Genre: Poetry

Literary Awards

New Letters
Entry Fee: 
$24
Deadline: 
May 19, 2025
Three prizes of $2,500 each and publication in New Letters are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up to six poems totaling no more than 30 pages or a story or essay of up to 8,000 words with a $24 entry fee, which includes a subscription to New Letters, by May 19. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Q&A With Jennifer Acker of the Common

Caption: 

Jennifer Acker, founder and editor in chief of the Common, answers questions about the journal’s mission, slush piles, and her editorial process in this virtual event with Becky Tuch for the Lit Mag News Roundup. An interview with Acker about the Common’s fifteenth anniversary is featured in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Genre: 
Poetry
Fiction
Creative Nonfiction
Translation
Tags: 
Jennifer Acker
The Common
literary magazine
publishing
submission process
Becky Tuch
May/June 2025

Blessing the Boats Selections

BOA Editions
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
July 14, 2025
A prize of $2,500 and publication by BOA Editions will be given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who is a woman of color and lives in the United States, “including poets who identify as cis, trans, and non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers on women’s experiences, regardless of citizenship.” Submit a manuscript of 65 to 120 pages and a cover letter by July 14. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Award

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
July 1, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a single poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit.” Submit up to three poems of no more than 30 lines each with a $15 entry fee by July 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Changing Light Prize

Livingston Press
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
May 30, 2025
A prize of $500, publication by Livingston Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a novel-in-verse. Eleanor Boudreau will judge. Submit a manuscript of 90 to 160 pages of poetry and a cover letter via e-mail by May 30. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets

Boulevard
Entry Fee: 
$18
Deadline: 
June 1, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed press. The editors will judge. Submit three poems of any length with an $18 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Boulevard, by June 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Chapbook Contest

Omnidawn Publishing
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
June 16, 2025
A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ewa Chrusciel will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 25 to 45 pages with a $30 entry fee by June 16. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Ottoline Prize

Fence
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
May 31, 2025
A prize of $5,000, publication by Fence Books (with distribution by Consortium), and 40 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman and/or female, including trans women and people of variable gender who were assigned female at birth (AFAB). The winner will also receive a two-week residency at the Eliot House in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 50 pages with a $20 entry fee, which includes a two-issue subscription to Fence, by May 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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