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Poetry Competitions

ABILENE WRITERS GUILD

July 1

August 2

 $5-10 1st: $100 2nd: $65  3rd: $35
Abilene Writers Guild
P.O. Box 2562
Abilene  TX  79604-2562		 Rhymed Poetry (up to 50 lines); Unrhymed Poetry (up to 50 lines); Children's Stories for Ages 3-10 (1,000 words maximum); Articles of General Interest (1,500 words maximum); Compositions of Inspiration (1,500 words maximum); Memoir/Composition of Nostalgia (1,500 words maximum); Fiction for Adults (1,500 words maximum); Adventure/Science Fiction/Mystery/Fantasy/Horror Novels (no more than 10 pages of 1st chapter and a 1-page synopsis of book); Mainstream/Romance/Western/Other Novel (no more than 10 pages of 1st chapter and a 1-page synopsis of book). All rights remain with the writer. Deadlines and entry fees vary based on type of material submitted. See website for details.
 
Anamnesis Press
P.O. Box 51115
Palo Alto  CA  94303		 Annual award for best collection of poetry. Author's chapbook is published and author receives 20 copies.
 
ANHINGA PRIZE FOR POETRY Feb. 15 $20 $2000
Anhinga Press
P.O. Box 10595
Tallahassee  FL  32302		 Annual prize for a book-length collection of poetry. Author may not have published more than one book prior to entry.
 
ANTIETAM REVIEW LITERARY AWARD Sept. 1 $15 $100
Antietam Review
41 S. Potomac St.
Hagerstown  MD  21740		 Annual award for short story or poems (send three). Only writers from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC and Delaware are eligible.
 
APR/HONICKMAN FIRST BOOK PRIZE Oct. 31 $25 $3000
The American Poetry Review
117 S. 17th St.
Suite 910
Philadelphia  PA  19103-5009		 Annual award for a poet's first full-length book of poetry. In addition to the prize, author also receives $1000 to finance a book promotional tour.
 
ARTS & LETTERS PRIZES April 1 $15 $1000
Arts & Letters Journal of Contemporary Culture
Campus Box 89
GC&SU
Milledgeville  GA  31061		 Fiction, poetry, and drama (one-act play). Fiction and poetry winners will attend a weekend program in October, and the drama winner will attend a Spring festival that includes a production of the prize-winning play.
 
ATLANTIC POETRY PRIZE First Friday in December None $1000
Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia
1113 Marginal Rd.
Halifax  NS  B3H 4P7
Canada		 Annual award for a book-length collection of poetry by Canadian writers living in the Atlantic region. Entrants must be native or resident Atlantic Canadians who have either been born in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick, and spent a substantial portion of their lives living there. This organization also sponsors a competition for book-length fiction.
 
AWP AWARD SERIES January 1 $20

$4000 poem

$2000 fiction
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Carty House, Mail Stop 1E3
George Mason University
Fairfax  VA  22030		 Categories: poetry (Donald Hall Poetry Prize), short fiction, novel, and creative nonfiction. Guidelines for SASE and on website. Open to any writer. In addition to cash prize, winning manuscript is published by one of the member publishing houses
 
THE BACKWATERS PRIZE June 4 $25 $1000
The Backwaters Press
3502 N. 52nd St.
Omaha  NE  68104-3506		 Annual competition for a book-length collection of poetry. Winning manuscript will also be published by Backwaters Press.
 
British Columbia Chapter of The Canadian Poetry Association
P.O. Box 3
Clinton, BC    V0K 1K0
Canada		 1st Place: $50; 2nd Place: $40; 3rd Place: $30; 4th Place: $20; 5th Place: $10; 6th Place: $5; up to 10 Honorable Mentions. All 6 cash-prize winners and honorable mentions will be published in the 2nd edition of Dogwood Express (Little Red Hen Publishing Co.).
 
BEACON STREET REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD Ongoing None $100
Beacon Street Review
Emerson College
120 Boylston St.
Boston  MA  02116		 Annual award for unpublished short fiction, creative nonfiction or poetry.
 
Binghamton University Creative Writing Program
Dept. of English, General Literature & Rhetoric
P.O. Box 6000
Binghamton  NY  13902-6000		 Annual award for published collection of poetry more than 48 pages by an author over the age of 40.
 
bp NICHOL CHAPBOOK AWARD March 30 None $1000 (CA)
Phoenix Community Works Foundation
316 Dupont St.
Toronto  ON  M5R 1V9
Canada		 Annual competition for poetry chapbooks up to 48 pages. Open to any writer. Send three non-returnable copies.
 
