Prize Offers Curated Meetings With Publishing Professionals
New York, NY—January 14, 2026—Poets & Writers, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization serving creative writers, invites poets and fiction writers from Connecticut to apply for the 2026 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award.
The Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award aims to provide promising writers a network for professional advancement. The prestigious award has helped to launch the careers of Sue Monk Kidd (The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees), David Mura (Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei), Craig Santos Perez (from unincorporated territory [åmot]), Lidia Yuknavitch (Thrust), and others. Since the award was established in 1984, 116 writers from forty-six U.S. states and four jurisdictions have been selected to participate in this enriching, career-shaping experience. The award is generously supported by Maureen Mahon Egen, a member of the Poets & Writers Emeritus Board.
This year, writers from Connecticut are invited to apply. Ciaran Berry will judge for poetry and Alejandro Heredia for fiction. One winner in each category will spend several days in New York City (all expenses paid by Poets & Writers) to meet with a series of top literary professionals curated by Poets & Writers from each winner’s personal wish list, including editors, agents, publishers, and prominent writers. To be eligible, applicants must have published no more than one full-length book in the genre for which they are applying. Read the full eligibility guidelines and submission details here.
Entries must be submitted by March 1, 2026.
ABOUT THE JUDGES
Ciaran Berry was born in Dublin and grew up in Connemara and Donegal. He is the author of four collections of poetry: States (2025), Liner Notes (2018), The Dead Zoo (2013), and The Sphere of Birds (2008), all published by The Gallery Press. His work has been featured in AGNI, American Poetry Review, Best American Poetry, Best of Irish Poetry, the Georgia Review, the Gettysburg Review, Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry London, the Missouri Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, the Southern Review, and the Threepenny Review. The accolades his work has received include a Whiting Award, the Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, the Michael Murphy Memorial Prize, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, and two Pushcart Prizes. He lives with his family in West Hartford and codirects the Creative Writing Program at Trinity College. (Credit: Sara McIngvale.)
Alejandro Heredia is a writer from the Bronx. He has received fellowships from Lambda Literary, the Dominican Studies Institute of the City University of New York, the Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, and elsewhere. He received an MFA in fiction from Hunter College. Loca (Simon & Schuster, 2025) is his debut novel. (Credit: Demi Vera.)
ABOUT POETS & WRITERS
Founded in 1970, Poets & Writers has been the primary source of trustworthy information, professional guidance, support, and inspiration for writers for fifty-five years. Our work is rooted in the belief that literature is vital to sustaining a vibrant culture, and we focus on nurturing literature’s source: creative writers. Our mission is to foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communication throughout the literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.
We advance this mission through our flagship publication, Poets & Writers Magazine; pw.org, a website that offers writers information, inspiration, and a lively online community; and programs that provide professional development opportunities, financial support, and validation for writers. We sponsor the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award and the Jackson Poetry Prize. Our work is guided by our core values: service, inclusivity, integrity, and excellence, and by our commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization. Learn more at pw.org.
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CONTACT:
Rachel Schuder
Director of Development & Communications
Poets & Writers, Inc.
rschuder@pw.org
212-226-3586 x201