Established in 1955, the University and College Poetry Prize program began with ten schools. Today, the Academy of American Poets sponsors over two hundred annual poetry prizes at colleges and universities across the U.S, and has awarded cash prizes to nearly ten thousand student poets since the program's inception. The recognition winning student poets receive provides important validation. As one student poet, Emily, shared, "As a young poet the prize not only made me feel as if my work had something of value, it made me feel connected with the broader poetic community. It increased my confidence in my writing and encouraged me to continue working at my craft."

• History
• Establishing a Prize
• Prize Eligibility
• Contest Procedures
• Materials for Coordinators
• Participating Colleges & Universities
• Contact Information

 

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History

Many of our most esteemed poets won their first recognition through an Academy of American Poets College Prize, including Diane Ackerman, Toi Derricotte, Mark Doty, Alice Fulton, Tess Gallagher, Louise Glück, Allen Grossman, Jorie Graham, Kimiko Hahn, Joy Harjo, Robert Hass, Li-Young Lee, Brad Leithauser, J. D. McClatchy, Heather McHugh, Gregory Orr, Robert Pinsky, Sylvia Plath, Mark Rudman, Mary Jo Salter, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, George Starbuck, Mark Strand, Ocean Vuong, and Charles Wright.

 

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Establishing a Prize

The majority of the active University and College Poetry Prizes are endowed in perpetuity.

New U.S. schools are admitted into the program only with a $5,000 endowment contribution, which allows a cash prize of $100 to be awarded each year in perpetuity, enables the Academy of American Poets to provide a year-long membership to the winning student, and assists with the administrative costs of the program. We encourage anyone wishing to endow a college prize to contact the Awards Coordinator before selecting a school. We want to ensure the school's ability to annually award the prize. Additionally, some of our oldest prizes do not yet have endowments, and we would very much like to see them secured.

A prize may be named by the donor or donors, and all contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Donors receive copies of their schools' winning poems each year, as well as a lifetime subscription to American Poets, the Academy's biannual journal.

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Prize Eligibility

Each participating school determines whether to make its prize open to undergraduates, graduate students, or both, and sets restrictions on submission length, deadline, and number of poems. No restrictions may be made regarding theme or style. Only registered students of a given participating school are eligible for the prize offered through that institution. If you are a student and have already determined that your school hosts an Academy prize, but do not know whom to contact for guidelines, feel free to contact us for details. Be sure to include the name of the school.

see participating schools

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Contest Procedures

Fall

A faculty member at each participating school, usually in the English department or writing program, works to coordinate the contest with the Academy to ensure that it is properly conducted each year. The prize coordinator serves as a liaison with the Academy, selecting judges and controlling such matters as the contest deadline, eligibility (a contest may be open to undergraduates, graduate students, or both), the number of poems to be submitted by each student, and local publicity.

Spring

The Academy supplies each coordinator with a form for reporting the contest results. The coordinator is required to provide contact information for the winner and data about the contest administration, as well as copies of each winning poem.

Each school awards $100 to a sole winner. In addition, one student may be selected for honorable mention.

The Academy issues prize checks and letters of congratulation to the winners, and also sends letters of congratulation to honorable mentions. All winners are announced in the Academy's Annual Report.

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Materials for Coordinators

download pdf

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2017 University & College Poetry Prize Winners

2016 University & College Poetry Prize Winners

2015 University & College Poetry Prize Winners

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Participating Colleges & Universities

Agnes Scott College 
Prize Name: Janef Preston Poetry Prize
Founded: 1976
Donor: Agnes Scott College
2018 Prizewinner: Molly Armato McDaniel, “A Gentleman Is Simply a Patient Wolf”

Amherst College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1959
Donor: Trustees of Amherst College
2018 Prizewinner: Irisdelia Garcia, “To the 4,645 Dead In Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria or Dear Maria”

Aquinas College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Mrs. Linda Nemec Foster
2018 Prizewinner: Kirsten Fedorowicz, “Wednesdays at Camp”

Arizona State University 
Prize Name: Katherine C. Turner Prize
Founded: 1994
Donor: Ms. Katharine C. Turner
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Auburn University 
Prize Name: Robert Hughes Mount Jr. Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mrs. Frances Mayes
2018 Prizewinner: Nick Stanovick, “Survivors Guilt”

Augsburg University 
Prize Name: John R. Mitchell Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mrs. Jeanette Mitchell
2018 Prizewinner: Matt Peckham, “Grid System”