The Briar Cliff Review
Briar Cliff University
3303 Rebecca St.
Sioux City  IA  51104-0100		 Unpublished short fiction and poetry up to 5K words. Looking for stories with a plot. Submit work between August 1 and November 1.
 
BRIGHT HILL PRESS ANNUAL POETRY CHAPBOOK COMPETITION July 31 $10 $250
Bright Hill Press
P.O. Box 193
Treadwell  NY  13846		 Sponsors poetry in odd-numbered years and short stories in even-numbered years. Looking for up to 24 pages.
 
BYLINE MAGAZINE AWARDS Varies $5 See Text
Byline Magazine Awards   P.O. Box 5240
Edmond  OK  73083-5240		 Magazine sponsors several monthly contests, open to anyone, in various categories that include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children's literature; an annual poetry chapbook award which is open to any poet. In addition, an annual ByLine Short Fiction and Poetry Award open only to Byline subscribers. Chapbook Award: Publication of chapbook, 50 copies and $200; ByLine Short Fiction and Poetry Award: $250 in each category, plus publication in the magazine.
 
CAMPBELL CORNER POETRY CONTEST March 15 $25 $2,500
Graduate Studies/Sarah Lawrence College
One Meadway
Bronxville  NY  10708		 Send SASE for guidelines. Open to any writer worldwide.
 
HAYDEN CARRUTH AWARD Nov. 30 $25 $1,000
Copper Canyon Press
P.O. Box 271
Port Townsend  WA  98368		 Competition for writers who have published two or fewer volumes of poetry. Work submitted must be unpublished. Prize acts as advance against royalties in publication contract.
 
The Center for Book Arts
28 W. 27th St.
3rd Floor
New York  NY  10001		 Competition for unpublished collections of poetry up to 24 pages. Winner is published by the center and receives 10 copies of the chapbook.
 
CHAUTAUQUA LITERARY JOURNAL ANNUAL CONTESTS Sept. 30 $15 $1,500
Chautauqua Literary Journal
P.O. Box 2039
York Beach  ME  03910		 Two awards given each year, one in short fiction and one in poetry. Winning entries published in journal.
 
CHICAGO LITERARY AWARD Dec. 15 $12 $1,000
Left Field Press/Another Chicago Magazine
3709 N. Kenmore
Chicago  IL  60613-2905		 Open to any writer of fiction or poetry. Entries must be unpublished works.
 
JOHN CIARDI PRIZE FOR POETRY Dec. 1 $25 $1,000
BkMk Press, University of Missouri-Kansas City
5101 Rockhill Rd.
Kansas City  MO  64110		 Annual award for an unpublished book-length collection of poetry in the English language by a living author. Dead writers aren't eligible. Winning entry published by BkMk.
 
CNW/FFWA ANNUAL FLORIDA STATE WRITING COMPETITION March 15 None 1st $100 2nd $75 3rd $50
Florida Freelance Writers Association
P.O. Box A
North Stratford  NH  03590-0167		 Prizes will be awarded in each category as follows: Nonfiction, fiction, children's literature and poetry. All entries must be previously published work and can include chapters from books as well as short pieces.
 
BETSY COLQUITT AWARD FOR POETRY Ongoing, Sept-April None $500
descant
TCU Box 297270
Fort Worth  TX  76129		 Annual award given for single poem or small collection of poetry. Work must be previously unpublished.
 
Pottersfield Portfolio
9879 Kempt Head Rd.
Ross Ferry  NS  B1X 1N3
Canada		 Two awards given. One is to the best short story under 1,500 words and the other is to the best poem. $20 entry fee for the first entry, subsequent entries in the same envelope are $5 each.
 
CRAB ORCHARD AWARD SERIES IN POETRY Varies $25 1st $3,500 2nd $1,500
Crab Orchard Review and Southern Illinois University Press
Dept. of English
Carbondale  IL  62901-4503		 Annual competition for book-length collections of poetry. See website for this year's deadline.
 
THE CRUCIBLE POETRY AND FICTION COMPETITION Late April None $150
Crucible
Barton College
College Station
Wilson  NC  27893		 Annual award give to the best manuscript of poetry or short story.
 
DANA AWARDS Oct. 31 $20 novel $15 SS/poem $1,000
Dana Awards in the Novel, Short Fiction and Poetry
7207 Townsend Forest Court
Browns Summit  NC  27214-9634		 Writers must be 16 years of age or older and work must be originally written in the English language. Submit up to 50 pages of a novel in progress or short stories up to 10K words. Poets should send a group of five poems.
 
