Poetry Contests
Grayson Books offers two poetry contests each year. The deadline for the Chapbook Contest is January 31. The contest is for 16-34 pages of poetry. The deadline for the Poetry Contest (full-length collection) is August 15. This is for 50-90 pages of poetry. Each contest accepts electronic entries only, through Submittable.com and requires that the manuscripts are free of identifying information so they can be judged anonymously.
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Guidelines for Grayson Books Poetry Contest: Full-Length Manuscripts
Use the submission manager to submit your 50-90 page manuscript electronically: Submittable.com
*If the contest you are submitting to does not appear, it is not currently open for submissions.
The winner will be awarded a $1,000 prize, publication, and 10 copies. The runner-up may also be offered publication. There is a reading fee of $26.
Submissions accepted starting May 1st. Deadline is August 15th.
Please do not put contact information on the manuscript. Entries are judged anonymously. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if we are notified immediately about an acceptance elsewhere. Acknowledgments of previously published poems may be included with your submission, but are not required. When a manuscript is chosen for publication we will request acknowledgments.
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Guidelines for Grayson Books Poetry Chapbook Contest
Use the submission manager to electronically submit your 16-36 pages of poetry: Submittable.com
*If the contest you are submitting to does not appear, it is not currently open for submissions.
Prize: $500, publication of chapbook and 50 copies. Reading fee of $20.
Submissions accepted starting November 1st. Deadline is January 31st.
Please do not put contact information on the manuscript. Entries are judged anonymously. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if we are notified immediately about an acceptance elsewhere. Multiple submissions are also permitted; a fee must accompany each entry. Acknowledgments of previously published poems may be included with your submission, but are not required. When a manuscript is chosen for publication we will request acknowledgments.
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The winner of the 2024 Grayson Books Chapbook Contest is Judith H. Montgomery for her collection The Ferry Keeper.
Our judge, B. Fulton Jennes, also recognized the work of two other finalists
Runner-Up: Paul Hostovsky for Diminutive Wildernesses
Honorable Mention: Ruth Hoberman for Two-Family House
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The winner of the 2023 Grayson Books Poetry Contest was Emily Tuszynska for her collection Surfacing.
Valentina Gnup’s collection Ruined Music was selected as the runner-up.
Our judge, Brad Davis, also recognized the work of three other finalists as being worthy of special recognition. Honorable Mentions go to
- Susannah Lawrence for Breaking Through Stone
- Donald Levering for The World Recast by Flashcards
- Greg Watson for Stars Unseen