Bard College 
Prize Name: The Flow Chart Foundation/Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: David Kermani, The Flow Chart Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Yuma Carpenter-New, “In Eras”

Baylor University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Beall Poetry Festival
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Beloit College 
Prize Name: Beloit Poetry Journal Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Ms. Marion Stocking
2018 Prizewinner: Sean Beckford, “When My Father Hits a Crosscourt Forehand”

Bennington College
Prize Name: The Green Prize for Poetry
Founded: 2006
Donor: Kelly Green & Forrest MacGregor
2018 Prizewinner: Luciana Arbus-Scandiffio, “Little Iceberg”

Bergen Community College 
Prize Name: The Steven W. Chung Poetry Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Steven W. Chung
2018 Prizewinner: Charlie Orlando Leppert, “Birds & G-d Over New Jersey Turnpike”

Boston University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: Boston University Creative Writing Program
2018 Prizewinner: Daniel Hardisty, “Exit Wound”

Bowdoin College 
Prize Name: The Academy of American Poets Colette Inez Poetry Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Mr. Jack Miller
2018 Prizewinner: June Daowen Lei, “Isotope”

Bradley University 
Prize Name: Sipple Poetry Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Bradley University
2018 Prizewinner: Megan Nicole Landre, “henrichemont”

Brandeis University 
Prize Name: The Ramon Feliciano Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Marian McDonald
2018 Prizewinner: Sarah Terrazano, “Self-Portrait With Rescue Inhaler”

Brigham Young University 
Prize Name: Ethel Lowry Handley Poetry Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Ethel Lowry Handley
2018 Prizewinner: Lindsey Keller, “Everyone Is Making Love”

Brooklyn College, CUNY 
Prize Name: Burton A. Goldberg Poetry Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. Burton Goldberg
2018 Prizewinner: Amanda Jerido-Katz, “A God Like Me”

Brown University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Leander McCormick-Goodhart
2018 Prizewinner: Victoria Yin, “1997”

Bryn Mawr College
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Marie Bullock
Founded: 1957
Donor: Mrs. Peter McCormick
2018 Prizewinner: Peyton Moriarty, “Wax Hand Holding”

California State University, Fresno (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Larry Levis Memorial Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: The Friends of Larry Levis
2018 Prizewinner: Aidan Steele Castro, “Hospital”

California State University, Fresno (graduate) 
Prize Name: Ernesto Trejo Memorial Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: The Friends of Ernesto Trejo
2018 Prizewinner: Jessica Turney, “Forgiveness”

California State University, Los Angeles 
Prize Name: Henri Coulette Memorial Award
Founded: 1979
Donor: California State University, Los Angeles
2018 Prizewinner: Amy Nicole Robb, “Saturday Morning”

California State University, Northridge 
Prize Name: George Dillon Memorial Award
Founded: 1968
Donor: California State University, Northridge
2018 Prizewinner: Jesse Clemens, “Psalm of the Son”

University of California, Berkeley 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Mary Wilson, “Untitled”

University of California, Davis 
Prize Name: Celeste Turner Wright Poetry Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Prof. Celeste Turner Wright
2018 Prizewinner: Kristin George Bagdanov, “unfield”

University of California, Irvine 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1969
Donor: Mr. Walter J. Thomson
2018 Prizewinner: Inez Tan, “Sanctuary”

University of California, Los Angeles
Prize Name: Fred and Edith Herman Memorial Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Ms. Joan LaBombard
2018 Prizewinner: Jesslyn Whittell, “Read this after the feast”

California Polytechnic State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: California Polytechnic State University
2018 Prizewinner: Morgan Condict, “To an Old Coworker”

Calvin College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Calvin College
2018 Prizewinner: ethan hohn, “the water seems murkier now”

Carnegie Mellon University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1977
Donor: Carnegie Mellon University
2018 Prizewinner: Summer Jade Leavitt, “Carol”

Central Michigan University
Prize Name: Eric Torgersen Poetry Prize
Founded: 2010
Donor: Phillip Sterling
2018 Prizewinner: Rui Wang, “Looking Back at Mountains After Mountains”

Central Pennsylvania College 
Prize Name: Geraldine G. Britcher Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: Malcolm Fox, “Little Man”

Centre College 
Prize Name: Paul Cantrell Poetry Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mr. Phillip Sterling
2018 Prizewinner: Aja Leachman, “Black Porcelain”

Chatham University
Prize Name: The Laurie Mansell Reich Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Laurie and Henry Reich
2018 Prizewinner: Hannah Highsmith Cloninger, “Baiting”

University of Cincinnati (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The George Elliston Poetry Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Danny Rader, “A Little Taste of Home”

University of Cincinnati (graduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The George Elliston Poetry Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: James Ellenberger, “The World Below”

The City College of San Francisco 
Prize Name: The Felicia Farr Lemon Poetry Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: Mrs. Felicia Farr Lemmon
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Cleveland State University 
Prize Name: Alberta Turner Poetry Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Cleveland State University
2018 Prizewinner: Xan Schwartz, “Coop Song (n., n., n.)”

