Tags: book awards

Poetry Prize

Marsh Hawk Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
April 30, 2026
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Marsh Hawk Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Denise Duhamel will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 84 pages with a $30 entry fee by April 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Open Competition

National Poetry Series
Entry Fee: 
$35
Deadline: 
March 21, 2026
Five prizes of $10,000 each and publication by participating trade, university, or small press publishers are given annually for poetry collections by U.S. poets. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 64 pages with a $35 entry fee by March 21. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Iowa Poetry Prize

University of Iowa Press
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
April 30, 2026
Publication by University of Iowa Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 150 pages with a $20 entry fee between April 1 and April 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize

Wick Poetry Center
Entry Fee: 
$27
Deadline: 
May 1, 2026
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. The winner is also invited to teach a weeklong writing workshop at Kent State University and give a reading with the judge. Camille T. Dungy will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $27 entry fee by May 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Award Series

Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
February 28, 2026

Three prizes of $5,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a poetry collection, a short story collection, and a novel. A prize of $2,500 and publication by a participating press is also given annually for an essay collection or a memoir. For the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages. For the Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction, submit a manuscript of 150 to 300 pages. For the James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel, submit a manuscript of 60,000 to 110,000 words. For the Sue William Silverman Prize for Creative Nonfiction, submit a manuscript of 150 to 300 pages. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript with a $30 entry fee ($20 for AWP members) by February 28. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Michael Waters Poetry Prize

Southern Indiana Review
Entry Fee: 
$35
Deadline: 
February 2, 2026

A prize of $6,000 and publication by Southern Indiana Review Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Carl Phillips will judge. Submit 40 to 120 pages of poetry (no more than one poem per page) with a $35 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Southern Indiana Review, by February 2. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Snowbound Chapbook Award

Tupelo Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
February 28, 2026

A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Richie Hoffman will judge. Submit a manuscript of 20 to 36 pages with a $25 entry fee by February 28. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

American Book Awards

Before Columbus Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025

Awards are given annually for books published in the United States during the current year in recognition of “outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s diverse literary community.” Submit two copies (or bound galleys) of a book of any genre published in 2025 by December 31. Anyone may submit nominations for the awards. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for more information.

Literary Awards

Black Caucus of the American Library Association
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025

Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a debut novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African American writers published in the United States in the current year. The awards honor books that depict the “cultural, historical, or sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.” Publishers may nominate books published in 2025 by December 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for a list of jurors to whom books should be sent and complete guidelines.

Hollis Summers Poetry Prize

Ohio University Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Ohio University Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Michael Prior will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 60 to 95 pages with a $30 entry fee by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Pages

Subscribe to book awards