Genre: Poetry

Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize

American Literary Translators Association

Entry Fee:

Deadline:

March 16, 2026

A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a poetry collection or a text from Zen Buddhism translated from an Asian language into English and published in the previous year. Publishers or translators may submit a book translated from Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Sanskrit, Tamil, Thai, or Vietnamese into English and published in 2025 by March 16. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Hudson Prize

Black Lawrence Press

Entry Fee:

$30

Deadline:

March 31, 2026

A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a collection of poems, short stories, essays, or hybrid work. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 45 to 95 pages or a prose manuscript of 120 to 280 pages with a $30 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Emerging Writers’ Contest

Ploughshares

Entry Fee:

$30

Deadline:

March 31, 2026

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Each winner also receives a consultation with the literary agency Aevitas Creative Management. Writers who have not published a book or a chapbook with a print run of over 350 copies are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit three to five pages of poetry or up to 6,500 words of prose with a $30 entry fee (there is no entry fee for current subscribers), which includes a subscription to Ploughshares, by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry Contest

Bomb

Entry Fee:

$25

Deadline:

April 15, 2026

An award of $1,000 and publication in Bomb will be given biennially for a poem or group of poems. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $30 entry fee, which includes a print subscription to Bomb for U.S.-based applicants or a digital subscription for applicants based outside the U.S. by April 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry

Beloit Poetry Journal

Entry Fee:

$15

Deadline:

April 30, 2026

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Beloit Poetry Journal is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $15 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. A limited number of fee waivers, based on financial need, are available upon request. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Loraine Williams Poetry Prize

Georgia Review

Entry Fee:

$25

Deadline:

May 15, 2026

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review is given annually for a single poem. Brian Teare will judge. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $25 entry fee by May 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry International Prize

Poetry International

Entry Fee:

$15

Deadline:

April 30, 2026

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Poetry International is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of any length with a $15 entry fee ($3 for each additional poem) by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poet to Poet: X. J. Kennedy

Poet to Poet with Robert Dunn, (X.J. Kennedy - part 1 / featured guest)

Caption:

In this 1997 interview for the Poet to Poet series, X. J. Kennedy reads his poems, including “Nude Descending a Staircase” and “Nothing in Heaven Functions as It Ought,” and talks about his start as a writer with host Robert Dunn. Kennedy, who was awarded the 2015 Jackson Poetry Prize, died at the age of ninety-six on February 1, 2026.

Genre:

Poetry

Tags:

X. J. Kennedy

Nude Descending a Staircase

Time to Rhyme

The Time Is Now

2.3.26

X. J. Kennedy, winner of the 2015 Jackson Poetry Prize who died at the age of ninety-six on February 1, was known for verses which often incorporated rhyming couplets and light humor. The title poem from his debut 1961 collection, Nude Descending a Staircase, is based on Marcel Duchamp’s painting of the same name and is made up of three short stanzas, beginning with: “Toe upon toe, a snowing flesh, / a gold of lemon, root and rind, / she sifts in sunlight down the stairs / with nothing on. Nor on her mind.” Taking inspiration from this style, select a few works by a favorite artist—whether paintings, sculptures, films, or music—and compose a series of short poems that make use of end rhymes, and perhaps traditional forms of an ode, ballad, elegy, or sonnet. How might deploying a surprising twist of humor inject the poems with a sense of playful energy?

Rachel Eliza Griffiths: The Flower Bearers

#PouredOver: Rachel Eliza Griffiths on The Flower Bearers

Caption:

In this video, Rachel Eliza Griffiths talks about grief, poetry, vulnerability, and writing her first memoir, The Flower Bearers (Random House, 2026), for an episode of Poured Over: The Barnes & Noble Podcast with host Miwa Messer. For more on Griffiths, read “Marvelous and Dangerous: A Q&A With Rachel Eliza Griffiths” by Renée H. Shea.

Genre:

Poetry

Creative Nonfiction

Tags:

Rachel Eliza Griffiths