Colorado State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: Colorado State University Faculty & Administration
2018 Prizewinner: Katherine Indermaur, “BEFORE: An Aubade”

Columbia College Chicago 
Prize Name: Eileen Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Leonard Morrison, “California State Route 1”

Columbia University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Anonymous
2018 Prizewinner: Rebecca Teich, “Ananimal”

Columbia University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Bennett Poetry Prize
Founded: 1959
Donor: The New York Times Advertising Department
2018 Prizewinner: Coco Wilder, “The Problem of Patience”

Connecticut College 
Prize Name: Charles B. Palmer Poetry Award
Founded: 1979
Donor: Connecticut College
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Cooper Union 
Prize Name: Elizabeth Kray Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Cooper Union
2018 Co-prizewinners: Saige Hopkins, “There is a hot light” & Amanda Lombardo, “In The Elevator”

Cornell College 
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Clyde and Jewell Bothwell Tull
Founded: 1990
Donor: Ms. Alice Louise Haug
2018 Prizewinner: Adriana Pacha, “Chile”

Cornell University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Litowitz Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Creighton University 
Prize Name: Oscar M. Macelliao Poetry Prize
Founded: 1989
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Isabelle Senechal, “Kassandras”

Dartmouth College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Dartmouth College
2018 Prizewinner: Courtney Niamh McKee, “Apollo”

University of Delaware 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Jasmine Edwards, “Love in Color”

University of Denver 
Prize Name: Edward M. Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Dickinson College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Dickinson College
2018 Prizewinner: Kayleigh Rhatigan, “My Grandmother's Teeth”

Drew University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Susan Vartanian Barba
2018 Prizewinner: Kerenn Irias, “Before I Sleep”

Duke University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Biddle Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Caroline Fernelius, “Girls”

Elizabethtown College
Prize Name: The Raymond and Mausolene Stouffer Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Emerson College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Emerson College
2018 Prizewinner: Brandon Melendez, “serpent crown lined with marrow”

Emory University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: The Friends of Creative Writing
2018 Prizewinner: Christell Victoria Roach, “On the End of Mango Season, and Still Falling Fruit”

Florida International University 
Prize Name: Christopher F. Kelly Award for Poetry
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. John Bond
2018 Prizewinner: Bertha Isabel Crombet, “The Library”

Florida State University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: John MacKay Shaw Award
Founded: 1984
Donor: Florida State University
2018 Prizewinner: Parker Logan, “Ode to Dresser Drawers: A Love Song”

Florida State University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: Florida State University
201 Prizewinner: Tanya Grae, “Lethe”

Fordham University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Fordham University
2018 Prizewinner: Ellis Light, “Bird Boy”

Franklin & Marshall College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. and Mrs. C. Hunter Boll
2018 Prizewinner: Sarah Summerson, “It's easier to empty a body here”

George Mason University 
Prize Name: The Joseph A. Lohman III Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Ms. Judith V. Lelchook
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

George Washington University 
Prize Name: A. E. Claeyssens, Jr. Poetry Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: George Washington University
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Georgetown University 
Prize Name: Ora Mary Pelham Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Lisa Tibbetts, “An English Remix”

Georgia Perimeter College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The Chattahoochee Review
2018 Prizewinner: Jesus Hernandez, “Summer”

Georgia College & State University
Prize Name: Frankye Davis Mayes Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mrs. Frances Mayes
2018 Prizewinners: Becca Fallon, “Kitchen, 2009” (undergraduate) & Isabel Acevedo, “The Shipwreck” (graduate)

Gettysburg College 
Prize Name: Marion Zulauf Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. Sander Zulauf
2018 Prizewinner: Ivy-Rose Kramer, “Catawissa Creek Bridge”

Grinnell College 
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Lorabel Richardson
Founded: 1994
Donor: Ms. Alice Louise Haug
2018 Prizewinner: Christine M. Rains, “Enovid”

