Genre: Poetry

Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature

Schaffner Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
January 31, 2026

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press is given annually for a poetry collection, a novel, a story collection, an essay collection, or a memoir that “deals in some way with the subject of music (of any genre and period) and its influence.” Submit a poetry collection of at least 60 pages or a prose manuscript of 75,000 to 100,000 words with a $25 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Open Chapbook Competition

Finishing Line Press
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Leah Huete de Maines will judge. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 34 pages, a brief bio, and a cover letter with a $20 entry fee by February 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Tags: 
chapbooks

Terry J. Cox Poetry Award

Regal House Publishing
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
January 31, 2026

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $25 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Emerging Voices Fellowship

PEN America
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
January 31, 2026

Nine fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to editors, agents, and publishers; a professional headshot; and a one-year PEN America membership, are given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers “from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world.” Fellows also participate in workshops on editing, marketing, and building a professional platform. Writers who have not yet published a book and who do not hold an advanced degree in creative writing are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a writing sample of up to 10 pages of poetry or 15 pages of prose, a series of personal statements, a curriculum vitae, and contact information for at least one reference with a $25 entry fee by January 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Furious Flower Poetry Prize

Furious Flower Poetry Center
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems in conversation with the Furious Flower Poetry Center’s mission to ensure the visibility, inclusion, and critical consideration of Black poets in American letters. The winner also receives a $500 honorarium to give a reading at James Madison University. Poets who have published no more than one book are eligible. Major Jackson will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems totaling no more than six pages with a $20 entry fee by February 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships

Poetry Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 2, 2026

Five fellowships of $27,000 each are given annually to U.S. poets between the ages of 21 and 31. Using only the online submission system, submit 10 pages of poetry and an application between January 15 and March 2. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required application form, which can be accessed via Poetry Foundation’s online portal (applicants must register for portal access by February 23), and complete guidelines.

Charles S. Longcope Jr. Writers and Artists Grant

Gay & Lesbian Review
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026
Up to three grants of up to $5,000 each and publication of an article in the Gay & Lesbian Review will be given annually for projects with a primary focus on “LGBTQ+ identity, experiences, or history” by emerging poets and prose writers. Submit a 100-word project summary, a project description, a description of the proposed article, a résumé, a budget and budget narrative, an anticipated timeline, and a list of other funding sources for the project via e-mail by February 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Fiction & Poetry Contest

Hayden’s Ferry Review
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
February 28, 2026

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Hayden’s Ferry Review are given for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. Sarah Ghazal Ali will judge in poetry and Gina Chung will judge in fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit one to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages or a short story or novel excerpt of up to 20 pages with a $15 or $23 entry fee, which includes a digital or print subscription to Hayden’s Ferry Review, respectively, by February 28. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry Prize

Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$10
Deadline: 
March 14, 2026

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Andrew Schelling will judge. Submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each with a $10 entry fee by March 14. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Harold Morton Landon Translation Award

Academy of American Poets
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the United States during the previous year. Collaborations by up to two translators are accepted. Cynthia Hogue will judge. Using only the online submission system, publishers may submit a digital copy of a book of at least 48 pages published in 2025 by February 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

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