Genre: Poetry

Chapbook Prize

Two Sylvias Press
Entry Fee: 
$18
Deadline: 
May 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000, publication by Two Sylvias Press, and 20 author copies will be given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ellen Bass will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 17 to 24 pages with an $18 entry fee by May 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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.

Canadian First Book Prize 

Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
June 20, 2025
A prize of $10,000 Canadian (approximately $6,960) is awarded for a debut poetry collection by a living Canadian poet or permanent resident. The winner is also offered a six-week fellowship with the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Perugia, Italy. Publishers may submit four copies of a book of at least 48 pages in length published between January 1 and June 30 by June 20. The deadline for submitting books published during the second half of the year is December 19. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

National Book Awards

National Book Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$135
Deadline: 
June 6, 2025
Four prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and young people’s literature written by U.S. writers and published in the United States during the previous year. A $10,000 prize is also given for an English translation of a book of fiction or nonfiction by a living writer and translator published in the United States during the previous year. Finalists in all categories receive $1,000 each. Publishers may submit titles published or scheduled for publication between December 1, 2024, and November 30, 2025, for consideration via the online submission form with a $135 entry fee per title by May 14. Additionally, a digital copy and six hard copies (or bound galleys) of the books must be submitted to the judges and the National Book Foundation by June 6. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize

American Poetry Review
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
May 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in American Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem by a poet under the age of 40. The editors will judge. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than three pages with a $15 entry fee, which includes a copy of the prize issue, by May 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Transformation Awards

Leeway Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
May 15, 2025
Awards of $15,000 each are given annually to women, transgender, and/or gender-nonconforming poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area who have been creating art for social change for five or more years. Writers who have lived in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties for at least two years and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Submit a completed application form, which includes an artist information questionnaire, a list of relevant experience, and a statement demonstrating the applicant’s commitment to “art for social change work” by May 15. A panel of community-based artists will review applications and invite selected poets and writers to submit work for the second stage of the application process. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required application form and complete guidelines.

Q&A With Jennifer Acker of the Common

Caption: 

Jennifer Acker, founder and editor in chief of the Common, answers questions about the journal’s mission, slush piles, and her editorial process in this virtual event with Becky Tuch for the Lit Mag News Roundup. An interview with Acker about the Common’s fifteenth anniversary is featured in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Anhinga Prize for Poetry

Anhinga Press
Entry Fee: 
$28
Deadline: 
May 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives $500 to cover travel costs for the promotion of their book. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $28 entry fee by May 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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