Hamilton College 
Prize Name: Ralph and Doris Hansmann Poetry Prize
Founded: 1962
Donor: Hamilton College
2018 Prizewinner: Amy Heqing Zhang, “Small Poems for Persistent Nostalgia”

Harrisburg Area Community College 
Prize Name: Dale T. Guhl Memorial Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: Kierra Coutts, “Wine Glass”

Hartwick College 
Prize Name: Anna Sonder Prize
Founder: 1979
Donor: Dr. Otto Sonder
2018 Prizewinner: Catherine Lomoe-Thompson, “Fruit Queen”

Harvard University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Harvard University
2018 Prizewinner: Martine Thomas, “The Sky Tonight”

University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Zoe Kamalei Finn, “Kupuna in the Sleeping Grass”

Hofstra University 
Prize Name: Nancy P. Schnader Award
Founded: 1974
Donor: Hofstra University
2018 Prizewinners: Kaitlyn Yonamine, “Monday Sunrise”

University of Houston 
Prize Name: Brazos Bookstore/ Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Mr. Karl Kilian
2018 Prizewinner: Paige Quiñones, “Apophenia”

Hollins University 
Prize Name: Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize
Founded: 1971
Donor: Mr. W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
2018 Prizewinner: Adriana Rewald, “Playing Chopin in Chisinau”

College of the Holy Cross
Prize Name: Dominick Lepore Poetry Award
Founded: 1992
Donor: Dominick J. Lepore
2018 Prizewinner: Olivia Paulo, “Fully Submerged”

Hope College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Hope College
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Hunter College 
Prize Name: Catalina Páez & Seumas MacManus Award
Founded: 1987
Donor: Miss Patricia MacManus, Mrs. Mariquita M. Mullan
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Idaho
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Karen Trujillo and Don Burnett
2018 Prizewinners: Stacy Boe Miller, “My Church Called Their Exorcism Program Healing House”

Illinois College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Ms. Deborah Klang Smith
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Illinois Wesleyan University 
Prize Name: Arthur W. Hinners & Louise Hinners Sipfle Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: Friends & Family of Louise Hinners Sipfle
2018 Prizewinner: Grace McGovern, “life in excess”

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
Prize Name: Ruth Llewellyn Baird Prize
Founded: 1966
Donor: Mrs. Robert D. Wood
2018 Prizewinner: Autumn Schraufnagel, “Girlhood is Formed on the Playground with an Invitation to Play Double Dutch”

Indiana University Bloomington
Prize Name: The Vera Meyer Strube Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2018 Prizewinner: Wendy Lee Spacek, “Poem in the form of Anger”

Indiana State University 
Prize Name: The Madeline DeGaetano Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1996
Donor: Dr. Elaine L. Kleiner
2018 Prizewinner: Mustafa E. Mustafa, “Red and white, green and black”

University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Tasia Trevino, “Drought Tolerance”

Johns Hopkins University
Prize Name: The Laureen Rita Schipsi Poetry Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: Mr. Thomas Newton Bolling
2018 Prizewinner: Teja Dupree, “Delta Venus”

Kenyon College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Kenyon College
2018 Prizewinner: Sylvie Robinson, “Halal Ohio”

Keystone College 
Prize Name: Edward M. Cameron IV Poetry Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2018 Prizewinner: Zoe Stephens, “The Symphony of Snow”

Lafayette College 
Prize Name: Jean E. Corrie Poetry Prize
Founded: 1989
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2018 Prizewinner: Mario Sanchez, “Poem About a Flower”

Lewis & Clark College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Lewis & Clark College
2018 Prizewinner: Eva Gellman, “I Wish I Had One Hundred Eves”

Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus 
Prize Name: John & Agnes McCarten Memorial Award
Founded: 1967
Donor: Ms. Jeanne Marie Scott
2018 Prizewinner: Michaela Elise Fox, “Paper Clip”

Loyola University Maryland 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: Loyola University Maryland
2018 Prizewinner: Miranda Nolan, “In the Time it Takes”

Loyola University of Chicago 
Prize Name: Dr. Frank C. Lawler Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Lynchburg College
Prize name: Miriam T. and Jude M. Pfister Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Miriam T. and Jude M. Pfister
2018 Prizewinner: Samah Rash, “Tea”

Macalester College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Macalester College
2018 Prizewinner: Charlie Pham, “one day i'll stop writing about my family”

