
JM
Add Image: 

Indiana University Writers’ Conference

The 2025 Indiana University Writers’ Conference was held from June 5 to June 8 at University of Indiana in Bloomington. The conference featured workshops, craft classes, panel discussions, and readings for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The faculty included poets janan alexandra and Safia Elhillo, fiction writers Stephen Amidon and Marguerite Sheffer, creative nonfiction writer John Cotter, and memoirist Elisa Gabbert. The cost of the conference, including tuition for a workshop and all classes, panels, and readings, was $825.

Type: 
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
yes
Event Date: 
December 8, 2025
Rolling Admissions: 
ignore
Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Indiana University Writers’ Conference, Ballantine Hall 440, 1020 East Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405. Bob Bledsoe, Director.

Bob Bledsoe
Director
Contact City: 
Bloomington
Contact State: 
IN
Contact Zip / Postal Code: 
47405
Country: 
US

Gell Writing Residency

The Gell Writing Residency, sponsored by Writers & Books, offers one- to three-week residencies year-round to poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators at Gell: A Finger Lakes Creative Retreat in Naples, New York, situated on 24 acres in the Bristol Mountain foothills. Residents are provided with a renovated cottage with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a modern kitchen, a spacious living and dining area with a writing nook, and an outdoor deck.

Type: 
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
no
Rolling Admissions: 
yes
Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Gell Writing Residency, c/o Writers & Books, 740 University Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607. (585) 473-2590, ext. 104. Chris Fanning, Deputy Director.

Chris Fanning
Deputy Director
Contact City: 
Naples
Contact State: 
NY
Contact Zip / Postal Code: 
14512
Country: 
US

Chesapeake Writers’ Conference

The twelfth annual Chesapeake Writers’ Conference was held from June 22 to June 28 on the St. Mary’s College campus in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. The conference featured lectures, craft talks, readings, panel discussions, and daily workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The faculty included poet Heather Green, fiction writer Jerry Gabriel, and creative nonfiction writers Eva Freeman and Angela Pelster. The cost of tuition was $850; the cost of tuition with college course credit was $1,450.

Type: 
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
yes
Event Date: 
December 8, 2025
Rolling Admissions: 
ignore
Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Chesapeake Writers’ Conference, St. Mary’s College, Montgomery Hall, 47645 College Drive, St. Mary’s City, MD 20686. Crystal Oliver, Conference Director.

Crystal Oliver
Conference Director
Contact City: 
St. Mary’s City
Contact State: 
MD
Contact Zip / Postal Code: 
20686
Country: 
US
Add Image: 
An aerial shot displaying a small peninsula extending into a large body of water.

Sunlit Residency

Sunlit Residency offers weekly residencies of one to three weeks and monthly residencies of up to three months year-round to poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and translators at the Sue-Je Lee Gage Residency for Human Rights and Social Justice in Ithaca, New York. The residency offers time and space to write and one-on-one consultations by request. The faculty includes fiction writer Nick Kowalczyk, creative nonfiction writer Hannah Bae, and translator Annette H. Levine.

Type: 
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
yes
Event Date: 
December 8, 2025
Rolling Admissions: 
yes
Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Sunlit Residency, 53 Whitted Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. (607) 229-2683. Annette Levine, Executive Director.

Annette Levine
Executive Director
Contact City: 
Ithaca
Contact State: 
NY
Contact Zip / Postal Code: 
14850
Country: 
US

Vermont College of Fine Arts Postgraduate Writers’ Conference

The 30th annual Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) Postgraduate Writers’ Conference was held from August 2 to August 8, 2025, on the Champlain College campus in Burlington, Vermont. Designed for writers with graduate degrees or equivalent experience, the conference featured workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as readings, craft talks, and one-on-one consultations with faculty members. Each workshop was limited to five or six participants. The faculty included poets Kathleen Graber, Tomás Q.

Type: 
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?: 
yes
Event Date: 
December 8, 2025
Rolling Admissions: 
ignore
Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Financial Aid?: 
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline: 
December 8, 2025
Free Admission: 
no
Contact Information: 

Vermont College of Fine Arts Postgraduate Writers’ Conference, 36 College Street, Montpelier, VT 05602. Ellen Lesser, Director.

Ellen Lesser
Director
Contact City: 
Burlington
Contact State: 
VT
Contact Zip / Postal Code: 
05401
Country: 
US
Add Image: 
A red building with a green roof on the campus of the Vermont College of Fine Art

Poetry in the Park: Aleena Ahmed, Ajamou Butler, Steven Espada Dawson, and Margaret Rozga

Caption: 

In this Poetry in the Park event in Milwaukee’s Juneau Park hosted by Juneau Park Friends and Woodland Pattern, poets Aleena Ahmed, Ajamou Butler, Steven Espada Dawson, and Margaret Rozga read a selection of poems. Dawson, author of Late to the Search Party (Scribner, 2025), is featured in Literary MagNet in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Genre: 

New Writers Awards

Great Lakes Colleges Association
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
May 25, 2025
Three prizes are given annually for first books by a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. The winners each receive an all-expenses-paid trip to several of the 13 GLCA colleges, each of which pays an honorarium of at least $500 to give readings, meet with students, and lead discussions and classes. Books published in 2024 and 2025 are eligible. Faculty members of the colleges will judge. Publishers may submit four copies of one book in each category by May 25. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Akron Poetry Prize

University of Akron Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
June 15, 2025
A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Akron Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Eduardo C. Corral will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages with a $25 entry fee by June 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry Award

42 Miles Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
June 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000, publication by 42 Miles Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to give a reading at Indiana University in South Bend in fall 2027. David Dodd Lee will judge. Current or former students at Indiana University in South Bend are ineligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 120 pages with a $25 entry fee by June 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Pages

Subscribe to Poetry