Jump to navigation Skip to content
In this video, finalists for the 2022 National Book Award in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translated literature, and young people’s literature read excerpts from their honored works. The event, hosted by writer Saraciea J. Fennell, is presented in partnership with the National Book Foundation and the NYU Creative Writing Program.
“I write for my people. I write because we children of the lash-scarred, rope-choked, bullet-ridden, desecrated are still here standing. I write for the field holler, the shout, the growl, the singer, the signer, and the signified,” says Imani Perry in her moving acceptance speech for the 2022 National Book Award in nonfiction for her book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation (Ecco, 2022). In her powerful message, Perry repeats the refrain “I write” as she lists the many reasons that lead her to the page. Inspired by Perry’s acceptance speech, write a poem that lists what drives you to write, including the people, languages, and beliefs that move you.
In this episode of Public Access Poetry, a cable television show produced for two seasons during 1977 and 1978, Eileen Myles and Alice Notley read a selection of their work. The full archive of half-hour episodes featuring poets from the downtown New York City poetry scene can be found on PennSound, an archival project affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania.
“Where are you from / is a question I field too much. Once / I said Vietnam and the white man said I fought there. / I loved the country. I love their people. / That’s the day I started to lie / about my birth,” writes Kien Lam in his poem “Lunar Mansions,” published in the May/June 2018 issue of the American Poetry Review, in which he recounts the apocryphal story of his birth. Lam weaves in the story of the birth of Jesus, often conflating it with his own: “In the stable / the horses kicked me from their wombs,” he writes. Write a poem that tells the apocryphal story of your birth incorporating, as Lam does, a fantastical tone.
With the fall season underway and a new month around the corner, get a jump start on submitting to contests with deadlines of November 30 and December 1! These awards present opportunities for queer writers as well as debut poetry and prose writers, among others. Plus, one lucky poet will win $3,000, publication of their manuscript, and the chance to give a reading under the auspices of the Folger Shakespeare Library. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more and one is even free to enter. Onward, writers!
Autumn House Press
Rising Writer Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given in alternating years for a debut work of poetry or fiction. The 2023 prize will be given for fiction. The winner will also receive a $500 grant for travel and book promotion. Matt Bell will judge. All finalists are considered for publication. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $25 (the submission fee may be waived in cases of financial need).
BOA Editions
A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a first book of poetry by a U.S. resident. Tina Chang will judge. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $25.
Langum Foundation
David J. Langum Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of historical fiction published during the current year. Self-published books are ineligible. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: none.
Masters Review
Novel Excerpt Contest
A prize of $3,000, publication in Masters Review, and an agent consultation will be given annually for an excerpt of an unpublished novel or novel-in-progress showing “a sense of style, with a clear grasp on craft” by an emerging writer. Halley Dunne Parry of the Hamilburg Agency will offer the consultation for this contest cycle. Charmaine Craig will judge. Writers who have not published a book or who have published a book with a circulation of less than 5,000 are eligible. All entries will be considered for publication. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $20.
Meadowlark Press
Birdy Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000, publication by Meadowlark Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $25.
Quarter After Eight
Robert J. DeMott Short Prose Contest
A prize of $1,008.15 and publication in Quarter After Eight is given annually for a prose poem, a short short story, or a micro essay. Kirstin Valdez Quade will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $15.
Red Hen Press
Quill Prose Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story or essay collection, a novel, or a hybrid work of prose by a queer writer. Elizabeth Bradfield will judge. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $10.
Regal House Publishing
W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a story collection. The editors will judge. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $25.
Tadpole Press
100-Word Writing Contest
A prize of $1,000 will be given twice annually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Deadline: November 30. Entry fee: $10.
Waywiser Press
Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize
A prize of $3,000 and publication by the Waywiser Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published no more than one previous collection. The winner will also give a reading with the contest judge under the auspices of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $29.
Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.
In this interview for MSNBC’s American Voices, Ada Limón speaks to host Alicia Menendez about becoming the first Latina U.S. poet laureate, her journey to a writing career, life in Kentucky, and how poetry can bring people together in “those moments when we can put everything down for one minute and just see ourselves, each other.”
“I love the deep attribute of poetry to pause, to look, to listen, to respect, to pay attention to variety and learn something new.” Naomi Shihab Nye, Juan Felipe Herrera, and Jane Hirschfield discuss poetry and the poet’s role in America at the 2015 National Book Festival in this video from the Academy of American Poets.
“I think one of the civic responsibilities of poets in America today is to continue to encourage a sense of civility among us and a sense of curiosity about one another’s lives,” says Naomi Shihab Nye in a conversation with Juan Felipe Herrera and Jane Hirshfield at the 2015 National Book Festival captured on video by the Academy of American Poets. What do you feel is one of your responsibilities as a writer? Write a poem that answers this question by considering timely issues—whether global or personal—that fuel your passion for writing.
“I am only able to write because of consistent and reliable childcare.” —Kate Baer, author of And Yet
Abigail Chabitnoy reads from her collections How to Dress a Fish (Wesleyan University Press, 2019) and In the Current Where Drowning Is Beautiful (Wesleyan University Press, 2022) after an introduction by poet Peter Gizzi for this event presented in conjunction with University of Massachusetts MFA for Poets & Writers’ Visiting Writers Series. Chabitnoy is featured in Literary MagNet in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
