New Year, New Cycle of Contest Deadlines

It’s a new year, and there’s a new cycle of poetry book and chapbook publication contest deadlines coming up in the next few months, for those of you who’ve been working on a manuscript, and choose to go the competition entry route to getting it published. Here’s a roundup of upcoming entry deadlines:

• Del Sol Press Poetry Prize (postmark deadline January 15)
• John Ciardi Prize for Poetry from BkMk Press at the University of Missouri Kansas City (postmark deadline January 15)
• Grayson Books Chapbook Contest (postmark deadline January 16)
• Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry from Sarabande Books (postmark deadline February 15)
• New Women’s Voices Chapbook Competition from Finishing Line Press (postmark deadline February 15)
• National Poetry Series, this year with a new prize co-sponsored by mtvU designating one of the five book publication awards to go to a college student (postmark deadline February 16)
• The American Poetry Journal Book Prize from Dream Horse Press (postmark deadline February 28)
• Fence Modern Poets Series (postmark deadline February 28)
• Tupelo Press Snowbound Series Chapbook Award (postmark deadline February 28)
• Sawtooth Poetry Prize from Ahsahta Press (postmark deadline March 1)
• The Washington Prize from The Word Works (postmark deadline March 1)
• Cleveland State University Poetry Center Prizes, First Book competition and Open competition (postmark deadline March 2)
• Grub Street Book Prize in Poetry (postmark deadline March 15)
• Four Way Books Levis Poetry Prize (postmark or online submission deadline March 31)
• Robert Watson Poetry Award from Spring Garden Press and The Greensboro Review (postmark or online entry deadline April 2)
• Richard Peterson Poetry Prize from Crab Orchard Review (postmark deadline April 30)
• Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize (postmark deadline April 30)

Required reading before you submit to any contests:
“What's Really Wrong with Poetry Book Contests?,” by David Alpaugh
How to put together a poetry manuscript for publication
“A Word To the Wise: On entering your poems in competition,” by Kurt Heintz
“You Do It Because You Love It,” by S.A. Griffin

Related resources:
More contest links