Genre: Poetry

Montreal International Poetry Prize

McGill University
Entry Fee: 
$18
Deadline: 
May 1, 2026
A prize of $20,000 Canadian (approximately $14,418) is given biennially for a poem. Natalie Diaz will judge, and Jaswinder Bolina, Kayla Czaga, Boris Dralyuk, Iona Lee, Brandy Nālani McDougall, Sinéad Morrissey, Sachiko Murakami, Robin S. Ngangom, Felicity Plunkett, Sheryda Warrener, Derek Webster, and Sithembele Isaac Xhegwana will serve as preliminary jurors. All entries are considered for publication in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology. English self-translations of works originally written in another language are accepted. Using only the online submission system, submit a poem of up to 40 lines with a $25 Canadian (approximately $18) entry fee by May 1; submissions are also accepted from May 2 to May 15 with a $28 Canadian (approximately $20) entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize

TRP
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
March 31, 2026
A prize of $1,000, publication by TRP: the University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. francine j. harris will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of up to 40 pages with a $20 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

James Laughlin Award

Academy of American Poets
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
May 15, 2026
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second poetry collection by a living poet to be published in the next calendar year. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid weeklong residency at the Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Copies of the winning book are distributed to approximately 1,200 members of the Academy of American Poets. Using only the online submission system, U.S. publishers may submit a PDF of a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages that has come under contract for publication in 2027 by May 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Narrative Prize

Narrative
Entry Fee: 
$27
Deadline: 
April 30, 2026
An award of $5,000 is given annually for a poem, short story, novel excerpt, or work of creative nonfiction by an emerging writer. Previously unpublished work and work published in Narrative during the year are eligible. The editors will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems or between 2,000 and 15,000 words of prose with a $27 entry fee by April 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Berkshire Prize

Tupelo Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
April 30, 2026
A prize of $3,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 88 pages with a $30 entry fee by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize

Academy of American Poets
Entry Fee: 
$75
Deadline: 
May 15, 2026
A prize of $25,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a living poet published in the United States during the previous year. The winner also receives a 10-day residency at the Glen Hollow cottage in Naples, New York. Copies of the winning book are distributed to approximately 2,500 members of the Academy of American Poets. Self-published books are not accepted. Using only the online submission system, U.S. publishers may submit PDF copies of any number of books of at least 48 pages published in 2025 with a $75 entry fee by May 15. Visit the website for the required entry form and 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.
Tags: 
book awards

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.
Tags: 
book awards

Poet to Poet: X. J. Kennedy

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
Poet to Poet
interview
in memoriam
Jackson Poetry Prize

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?

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