The New England Poetry Club is thrilled to announce that submissions are now open for our 2025 annual poetry contests! These contests celebrate excellence in poetry across a variety of forms and genres, with prizes awarded for single poems, chapbooks, translations, and more.
Submission Period:
🗓️ June 1 – July 31, 2025
💸 Cash prizes: $250
📚 Winners will be published in the NEPC online anthology and invited to read at the annual Prize-Winners’ Reading.
Available Contests:
- Samuel Washington Allen Prize – For a long poem or sequence (3–10 pages)
- E.E. Cummings Prize – For a lyrical or experimental poem (max 21 lines)
- Amy Lowell Prize – For a poem of any length or style by a New England-connected poet
- Der Hovanessian Prize – For a translated poem (original + translation required)
- Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize – For a chapbook published in the last 2 years
Please note that the Sheila Margaret Motton Book Prize is suspended for 2025, while we redevelop the judging process.
Entry Fees:
- Free for NEPC members
- $5 per contest for non-members ($15 for chapbook prize)
- No fee for the Der Hovanessian Prize
Important Guidelines:
- Only one poem per contest
- Submissions must be original, unpublished, and in English
- AI-generated work is not accepted
- Submit anonymously (no names in files or filenames)
👉 Read full guidelines and submit here
We look forward to reading your poems!