National Poetry Series
There are presently no open calls for submissions.
Thank you for your interest in The National Poetry Series. The National Poetry Series is a literary awards program that sponsors two competitions, the Open Competition and the Paz Prize for Poetry. We seek to add in a meaningful way to the number of poetry books published each year, providing both financial support and assistance in the process of manuscript solicitation, selection, and promotion. We strive to give American poets, of all ethnic and racial groups, gender, religion, and poetic style, access to publishing outlets not ordinarily available to them. Since 1978, we are dedicated to publish diverse voices, including established and emerging authors, and this commitment has only grown with time.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted with advance indication and prompt notification of acceptance elsewhere. Please send a message directly within Submittable if your work has been accepted elsewhere.
Manuscripts are submitted online only via Submittable.
Each manuscript is reviewed for adherence to our guidelines before being assigned to our readers. If a manuscript has an error in formatting (i.e., missing page numbers, an included acknowledgements page, etc.), the entrant will be offered the opportunity to upload a corrected document through Submittable. However, we do not accept revisions on manuscripts beyond these formatting issues (altering stanzas in a poem, adding poems, etc.). If an entrant wishes to make editorial changes to their submission, they are welcome to withdraw and resubmit within the application window. This will require a new $35 entry fee for the Open Competition.
For frequently asked questions visit https://nationalpoetryseries.org/apply
The Open Competition
The National Poetry Series seeks book-length manuscripts of poetry written in English* by American residents or American citizens living abroad. Five winners will be selected for publication with our participating publishers. Each winner will also receive $10,000.
Manuscripts are submitted online only via Submittable with an entrance fee of $35.00 (per manuscript). The entry period for each annual Open Competition begins on January 7, 12:00 AM EST and runs through (and including) March 21, 11:59 PM EST.
All manuscripts must adhere to our guidelines. You can find these on our website's Apply page, as well as here in Submittable on the project page.
Finalists will be notified by approximately June 15 of the calendar year. The finalists’ manuscripts will then be submitted to five separate judges for consideration.
The five winning authors are notified in early September of the calendar year. All finalists will be notified of their status at that time.
*Some use of languages other than English (i.e., words, phrases, even occasional poems) is permitted, but the manuscript must be predominantly written in English so that our readers and judges can understand and review the work without speaking another language.
Paz Prize for Poetry
Miami Book Fair will award one $2,000 prize every other year (in even years) for the publication of a previously unpublished book of poetry originally written in Spanish by an American resident. The prize will recognize book-length manuscripts of poetry written in Spanish. Translations, works of literary criticism and scholarly texts do not qualify. The competition runs from May 1 through (and including) June 15 during competition years.
The winner will be selected by an esteemed Spanish-speaking poet. The chosen book will be translated into English by an experienced translator, and will be published in a bilingual edition.
Finalists for the award will be notified in mid-September, and the winner will be announced in November.
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Miami Book Fair otorgará cada dos años (en años pares) un premio para la publicación de un poemario inédito escrito originalmente en español por un (a) autor(a) residente en los Estados Unidos. Sólo se aceptarán manuscritos de poesía con extensión de libro redactados en español. Las traducciones, obras de crítica literaria y textos académicos no serán elegibles.
El poemario ganador será seleccionado por un (a) prestigioso (a) poeta de habla hispana. El libro escogido será traducido al inglés por un traductor experto, y será publicado en una edición bilingüe.
Los participantes deberán enviar el material solo vía Submittable, entre el 1 de mayo y el 15 de junio 2026 (ambos incluidos).