Marietta College
Prize Name: The Stephen Schwartz Prize in Poetry
Founded: 2005
Donor: Laura Baudo Sillerman
2018 Prizewinner: Samantha Welch, “Nightly Routine”

University of Maryland, College Park
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Anaïs Nin
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mr. Robert W. Newcomb
2018 Prizewinner: Ayesha Shibli, “Roadkill”

University of Mary Washington
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2018 Prizewinner: Kaitlin Lamb, “Dear Persephone”

University of Massachusetts, Amherst 
Prize Name: Joseph Langland Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2018 Prizewinners: Tom McCauley, “People Are Not Lights”

University of Massachusetts, Boston 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Hope Jordan, “At the Confluence”

University of Memphis 
Prize Name: The Deborah L. Talbot Poetry Award
Founded: 2002
Donor: Deborah L. Talbot
2018 Prizewinner: Sarah Lucille Cozort, “A Spell for My Mother's Memory”

Messiah College
Prize Name: Carrie A. Guhl Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: Noah Perrin, “The Lot”

Miami-Dade College 
Prize Name: Fred Shaw Poetry Prize
Founded: 1973
Donor: Miami-Dade Community College
2018 Prizewinner: Vilma Alvarez, “White Heron”

Miami University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Harris S. Abrahams Poetry Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mr. Jeffrey Abrahams
2018 Prizewinner: Sam Phillips, “pick about, lick about”

Miami University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Betty Jane Abrahams Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Mr. Jeffrey Abrahams
2018 Prizewinner: Dameion Wagner, “Momma's Boy”

University of Miami 
Prize Name: Alfred Boas Poetry Prize
Founded: 1993
Donor: University of Miami
2018 Prizewinner: Maria Esquinca, “El Sapo”

Millersville University
Prize Name: Louis Darrell Sage Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: Misty Matesig, “Empty Garden”

University of Michigan (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1995
Donor: Mrs. Sharon A. Galley
2018 Prizewinner: Caroline Rothrock, “Seacucumbers”

University of Michigan (graduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Mrs. Sharon A. Galley
2018 Prizewinner: Daniel Neff, “Flight”

University of Minnesota 
Prize Name: James Wright Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1963
Donor: University of Minnesota
2018 Co-prizewinners: May Lee-Yang, “Endings”; Miriam Karraker, “Savory Dinner”; Kathryn Savage, “Breath”

University of Missouri at Columbia 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: University of Missouri
2018 Prizewinner: Jay D. Smith, “Smoke Signals, Waco, 1993”

University of Montana 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: University of Montana
2018 Prizewinner: Maren Schiffer, “Can't Sonnet”

Mount Holyoke College 
Prize Name: Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize
Founded: 1960
Donor: Mr. W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
2018 Prizewinner: K. Clark, “At 14 I start bleeding”

Muskingum College 
Prize Name: Beulah Brooks Brown Award in Poetry
Founded: 1993
Donor: Muskingum College
2018 Prizewinner: Matthew Early, “Perspective”

Naropa University
Prize Name: The Margaret Randall Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Friends of Margaret Randall
2018 Prizewinner: Camille E Craig, “Franz Kline's Opustena”

University of Nebraska, Lincoln 
Prize Name: Wilbur Gaffney Poetry Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Professor Emeritus Wilbur Gaffney
2018 Prizewinner: Katie Schmid, “Location”

University of Nebraska, MFA
Prize Name: Helen W. Kenefick Poetry Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. John C. Kenefick
2018 Prizewinner: Genevieve N. Williams, “Parking Lot Rocks”

New Jersey City University 
Prize Name: The Walter Glospie Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: New Jersey City University
2018 Prizewinner: Hia Chakraborty, “Slow”

University of New Orleans 
Prize Name: Andrea Saunders Gereighty Poetry Award
Founded: 1986
Donor: Ms. Andrea S. Gereighty
2018 Prizewinner: Betsy Housten, “Touch and Go”

New Mexico State University
Prize Name: Ruth Scott Poetry Award
Donor: Judith N. Scott
2018 Prizewinner: Jill Mceldowney, “Babygrave”

New York University
Prize Name: Judith Lobel Arkin Poetry Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: The Arkin Family
2018 Prizewinner: Carson Lee, “Scenes from a Marriage”

University of North Dakota 
Prize Name: The Thomas McGrath Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: University of North Dakota
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of North Texas
Prize Name: Paul R. Voertman Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: University of North Texas
2018 Prizewinner: Megan J. Arlett, “Turn of the Millennium”

University of Notre Dame
Prize Name: The Billy Maich Award
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Paul & Jessica Maich
2018 Prizewinner: Katie Campbell, “Can We Live Without Cosmos?”

