Awards and Competitions
for
First-Time Authors
The following websites provide guidelines for poetry competitions in which the submitting poets must have no published book-length work. Most of these competitions guarantee publication of the manuscript and an honorarium. In some cases, there are other requirements of the winners, such as readings at the institution sponsoring the prize.
| Competition | Dates for Submission | Prize | Entry Fee |
| Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize | Mar 1 to Apr 30 | $5,000 | $20 |
| Kenyon Review Prize | By Apr 15 | $3,500 | $25 |
| APR/Honickman | Aug 1 to Oct 31 | $3,000 | $25 |
| Walt Whitman Award: AAP | Sep 15 to Nov 15 | $5,000 | $25 |
| Crab Orchard Award Series | May 15 to Jul 1 | $2,500 | $25 |
| Transcontinental Poetry Award | Jun 1 to Aug 15 | $1,000 | $15 |
| Contemporary Poetry Series | Sep 1 to Sep 30 | Contract | $20 |
| Juniper Prize | May 1 to Sep 30 | $1,000 | $15 |
| Tupelo Press Contest | Jan 1 to Apr 15 | $3,000 | $25 |
| Prairie Schooner Prize | Jan 1 to Mar 30 | $3,000 | $25 |
| Gerald Cable Book Award. | Oct 15 | $1,000 | $20 |
| Winnow Press Award | Aug 1 to Oct 25 | $1,500 | $20 |
| Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize | Oct 31 | $1,000 | $20 |
| Bakeless Prize | Oct 1 to Nov 15 | Contract | $10 |
| Yale Younger Poets Prize | Oct 1 to Nov 15 | Contract | $15 |
| A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize | Aug 1 to Nov 30 | $1,500 | $22 |
| New Issues Poetry Prize | Nov 30 | $1,000 | $15 |
Also see the extensive list at Zoo Press's Poetry Book and Chapbook Contests.
For a really complete list of poetry competitions, including rankings and summaries, I'd suggest subscribing to Winning Writers, a very good service and quite inexpensive.