Genre: Poetry

Pegasus Poetry Book Prize

Poetry Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 2, 2026

An award of $10,000 and publication by Graywolf Press will be given triennially for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet who is 40 years old or older. Poets who have published no more than one poetry collection are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages and an application by February 2. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required application form, which can be accessed via Poetry Foundation’s online portal (applicants must register for portal access by January 26), and complete guidelines.

Yeats Poetry Prize

WB Yeats Society of NY
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
February 1, 2026

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the WB Yeats Society of NY website is given annually for a single poem. The winner also receives a two-year membership to the organization and is invited to a ceremony in New York City. Joseph O. Legaspi will judge. Submit a poem of up to 60 lines with a $15 entry fee ($12 for each additional poem) by February 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Open Chapbook Competition

Finishing Line Press
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Leah Huete de Maines will judge. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 34 pages, a brief bio, and a cover letter with a $20 entry fee by February 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Tags: 
chapbooks

James Welch Prize for Indigenous Poets

Poetry Northwest
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Poetry Northwest are given annually for a single poem by an Indigenous poet. The winners also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to read with the judge at Poets House in New York City in the fall. Writers who have published no more than one full-length book and who are community-recognized members of tribal nations within the United States and its territories are eligible. A Native poet of national prominence will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each, a cover letter specifying any tribal affiliations and ties, and a brief bio by February 15. All entries are considered for publication. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Cardinal Poetry Prize

Wesleyan University Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
February 28, 2026

An award of $1,000 and publication by Wesleyan University Press will be given biennially for a poetry collection by a writer 40 years or older. The award will be given for a poet who has “taken their time and decided not to rush publication.” Poets who have yet to publish a collection or have not published a collection within the last ten years will be eligible. Robert Pinsky will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 64 pages with a $25 entry fee by February 28. Financial assistance is available on request based on financial need. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Furious Flower Poetry Prize

Furious Flower Poetry Center
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems in conversation with the Furious Flower Poetry Center’s mission to ensure the visibility, inclusion, and critical consideration of Black poets in American letters. The winner also receives a $500 honorarium to give a reading at James Madison University. Poets who have published no more than one book are eligible. Major Jackson will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems totaling no more than six pages with a $20 entry fee by February 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

Poets & Writers, Inc.
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 1, 2026

Two prizes of $750 each are given annually to a poet and a fiction writer residing in the United States. Both winners also receive a monthlong residency at Jentel Artist Residency in Wyoming and will meet with writers, editors, publishers, and agents virtually or in person in New York City. The 2026 contest is open to residents of Connecticut. Poets and fiction writers who have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying are eligible. Submit 7 to 10 pages of poetry or up to 25 pages of fiction via e-mail by March 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Poetry Awards

West Chester University
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 20, 2026

Five prizes of $1,000 to $1,500 each are given annually for a single poem “composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme, and received forms” (Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award); a single poem written in haiku form (Myong Cha Son Haiku Award); a single poem written in sonnet form (Sonnet Award); a single poem written in villanelle form (Villanelle Award); and a single poem written in Spanish and accompanied by the English translation or translated into Spanish and accompanied by the English original (Rhina P. Espaillat Award). Second-place prizes of $500 are also awarded for the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award and the Myong Cha Son Haiku Award. Only undergraduate students who are enrolled in a U.S. college or university are eligible. Joan Kwon Glass will judge the first four awards, and Rhina P. Espaillat will judge her titular award. Submit up to three poems and the contact information of one referring professor by February 20. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Charles S. Longcope Jr. Writers and Artists Grant

Gay & Lesbian Review
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
February 15, 2026

Up to three grants of up to $5,000 each and publication in the Gay & Lesbian Review will be given annually for a project “with LGBTQ+ identity, experiences, or history as their primary focus” by a poet or prose writer. Students enrolled in any master’s or PhD program at the time of application whose “proposed project makes a contribution to LGBTQ+ scholarship or the arts” are eligible. Submit a 100-word project summary, a project description, a description of the proposed article, a biographical sketch, a résumé, a budget and budget narrative, an anticipated time line, a list of other funding sources for the project, and a letter verifying graduate student status by February 15. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Jan Garton Prairie Heritage Book Award

Prairie Heritage, Inc.
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
January 31, 2026

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a published poetry collection, book of fiction, or book of creative nonfiction that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-continental prairies.” Authors, publishers, and the general public may submit two copies of a book by January 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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