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
Prize Name: The Anne Williams Burrus Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1963
Donor: Mrs. Ann W. Burrus
2018 Prizewinner: Shannon Grand

University of North Carolina at Greensboro 
Prize Name: Noel Callow Poetry Award
Founded: 1963
Donor: Anonymous
2018 Prizewinner: Forrest Rapier, “Appaloosa Rider Unchained”

North Carolina State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: North Carolina State University
2018 Prizewinner: Jane Craven, “Asphodel”

Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts
2018 Prizewinner: Sony Ton-Aime, “Coumbite”

Northwestern University 
Prize Name: Jean Meyer Aloe Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2018 Prizewinner: Celia Hauw, “Merdeka”

Northwest Indian College
Prize Name: The Betty and Norman Lockwood Poetry Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: James Harder
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Ohio State University 
Prize Name: Arthur Rense Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Ms. Paige Rense
2018 Prizewinner: Emmalee Hagarman, “When I Visit Emily Dickinson's Grave”

Oklahoma State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1978
Donor: Oklahoma State University
2018 Prizewinner: Colin Pope, “Prayer to Enter Heaven Alive, Once”

Old Dominion University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2018 Prizewinners: Donya Price, “Hues of Blackness” (undergraduate) & Nishat Ahmed, “Snapshots of the Body as a Bomb” (graduate)

Oregon State University 
Prize Name: Weaver Undergraduate Poetry Award
Founded: 1986
Donor: Oregon State University
2018 Prizewinner: Charles Clark, “A Remark in Passing on Life Undelivered”

Pace University 
Prize Name: David A. Bickimer—Promise of Learnings Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: The Promise of Learnings Inc.
2018 Prizewinner: Mollie Murtagh, “Red”

Pennsylvania State Harrisburg
Prize Name: Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: Emily Dempsey, “Saturn Devours His Son”

Pennsylvania State University 
Prize Name: Leonard Steinberg Memorial Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Mrs. Pearl Steinberg
2018 Prizewinner: Danielle Fruehan, “In Yesterday”

University of Pennsylvania 
Prize Name: William Carlos Williams Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: University of Pennsylvania
2018 Prizewinner: Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, "For War and Water"

Piedmont College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: Barbara Brown Taylor
2018 Prizewinner: Hadley Cottingham, “Lightly”

University of Pittsburgh 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: University of Pittsburgh
2018 Prizewinner: Jennifer Nguyen, “Lunar New Year”

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Prize Name: The Colleen M. Brown Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: Kristen Hayes, “inosculation”

Portland State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: The Portland State University Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Autumn Sharp, “Up”

Pratt Institute 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1992
Donor: Pratt Institute
2018 Prizewinner: Bridget Hawkins, “Anemic”

Princeton University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Drs. William F. and Jerene Hewitt
2018 Prizewinner: Eunice Lee, “Castles in the Ampersand”

Purdue University
Prize Name: The Thomas H. Scholl and Elizabeth Boyd Thompson Poetry Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Thomas H. Scholl
2018 Prizewinner: Megan Ray, “A Crown of Sonnets for Emily”

Randolph-Macon College 
Prize Name: Charles and Fanny Fay Wood Poetry Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Redlands 
Prize Name: Jean Burden Award
Founded: 1984
Donor: Ms. Virginia Everett Smith
2018 Prizewinner: Emily Mains, “Misericordia”

Reed College 
Prize Name: The Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1994
Donor: Reed College
2018 Prizewinner: Emma McNeel, “Preservation”

University of Richmond
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2018 Prizewinner: Alexander Balsamo, “Clandestine”

Rice University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Joyce Pounds Hardy
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Rochester 
Prize Name: Marion Devendorf Van Laak Poetry Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: University of Rochester
2018 Prizewinner: Aaron Banks, “Exhume”

Rockford University
Prize Name: Colleen Holmbeck Poetry Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: Rockford University
2018 Prizewinner: Bailey Murphy, “A Dangerous Delusion”

Rollins College 
Prize Name: Arden Goettling / Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Family & Friends of Arden Goettling
2018 Co-prizewinners: Kallahan Stanley, “A Memorandum to the Gunloving and an Embrace to the Newest Members of the Survival Club” & Jihye Shin, “Magpie”