DELAWARE DIVISION OF THE ARTS Aug. 1 None Varies
820 N. French St.
Wilmington  DE  19801		 $10,000 for masters, $5,000 for established professionals; $2,000 for emerging professionals. Any Delaware writer is eligible, regardless of the type of writing they do.
 
ALICE FAY DI CASTAGNOLA AWARD Dec. 21 None $1,000
Poetry Society of America
15 Gramercy Park S.
New York  NY  10003		 Annual award for a book-length manuscript of poetry that is still in progress.
 
MILTON DORFMAN POETRY PRIZE April 30 $8 1st $500 2nd $250 3rd $150
Rome Art & Community Center
308 W. Bloomfield St.
Rome  NY  13440		 Annual award given to single poems.
 
ECKERD COLLEGE REVIEW POETRY CONTEST Dec. 1 $7 $300
Eckerd College Review
4200 54th Ave. S
St. Petersburg  FL  33711		 Annual competition for poetry. Detailed guidelines can be obtained by emailing siren@eckerd.edu. If more than one poem is submitted, additional entries are $3 each.
 
Robert English                  P.O. Box 30981
Albuquerque  NM  87190-0981		 Poetry up to 60 lines. Open to any writer.
 
JANICE FARRELL POETRY PRIZE Nov. 30 $5 1st $100 2nd $50 3rd $25
National League of American Pen Women, Nob Hill, San Francisco Branch
1544 Sweetwood Dr.
Colma  CA  94015-2029		 One page poems only and a maximum of three entries per person ($5 per poem). Open to all writers.
 
The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society
624 Pirate's Alley
New Orleans  LA  70116-3254		 Novel: $7,500; novella: $2,500; novel-in-progress: $2,000; short story: $1,500; personal essay: $1,000; individual poem: $750; high school: $750 for student and $250 for sponsoring teacher.entry fee: Novel--$35; novella--$30; novel-in-progress--$30; short story, personal essay, and individual poem--$25; high school short story--$10 (paid by school).
 
FIELD POETRY PRIZE Submit in May $22 $1,000
Oberlin College Press/FIELD
10 N. Professor St.
Oberlin  OH  44074-1095		 Annual poetry competition. Open to all writers. Entry fee includes a subscription to Field Magazine.
 
FINELINE COMPETITION Oct. 1 $5 $500
Mid-American Review
Dept. of English, Box W
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green  OH  43403		 Three entries can be packaged together for $10. This would also include a copy of the issue in which the winning entry is printed. Looking for short-shorts and poetry.
 
Five Points, MSC 8R0318
Georgia State University
33 Gilmer St. SE, Unit 8
Atlanta  GA  30303-3083		 Annual award for previously unpublished poetry. Submit up to three poems per writer.
 
FOLEY POETRY CONTEST See Text None $1,000
America Press
106 W. 56th St.
New York  NY  10019		 Only reads poems submitted between Jan. 1 and April 16. Poems received outside this time frame will be returned unread. Open to all writers.
 
THE 49th PARALLEL POETRY AWARD March 15 $15 $1,000
Bellingham Review
Mail Stop 9053
Western Washington University
Bellingham  WA  98225		 Annual award for previously unpublished poetry. $15 fee covers up to three poems. Additional poems can be entered for $10 each.
 
The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society
922 9th Ave. SE
Calgary  AB  T2G 0S4
Canada		 Annual awards for poetry or fiction up to 3K words. Open to all subject matter and all writers are eligible.
 
ROBERT FROST POETRY AWARD Sept. 1 $10 $1,000
The Robert Frost Foundation
Heritage Place
439 S. Union
Lawrence  MA  01843		 Annual award for poetry in the spirit of Frost. Open to any writer.
 
Fugue, Literary Journal of University of Idaho
English Department
200 Brink Hall
Moscow  ID  83844-1102		 $1,000 for winning story, and publication for top 3 winners.    Poetry: $1,000 for winning poem(s), and publication for top 3 winners.                                                                                 Nonfiction: $1,000 for winning essay, and publication for top 3 winners.
Deadline: Annually April 1 (fiction); April 1, 2006 (poetry); April 1, 2005, and April 1, 2007 (nonfiction)
 
ALLEN GINSBERG POETRY AWARDS April 1 $13 $1,000
The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College
One College Blvd.
Paterson  NJ  07505-1179		 Award to the writer of unpublished poetry in honor of Alan Ginsberg. Open to any writer. Submission fee includes a subscription to The Paterson Literary Review.
 
