Genre: Poetry

Poetry Contest

One Page
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
September 30, 2025
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also given. Mark Graham, Monique Jonath, Mridvi Khetan, and Ann Tinkham will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a one-page poem and a cover letter with a $25 entry fee by September 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Vassar Miller Prize

University of North Texas Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
October 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Karen An-hwei Lee will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25 entry fee by October 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

New Women’s Voices Chapbook Competition

Finishing Line Press
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
October 15, 2025
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a writer who identifies as a woman and has not published a full-length collection. Deirdre Fagan will judge. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 30 pages and a brief bio with a $20 entry fee by October 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Book Prize

Permafrost
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
October 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Alaska Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The 2025 prize will be given in creative nonfiction. Alison Hawthorne Deming will judge. Submit an essay collection or book-length creative nonfiction manuscript, including memoir and literary journalism, of 150 to 300 pages and a brief bio with a $25 entry fee by October 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Surrealist Poetry Prize

Willow Springs Magazine
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
October 1, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Spring issue of Willow Springs Magazine is given annually for a surrealist poem. Michael McGriff will judge. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $15 entry fee by October 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetic Justice Institute Prizes

Fordham University at Lincoln Center
Entry Fee: 
$28
Deadline: 
October 15, 2025
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Fordham University Press are given annually for poetry collections. The winners also receive a one-on-one publicity consultation and a virtual book launch. All writers are eligible for the Poetic Justice Institute Prize; the Poetic Justice Institute Editor’s Prize is given for a poetry collection by a BIPOC writer. Eligible writers may enter both contests. Victoria Chang will judge the Poetic Justice Institute Prize, and Elisabeth Frost will judge the Poetic Justice Institute Editor’s Prize. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 120 pages with a $28 entry fee (there is no entry fee for the Editor’s Prize) by October 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize

Persea Books
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
October 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman. The winner also receives an optional six-week, all-expenses-paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy. Writers who are either U.S. citizens or who currently reside in the United States are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $30 entry fee by October 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

Winning Writers
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
October 1, 2025
Two prizes of $3,500 each, two-year gift certificates for membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a poem in any style and a poem that either rhymes or is written in a traditional style. Briana Grogan, Michal ‘MJ’ Jones, and Dare Williams will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit any number of poems of up to 250 lines each with a $25 entry fee for each submission of up to three poems by October 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize

Academy of American Poets
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
November 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Academy of American Poets website is given annually for a poem that helps readers recognize “the vulnerable state of our environment.” Using only the online submission system, submit a poem of any length by November 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

John Lewis Writing Grants

Georgia Writers
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
October 1, 2025
Three grants of $500 each are given annually in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to “elevate, encourage, and inspire the voices of Black writers in Georgia.” Grantees also receive a scholarship to attend and present a reading at the Red Clay Writers Conference, held in March 2026 at Kennesaw State University in Marietta, Georgia. Black writers who have been residents of Georgia for at least one year (or who are full-time students at a Georgia college or university at the time of application and on the date of the award) and who have published no more than one book are eligible to apply. Submit a poetry or prose writing sample of up to 10 pages and an artist’s statement of no more than 500 words discussing your work and goals as a writer by October 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for an application and complete guidelines.

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