Rutgers University 
Prize Name: Enid Dame Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Jeanne Marie Beaumont
2018 Prizewinner: Julia Terranova, “Pierce”

St. John’s University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Thomas McInerney
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

St. Lawrence University 
Prize Name: James Ligon Price III Memorial Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1975
Donor: St. Lawrence University
2018 Prizewinner: Peter Eckhardt, “The Wreck in the Grasse”

Saint Mary’s College of California 
Prize Name: Russell & Yvonne Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: David Zumwalt, “Poem for Love Written on a Perfect Friday on this Doomed Planet”

Sam Houston State University 
Prize Name: The William C. Weathers Memorial Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Ms. Melissa Morphew
2018 Prizewinner: Haven Gomez, “In the Family”

San Francisco State University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Piri Thomas Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donors: Friends and Family of Piri Thomas
2018 Prizewinner: Brittany Nguyen, “Kinh Te Moi”

San Francisco State University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1996
Donors: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Kimberly Reyes, “The Body”

University of San Francisco
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: University of San Francisco
2018 Prizewinner: Amie Scroggins, “One in the Morning”

San Jose State University 
Prize Name: Virginia de Araujo Prize
Founded: 1981
Donor: Virginia de Araujo Trust
2018 Prizewinner: Kimy Martinez, “Big Brother“

Santa Clara University
Prize Name: Tamara Verga Poetry Prize
Founded: 1995
Donor: Victoria Verga Logan and Frank Verga, Jr.
2018 Prizewinner: Shelley Valdez, “Love and Other Fire Hazards”

Sarah Lawrence College (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: No prize Awarded

Sarah Lawrence College (graduate)
Prize Name: The John B. Santoianni Award for Excellence in Poetry
Donor: Joseph McCrindle and Charmaine Ferenczi
2018 Prizewinner: Corinne Santiago, “Ode to My Thighs”

Shimer Great Books School at North Central College 
Prize Name: Ruth Cooley Poetry Prize
Founded: 1976
Donor: Mr. Peter Cooley
2018 Prizewinner: E.M. Billington, “Now: A Short Story in Verse”

Shippensburg University
Prize Name: Laura A. Rice Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Laura A. Rice Poetry Prize
2018 Prizewinner: Karen Mason-Breen, “all dogs”

Skidmore College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Skidmore College
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Smith College 
Prize Name: Anne Bradstreet Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Smith College
2018 Prizewinner: Janelle Tan, “Prayer for Forgiveness Before Bed”

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. Rodney Jones
2018 Prizewinner: Jay Livingston, “fall/‘11”

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (graduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1998
Donor: Carolyn Forman Moe
2018 Prizewinner: Teresa Dzieglewicz, “Baking Bread as Oceti Sakowin is Raided”

Spring Hill College 
Prize Name: Reverend Andrew C. Smith, S.J., Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Nicole Stout, “Unlearning”

Stetson University 
Prize Name: The Holly M. Kimball Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. Phillip Blumberg
2018 Prizewinners: Claretta Holsey, “When autumn leaves”

SUNY Albany 
Prize Name: Phyllis Hurd Liston Poetry Prize
Founded: 1998
Donor: The Liston Family
2018 Prizewinner: Victorio Reyes Asili, “from ‘The Tales of Happiness Santiago’”

SUNY Binghamton 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: SUNY Binghamton
2018 Prizewinners: Tamar Ashdot, “The Way Water Deceives Me” (undergraduate) & Shane Carreon, “Sunday” (graduate)

SUNY Buffalo
Prize Name: The Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: SUNY Buffalo
2018 Prizewinner: Ariana Nash, “Self-Portraits poses as I Love lower, lunatic Him”

SUNY Buffalo
Prize Name: Dan Liberthson Poetry Prize
Founded: 2010
Donor: Mr. Dan Liberthson
2018 Prizewinner: Kathleen Naughton, “warming ending what it may you persist”

SUNY Farmingdale
Prize Name: Raynor Wallace Poetry Award
Founded: 1988
Donor: SUNY Farmingdale
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

SUNY Oswego 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Mr. John W. Mincher, Jr.
2018 Prizewinner: Joseph Sigurdson, “Alcohol”

Sweet Briar College 
Prize Name: The Jean Taylor Meyer Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Temple University 
Prize Name: Albert J. Caplan Prize
Founded: 1985
Donor: Mr. Albert J. Caplan
2018 Prizewinner: Layla Rivera, “Venus”

