Deadline: September 30, 2023
Entry fee: $28
About the competition
Established in 1998, The X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize highlights one full-length collection of poetry per year. The Prize comes with a $10,000 advance, a standard royalty contract, and 10 copies of the published book.
Competition guideline
- Submissions are open July 1 – September 30.
- A fee of $28 must be paid at the time of submission.
- Open to any poet writing in English. Translations are not eligible.
- The X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize is not a first book prize, though we welcome first books. The Prize is open to poets at any stage of their career.
- There are no formal restrictions for this prize; we welcome manuscripts of any style/form.
- Poems may have been published individually in magazines or anthologies, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
- Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Please notify TRP immediately by withdrawing the manuscript via Submittable if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
- Current and former students and faculty of Sam Houston State University are not eligible.
- Family members and current or former students of the final judge or TRP staff are not eligible.
- Current and former TRP authors are not eligible.
- Submitters must be 18+ years of age.
- Submissions are accepted through Submittable only.
- Read the whole guideline and submit your entry here.
