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DIRECTORY

Best Poetry Writing Contests in 2025

Showing 158 contests that match your search.

Page 5

First Book Award

Academy of American Poets

Genres: Poetry

The First Book Award is a $5,000 prize for a first book of poetry. The winning manuscript is published by Graywolf Press, with additional benefits like a residency in Italy and extensive promotion.

Top Prize:

$5,000

💰 Entry fee: $35

📅 Deadline: September 01, 2025 (Expired)

Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize for Poetry

Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation

Genres: Poetry

The Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize for Poetry is an annual contest honoring the poet Robinson Jeffers. Established as a living memorial, it aims to recognize outstanding poetry submissions. The prize includes an honorarium and honorable mentions.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

$200 for honorable mention

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2025 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The Muriel Craft Bailey Poetry Contest is an annual event that celebrates original poetry. It has been held since 1997 in memory of poet Muriel Craft Bailey. The contest is open for submissions from April 1 to July 15 each year, with guidelines updated periodically.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication by The Comstock Review

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: July 15, 2024 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition invites entries of poems on any subject and in any format, with a maximum length of 60 lines. Judging is anonymous, and an entry fee of £5 per poem is required.

Top Prize:

£300

Additional prizes:

1st: £300 + title of Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year | 2nd: £150 | 3rd: £75

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: June 02, 2025 (Expired)

Goldilocks Zone

Sunspot Literary Journal

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

The Goldilocks Zone contest invites submissions for fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, artwork, and graphic novels, seeking works that combine craft with audience appeal. The prize includes cash and publication for winners and runners-up.

Top Prize:

$100

Additional prizes:

Publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists.

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2025 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction and Poetry

An international writing contest for original, unpublished short stories. Winners are selected anonymously by a judge.

Top Prize:

€3,000

Additional prizes:

2nd prize: a week at Circle of Misse plus open travel stipend | 3rd prize: €1,000

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2025

Fischer Prize

Telluride Institute

Genres: Poetry

A national poetry contest established in 1997 in memory of Mark Fischer. It aims to promote poetry and supports the Talking Gourds community poetry program. The contest is open to all poets writing in English, regardless of age or location, and it awards cash prizes to winners and finalists.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Five $250 Outstanding Finalist prizes

💰 Entry fee: $12

📅 Deadline: August 31, 2025 (Expired)

Kate Tufts Discovery Award

Claremont Graduate University

Genres: Poetry

The Kate Tufts Discovery Award is presented annually for a first book of poetry published between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. It aims to recognize promising poets and offers financial support and increased visibility.

Top Prize:

$10,000

📅 Deadline: July 01, 2025 (Expired)

Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize

Academy of American Poets

Genres: Poetry

Established in 1975, this prize recognizes the most outstanding book of poetry published in the U.S. in the previous calendar year. It includes a $25,000 award, a residency at Glen Hollow, and distribution of the winning book to Academy members.

Top Prize:

$25,000

💰 Entry fee: $75

📅 Deadline: May 15, 2025 (Expired)

Genres: Poetry

The 42 Miles Press Poetry Award aims to highlight urgent and original voices in poetry. Open to all poets writing in English, it accepts collections of poetry that showcase contemporary American poetic voices. The contest is judged by David Dodd Lee, and past winners include several notable poets.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication of the winning book and 50 author copies, plus an invitation for a reading at Indiana University South Bend.

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024 (Expired)

Ambroggio Prize

Academy of American Poets

Genres: Poetry

The Ambroggio Prize is a $1,000 publication prize for a poetry manuscript originally in Spanish with an English translation. It honors American poets whose first language is Spanish and is awarded annually since 2017.

Top Prize:

$1,000

📅 Deadline: September 15, 2025 (Expired)

The Peseroff Prize

Breakwater Review

Genres: Poetry

The Peseroff Prize honors Joyce Peseroff's contributions to poetry and literature. It is an annual contest that invites submissions of previously unpublished poems.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

Publication in spring issue

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: April 15, 2025 (Expired)

The Porter Fleming Literary Competition

The Morris Museum of Art

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Script Writing

The Porter Fleming Literary Competition honors the memory of Porter Fleming. It awards $7,000 in cash across four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and One-Act Play. Winners are invited to a literary program and awards ceremony in Spring 2026.

Top Prize:

$1,000

Additional prizes:

2nd place: $500 3rd place: $250 Prizes available in each of the four genre categories

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2026

Fish Poetry Prize

Fish Publishing

Genres: Poetry

The Fish Poetry Prize is an open competition judged by Billy Collins, offering significant monetary prizes and publication opportunities in the Fish Anthology 2025. It has been established since 2006, focusing on poems of any theme, restricted to 60 lines.

Top Prize:

€1000

Additional prizes:

2nd: writer's retreat | 3rd: €300

💰 Entry fee: $14

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2025 (Expired)

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Enter our 91st Annual Writing Competition for the chance to have your work be seen by editors and agents! Almost 500 winners will be chosen. The top winning entries of this writing contest will also be on display in the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection. [$20 for a poetry entry, $30 for a manuscript entry]

Top Prize:

$5,000

Additional prizes:

Grand prize winner receives $5000. In each category: 1st, $1000; 2nd, $500; 3rd, $250; 4th, $100; 5th, $50; 6th through 10th, $25 gift certificate. 1st place winners receive a one year subscription to Writer's Digest magazine + tutorials.

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: May 05, 2025 (Expired)

Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize

Kent State University

Genres: Poetry

The Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize is awarded annually for a poet's first full-length book of poetry. The prize includes $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press. The winner will also participate in a reading at Kent State with the judge.

Top Prize:

$2,500

Additional prizes:

Publication by Kent State University Press

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2025 (Expired)

The Plaza Poetry Prize

The Plaza Prizes Ltd.

Genres: Poetry

The Plaza Poetry Prize (60 lines) is an international competition with the aim of discovering, publishing, and promoting talented new writers. Judged by Pulitzer Prize-winner Natalie Diaz, it offers cash prizes and publication opportunities for shortlisted entries.

Top Prize:

$5,000

Additional prizes:

First Place: £4000 / $5000 + publication in the anthology + nomination for The Forward Prize (Top prize of £1000 / $1200). Second Prize: £300 / $360. Third Prize: £100 / $120.

💰 Entry fee: $15

📅 Deadline: February 28, 2025 (Expired)

"I Matter" Contest

National Youth Foundation

Genres: Poetry

A national poetry and art competition initiated by a 14-year-old youth co-founder to allow students to express feelings about racial injustice, specifically focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement. The contest aims to promote diversity and inclusion through literary arts.

Additional prizes:

Winning entries are featured on social media and published in an annual book

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: July 23, 2025 (Expired)

Reedsy | Poetry Contest | 2025-01

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