University of Texas at Austin 
Prize Name: Andrew Julius Gutow Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Andrew Julius Gutow Memorial Fund
2018 Prizewinners: John Bosworth, “A Boy Can Wear A Dress” & Chessy Normile, “Ever”

Trinity College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: Trinity College
2018 Prizewinner: Sarah Beckmann, “Duende in Rowing”

Tufts University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Tufts University
2018 Prizewinner: Allie Merola, “Relentless and unmitigated”

Tulane University 
Prize Name: Anselle M. Larson / Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Mr. Herbert V. Larson, Jr.
2018 Prizewinner: David Graber, “Angels of forgetfulness”

United States Naval Academy 
Prize Name: Stuart Pitt Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Mrs. A. Stuart Pitt
2018 Prizewinner: Chandler Vercher, “A Stone Winter”

University of Utah 
Prize Name: Larry Levis Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1969
Donor: University of Utah
2018 Prizewinner: Thomas Larmore, “Something Like Symphily”

Valdosta State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Mr. Edward Davin Vickers
2018 Prizewinner: Tyler Bentley, “In Love, As In, Alone”

Valparaiso University 
Prize Name: Vivian S. Richards Memorial Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Nancy & Michael Becker
2018 Prizewinner: Cameron Beisel, “Dark Movement”

Vanderbilt University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Vanderbilt University
2018 Prizewinner: Joshua Moore, “Learning to Fight”

Vassar College 
Prize Name: Mary Rousmaniere Gordon Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Mr. Albert H. Gordon
2018 Prizewinner: Michaela Coplen, “Solatium”

Virginia Commonwealth University 
Prize Name: Catherine and Joan Byrne Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Nan Byrne
2018 Prizewinner: Jae Clark, “Open Letter to My Brother”

Virginia Tech
Prize name: Virginia Tech/ Poetry Society of Virginia Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2018 Prizewinner: Kelsey Schurer, “After the Farm”

Washington College 
Prize Name: The Jude and Miriam Pfister Poetry Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Dr. & Mrs. Jude Pfister
2018 Prizewinner: Mallory Smith, “Proper Greetings”

Washington & Lee University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Anonymous
2018 Prizewinner: Henry Luzzatto, “Stonewall Invocation”

Washington University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Washington University
2018 Prizewinners: Rebecca Pinwei Tseng, “Girl on Display” (undergraduate) & Colin Criss, “Self-Portrait as Ophelia” (graduate)

University of Washington 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Ainsley Kelly, “Mission Valley”

Wayne State University 
Prize Name: John Clare Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Nancy & Michael Becker
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Wellesley College 
Prize Name: Nevin Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The Family of Betty Nevin Marshall & Robert Nevin
2018 Prizewinner: Matilda Berke, “Portrait of Pam Anderson as Drowning Fish”

Wells College 
Prize Name: Catharine B. De Pau Poetry Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2018 Prizewinner: Abigail Rundle, “live más”

Wesleyan College 
Prize Name: George Warren Gignilliat, Jr. Poetry Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz
2018 Prizewinner: Tyler Walker, “Alis Propriis Volat (She Flies with Her Own Wings)”

Wesleyan University
Prize Name: Sarah Hannah Memorial Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Kate Bernheimer
2018 Prizewinners: Liv Ryan, “Grind Your Body Into a Fist”

Westminster College
Prize Name: Anne Newman Sutton Weeks Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: Westminster College
2018 Prizewinner: Mystery Post, “Ode to Howling”

College of William & Mary
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Williams College
Prize Name: Bullock Poetry Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: The Academy of American Poets
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Wilson College
Prize Name: The William and Ivy Saylor Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: John Uilkema, “The Stone”

University of Wisconsin, Madison 
Prize Name: George B. Hill Poetry Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: Kevin P. Bjerregaard
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

College of Wooster 
Prize Name: Cora Owlett Latzer Award
Founded: 1983
Donor: Ms. Susan Donnell
2018 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Yale University 
Prize Name: Sean T. Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2018 Prizewinner: Israel Kassim, “Africa Talks to You”

Yonsei University / Underwood International College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: Yonsei University
2018 Prizewinner: Soeun Seo, “I Never Really Knew You: An Elegy”

York College of Pennsylvania
Prize Name: Mary Jane’s Diamond Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2018 Prizewinner: Emily Goff, “Preaging”

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For more information, please contact:

[email protected]
(212) 274-0343

Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901
New York, NY 10038

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