Contests are open April 1 – May 31. Please read on to familiarize yourself with the contest and submission guidelines. Find guidelines for the book prizes here.
Submission Period
April and May only; entries received outside these months will not be considered. Winners announced in August/September on our website, and on Facebook and Twitter.
How to Enter
Read the full submission instructions and then choose the correct submit button.
Guidelines
Please read all the guidelines carefully.
- Only one poem per contest.
- Entries must be original unpublished (neither print nor online) poems in English.
- No poem may be entered in more than one contest, nor should it have won a previous NEPC contest.
- Please use the submission link(s) below the contest(s) you want to enter.
- The name of the contest should appear at the top of the page for each submission.
- DO NOT INCLUDE ANY INFORMATION IDENTIFYING THE AUTHOR (except on the cover sheet for submissions, when one is required). Also, the document that contains your poem cannot use your name as part of its filename.
- Digital submissions via the SUBMIT functionality are STRONGLY preferred.
- If you have a gmail email (or Google-related) account or have someone who does who can submit your entry for you, please use the red SUBMIT button below the contest you wish to enter. Thank you! This is the easiest for us to process.
- If you don’t have access to gmail or a Google-related account, please use the green SUBMIT button below the contest you wish to enter.
- If you could not upload your poem but were able to otherwise complete and successfully submit the form, please email contests@nepoetryclub.org, specifying ‘NEPC Contest <name of the contest> for the SUBJECT. Please include your name, Poem Title, and attach your poem document.
- If you are unable to submit anything using an input form, please email your poem attachment(s) to contests@nepoetryclub.org, specifying NEPC Contest(s) for the SUBJECT. Please also include a separate cover sheet (described below).
- On a SEPARATE COVER SHEET, when required, provide the author’s name, contact information (email address is preferred), 50-word bio, and list the poem titles and contests entered (e.g. The Waste Land — Samuel Washington Allen Prize).
- If you must submit by post, use regular mail only (postmark deadline). No entries should be sent by special delivery or express mail. Please send your entry(s) and separate cover sheet to:
- Robbie Gamble
1470 Ames Hill Road
Brattleboro, VT 05301
- Robbie Gamble
Poem Contests
New England Poetry Club has always recognized the outstanding work of poets with its annual awards and contests. Our contests are open to all writers in English, with the exception of the Amy Lowell Prize which will be given to a poet with strong ties to New England. We hope you will be inspired to send your work.
Samuel Washington Allen Prize
- For a long poem or poem sequence of 3 to 10 pages, single-spaced.
- This prize honors the legacy of the African-American poet, translator, professor, and former New England Poetry Club leader, Samuel Washington Allen, who also published as Paul Vesey.
E. E. Cummings Prize
- For a compelling, lyrical, or experimental poem no more than 21 lines.
- This prize recognizes one of the New England Poetry Club’s most famous charter members.
Amy Lowell Prize
- For an outstanding poem of any length or style by a poet with strong ties to New England.
- This prize recognizes the charismatic poet who was the New England Poetry Club’s first president.
Der Hovanessian Prize
- For a translation from any language; the original poem should be authored by someone other than the translator. In addition to the translation, please include the poem in the original language with name of the author.
- This long-standing prize is named in honor of poet and translator Diana Der Hovanessian who led the New England Poetry Club with vision and energy for decades.
- There is no submission fee for this prize.
Payment for Non-Members
Cost
- Free for current NEPC members (Membership information here. Joining is easy.)
- Non-members may enter by paying:
- $5 for each poem contest prize submission. [Please Note: There is no submission fee for the Der Hovanessian prize.]
- Pay via our PayPal link or send a check with submission.
- If making a payment via check, please:
- make it payable to NEPC (with memo “Contest Fee”)
- include list of entries covered by check
- mail to: Treasurer, New England Poetry Club
675 VFW Parkway #171, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Single Poem Submission Fee: $5
Three Poem Submission Fee: $15
Prizes and Recognition
Winners of individual poem contests will receive:
- $250
- Publication of winning poems on NEPC website
- Opportunity to read at the NEPC Prize-Winners’ Reading (travel expenses not included)
Selection Process
- Contest judges are well-known poets who may have won previous NEPC contests.
- Judges read manuscripts with no identifying information.
Rights
We require First Rights and won’t consider poems that have been previously published, self-published, published online, or posted to blogs. All rights revert to the author upon publication. We would appreciate acknowledgement in future publications of award-winning work.
Questions
Feel free to contact contests@nepoetryclub.org if you have questions about any of the contests or guidelines.