Genre: Poetry

Poetry and Comics

The Time Is Now
12.9.25

“It was happily free of theoretical ambitions, such as being avant-garde or radical or even funny,” writes Ron Padgett in the foreword to The Complete C Comics (New York Review Books, 2025), which collects the two issues of comic books created by Joe Brainard in collaboration with New York School poets in the 1960s. Brainard created the drawings and poets, such as Padgett, John Ashbery, Ted Berrigan, Barbara Guest, Kenneth Koch, Frank O’Hara, and Peter Schjeldahl, provided text for speech balloons and captions. This week experiment with the energy and humor of this illustrative format. Take inspiration from classic comic book icons and characters and write a poem that channels the childlike playfulness of comics, giving them your own “adult” spin, perhaps incorporating elements of surrealism or parody, or even accompanying your own doodles and sketches.

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.

Literary Artist Fellowships

Mississippi Arts Commission
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 1, 2026

Fellowships of up to $5,000 each are given in alternating years to Mississippi poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. This year the fellowships will be offered in poetry and fiction. Applicants must be permanent residents of Mississippi. Students enrolled full-time in a degree-granting program are ineligible. Using only the online submission system, submit 5 to 10 pages of poetry or 15 to 20 pages of prose written in the past five years, a résumé, a brief bio, a writer’s statement, and a fellowship impact statement by March 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Tags: 
grants

Morton, McCarthy, and Sarabande Prizes

Sarabande Books
Entry Fee: 
$34
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for a poetry collection, a work of fiction, and an essay collection. For the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, using only the online submission system, submit a poetry collection of at least 48 pages with a $34 entry fee by February 15. For the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, using only the online submission system, submit a collection of stories or novellas or a short novel of 150 to 250 pages with a $34 entry fee by February 15. For the Sarabande Prize in the Essay, using only the online submission system, submit an essay collection of 150 to 250 pages with a $34 entry fee by February 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Raiziss/De Palchi Fellowship

Academy of American Poets
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026
A fellowship of $25,000 is given biennially to support the translation into English of a work of modern Italian poetry. The winning translator will also receive a five-week residency at the American Academy in Rome. Gian Maria Annovi, Patrizio Ceccagnoli, and Anna Kraczyna will judge. Using only the online submission system, translators may submit a proposal and 15 pages of a translation-in-progress, alongside copies of the original poems, by February 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Individual Artist Grants for Women

Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
January 31, 2026

Grants of up to $2,000 each are given in alternating years to feminist poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are citizens of the United States or Canada. This year, grants will be awarded to fiction writers. Using only the online submission system, submit 10 to 15 pages of prose, a statement regarding interest in receiving support from a feminist fund, a project description, a budget, and a résumé with a $25 entry fee between January 1 and January 31. A limited number of fee waivers are available upon request. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Prizes in Poetry and Prose

Slippery Elm
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
February 1, 2026

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Slippery Elm are given annually for a single poem and a short story or essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of any length or up to 5,000 words of prose with a $15 entry fee, which includes the latest issue of Slippery Elm, by February 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Airlie Prize

Airlie Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
March 15, 2026
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Airlie Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages with a $25 entry fee (or a $33 entry fee, which includes a copy of the winning poetry collection) by March 15. Financial assistance is available for BIPOC and trans writers. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

New American Poetry Prize

New American Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
January 15, 2026

A prize of $1,500, publication by New American Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Rick Barot will judge. Writers of any citizenship working anywhere in the world are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $25 entry fee by January 15. 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.

Tags: 
book awards

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