The Academy of American Poets has a long history of championing the role of poet laureate, including by being a resource listing local poets laureate and providing information to communities interested in creating new poets laureate positions.
In 2019, we expanded on this work, and our prizes and fellowships for poets, by launching the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships. These $50,000 awards are given to honor poets of literary merit appointed to serve in civic positions and to support them in creating new work, as well as to enable them to undertake meaningful, impactful, and innovative projects that enrich the lives of their neighbors, including youth, through responsive and interactive poetry activities.
In addition to the other eligibility and application criteria, the concept, scope, components, depth, geographic reach, and community support of the proposed project will be considered by a panel of award-winning poets and leaders in poetry and civic engagement. The panelists who will recommend the recipients of the 2026 Poet Laureate Fellowships are poet, editor, and social justice advocate Diana Delgado; Civic Poet of Seattle (2023–24) and visual artist Shin Yu Pai; 2024 Wallace Stevens Award winner and Chancellor Emerita Naomi Shihab Nye; Senior Program Officer at the Institute of Museum and Library Services Dennis Nangle; and, 2021–22 Los Angeles Poet Laureate and Cave Canem Board Chair Lynne Thompson. Final award decisions are finalized and approved by members of the Academy’s Board of Directors
The fellowships were established in partnership with the Mellon Foundation. Read more about the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows and their projects.
Applications for the 2026 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships are accepted from January 16th, 2026 until March 24th, 2026.