GREEN ROSE PRIZE IN POETRY Sept. 30 $20 $2,000
New Issues Poetry & Prose
Dept. of English, Western Michigan University
1903 W. Michigan Ave.
Kalamazoo  MI  49008-5331		 Open to any poet writing in English who has published at least one book-length collection of poetry. Winning entry is published with author receiving 10% royalties.
 
The Greensboro Review
English Department, 134 McIver Bldg.
P.O. Box 6170
Greensboro  NC  27402-6170		 An award is given to the best story up to 7,500 words and another for the best poem received. Open to any writer.
 
THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE Dec. 31 None $40,000
The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
6610 Edwards Blvd.
Mississauga  ON  L5T 2V6
Canada		 Two awards are given each year. One goes to the most outstanding Canadian poet (still living). The second is awarded to any other poet living anywhere in the world.
 
GREG GRUMMER POETRY AWARD Dec. 1 $12 $1,000
Phoebe
George Mason University
4400 University Dr.
Fairfax  VA  22030-4444		 An annual award for previously unpublished poetry. Open to any writer.
 
Gulf Coast
English Department
University of Houston
Houston  TX  77204-3013		 Annual competition for short stories and poetry. Entry fee includes a subscription to Gulf Coast Magazine. Open to all writers.
 
Snake Nation Press
110 W. Force St.
Valdosta  GA  31601		 Competition for a collection of poetry ranging between 50 and 75 pages. 
 
KATHRYN HANDLEY PROSE-POEM PRIZE Nov. 30 $5 1st $100 2nd $50 3rd $25
National League of American Pen Women, Nob Hill, San Francisco Branch
1544 Sweetwood Dr.
Colma  CA  94015-2029		 Only looking at single-page prose/poetry. Which is sort of like one serving of jumbo shrimp.
 
THE BEATRICE HAWLEY AWARD Dec. 1 $20 $2,000
Alice James Poetry Cooperative
238 Main St.
Farmington  ME  04938		 Annual award for previously unpublished poetry. Open to US residents only.
 
CECIL HEMLEY MEMORIAL AWARD Dec. 22 None $500
Poetry Society of America
15 Gramercy Park S.
New York  NY  10003		 Open to PSA members only. Annual competition for a lyrical poem that expresses a philosophical theme.
 
THE BESS HOKIN PRIZE Varies None $500
Poetry
1030 N. Clark St.
Suite 420
Chicago  IL  60610		 Awarded to the poem published in the previous year in Poetry magazine.
 
FIRMAN HOUGHTON AWARD June 30 $10 $250
New England Poetry Club
16 Cornell St.
Arlington  MA  02474		 Offered annually for a lyric poem worthy of the former NEPC president.
 
HOW DO I LOVE THEE? OPEN COMPETITION FOR LOVE POETRY Jan. 31 £3 1st  £500 2nd  £100
How Do I Love Thee? Magazine/Poetry for Life Publishing
No. 1, Blue Ball Corner
Water Lane
Winchester, Hampshire    SO23 0ER
United Kingdom		 Awards for the sappiest poems you can dream up.
 
Indiana Review
BH 465, Indiana University
Bloomington  IN  47405-7103		 Annual award for the best story under 500 words. This magazine also features a standard short story contest and a poetry contest. Entry fees and prizes are the same.
 
The Iowa Review
308 EPB
The University of Iowa
Iowa City  IA  52242		 Annual award given in each of the three categories.
 
International Reading Association
P.O. Box 8139
Newark  DE  19714-8139		 Offered every three years to a poet whose work targets children and teens up to grade 12. Must have published no more than two volumes of poetry in the past.
 
Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
P.O. Box 2713
Carmel  CA  93921		 "The Annual Prize for Poetry is a living memorial to American poet Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962). It honors well-crafted, unpublished poetry in all styles, ranging from experimental work to traditional forms including short narrative poems."
 
THE JUNIPER PRIZE Sept. 30 $25 $1,000
University of Massachusetts
Amherst  MA  01003		 Award given annually for a book-length collection of poetry. The prize is in lieu of royalties on the first print run.
 
Kalliope
11901 Beach Blvd.
Jacksonville  FL  32246		 Annual award for poetry. Three poems can be submitted for $10.
 
Zoo Press
P.O. Box 22990
Lincoln  NE  68542		 Awards given up to ten times per year for poetry collections up to 48 pages. Prize serves as an advance against royalties in standard publishing contract.