Justin Hunt

Poet

Santa Fe, NM
New Mexico US

Author's Bio

JUSTIN HUNT grew up in rural Kansas. His full-length poetry collection, Requiem in Wide-Open Minor, is forthcoming from CavanKerry Press. Fluent in German and Spanish, Hunt has won several awards, including 1st place in the Live Canon International Poetry (U.K.) and Porter Fleming Literary compeititons, 2nd place in the River Styx and Strokestown (Ireland) international contests, and commendations in numerous other competitions, including the NORward Prize (New Ohio Review), the Patricia Cleary Miller Award (New Letters), the Rumi Prize (Arts & Letters), the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize, the Bridport Prize (U.K.), and the Gregory O’Donoghue Competition (Ireland). Hunt’s work also appears in Barrow Street, Five Points, Southern Poetry Review, Harpur Palate, Michigan Quarterly Review, American Literary Review, Nimrod, The Florida Review, Solstice, The Journal, Puerto del Sol, Terrain.org and Bellingham Review, among other publications. He is also working on a memoir about his father, who was born in 1897 to Kansas settlers.

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies: ,
Pinesong (North Carolina Poetry Society, 2013)
,
What Matters (Jacar Press, 2013)
Prizes won: 

Finalist, The Lascaux Prize in Poetry, 2025; Honorable Mention, Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize for Poetry, 2024; Short List, Aesthetica Creative Writing Award (U.K.), 2024; Finalist, Wandering Aengus Book Award, 2024; Finalist, 42 Miles Press Poetry Award, 2024; Runner-Up, Cider Press Review Book Award, 2024 and 2023; Finalist, John Ridland Poetry Prize, Gunpowder Press, 2023; First Place, Live Canon International Poetry Competition (U.K.), 2023; First Runner-Up, Julia Peterkin Award for Poetry, South 85 Journal, 2022; Finalist, The Lascaux Prize in Poetry, 2022; First Prize in Poetry, Porter Fleming Literary Competition, 2021; Finalist, Patricia Cleary Miller Award for Poetry, New Letters, 2021; Finalist, Crab Creek Review Poetry Prize, 2021; Finalist, James Applewhite Poetry Prize, North Carolina Literary Review, 2021; Long List, National Poetry Competition, The Poetry Society (U.K.), 2020; Highly Commended, Bridport Prize for Poetry (U.K.), 2020; 2nd Place, Strokestown International Poetry Prize (Ireland), 2020; Finalist, Crosswinds Poetry Contest, 2020 and 2021; Short List, Gregory O'Donoghue Poetry Competition (Ireland), 2019; Finalist, NORward Prize for Poetry, New Ohio Review, 2019; Finalist, Rumi Prize for Poetry, Arts & Letters, 2018; Finalist, Nonfiction Award, American Literary Review, 2017; Honorable Mention, Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize for Poetry, 2017;  International Merit Award, The Atlanta Review, 2017;  Finalist, Knightville Poetry Contest, The New Guard Literary Review, 2017; Finalist, Poet Laureate Award, North Carolina Poetry Society, 2017; Finalist, Dana Award in Poetry, 2016; International Publication Prize, The Atlanta Review, 2015 and 2016; Finalist, Dogwood Literary Prize, 2016; Honorable Mention, Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, WinningWriters.com, 2015; 1st Runner Up, Editors’ Prize, Spoon River Poetry Review, 2015; 1st Place, Whispering Prairie Press Poetry Prize, Kansas City Voices, 2015; 2nd Prize, Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award, Comstock Review, 2015.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
B.H. Fairchild, Brian Turner, Dorianne Laux, Jack Gilbert, Jenny George, Dannye Romine Powell, Arseny Tarkovsky, Charles Wright, Marion Gräfin von Dönhoff, Hans Graf von Lehndorff, Laurie Lee, Erich Maria Remarque, Bernhard Schlink
What I'm reading now: 
Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, Dear Dusk by Stephen Knauth, a little bump in the earth by Tyree Daye, The Way It Is by William Stafford, Only as the Day Is Long by Dorianne Laux, Going to My Father's House: A History of My Times by Patrick Joyce

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
White
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
German, Spanish
Born in: 
Wichita, KS
Kansas
Raised in: 
Conway Springs, KS
Kansas
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jan 08, 2026