University & College Poetry Prizes

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
• Participating Colleges & Universities
• Materials for Coordinators
• Contact Information
   

 

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. 

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. 

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 

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. 

Participating Colleges & Universities 

Agnes Scott College 
Prize Name: Janef Preston Poetry Prize
Founded: 1976
Donor: Agnes Scott College
2019 Prizewinner: Srinidhi Panchapakesan, “Natural Disaster”

University of Alabama
Prize Name: Hill-Kohn Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: University of Alabama
2019 Prizewinner: Jiaming Tang, “Come Closer” 

Amherst College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1959
Donor: Trustees of Amherst College
2019 Prizewinner: Heather Brennan, “Crossings”

Aquinas College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Mrs. Linda Nemec Foster
2019 Prizewinner: Lukas Isenga, “Get Up, Or, So Help Me I Will Sharpen Optimism into A Spear: in Four Parts”

Arizona State University 
Prize Name: Katherine C. Turner Prize
Founded: 1994
Donor: Ms. Katharine C. Turner
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Arizona 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: University of Arizona
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Arkansas
Prize Name: C.D. Wright/Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2019
Donor: Geffrey Davis
2019 Prizewinner: E. Thomas Jones, “Revision with Blueberries”

Auburn University 
Prize Name: Robert Hughes Mount Jr. Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mrs. Frances Mayes
2019 Prizewinner: Laura Mulqueen, “The Fear Structure”

Augsburg University 
Prize Name: John R. Mitchell Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mrs. Jeanette Mitchell
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Bard College 
Prize Name: The Flow Chart Foundation/Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: David Kermani, The Flow Chart Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Gilad Jaffe, "Poem to Keep You Company," and Isabella Martinez, "Kindling"

Baylor University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Beall Poetry Festival
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Beloit College 
Prize Name: Beloit Poetry Journal Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Ms. Marion Stocking
2019 Prizewinner: Therese Elizabeth Lydon, “Washburn A Mill Explosion, Minneapolis, 1878”

Bennington College
Prize Name: The Green Prize for Poetry
Founded: 2006
Donor: Kelly Green & Forrest MacGregor
2019 Prizewinner: Matthew Tuckner, “Ornithology”

Bergen Community College 
Prize Name: The Steven W. Chung Poetry Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Steven W. Chung
2019 Prizewinner: Ariana Landeira, “A Palm Reading”

Boston University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: Boston University Creative Writing Program
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Bowdoin College 
Prize Name: The Academy of American Poets Colette Inez Poetry Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Mr. Jack Miller
2019 Prizewinner: Ella Schmidt, “Tornado”

Bradley University 
Prize Name: Sipple Poetry Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Bradley University
2019 Prizewinner: Veronica Blascoe, “Blueprints”

Brandeis University 
Prize Name: The Ramon Feliciano Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Marian McDonald
2019 Prizewinner: Sarah Terrazano, “Fire in the Woods”

Brigham Young University 
Prize Name: Ethel Lowry Handley Poetry Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Ethel Lowry Handley
2019 Prizewinner: Elizabeth Kujanpää, “Fingers in a Bush” (undergraduate) and Drew Rupard, “Soliloquy on a Mirror” (graduate)

Brooklyn College, CUNY 
Prize Name: Burton A. Goldberg Poetry Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. Burton Goldberg
2019 Prizewinner: Emily Costantino, “Winter Sonnet”

Brown University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Leander McCormick-Goodhart
2019 Prizewinner: Christine Antoine, “ends”

Bryn Mawr College
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Marie Bullock
Founded: 1957
Donor: Mrs. Peter McCormick
2019 Prizewinner: Alyssa Mazzoli, "CONCENTRATE AND ASK AGAIN"

California State University, Fresno (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Larry Levis Memorial Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: The Friends of Larry Levis
2019 Prizewinner: Shelby King, “Clinton Avenue”

California State University, Fresno (graduate) 
Prize Name: Ernesto Trejo Memorial Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: The Friends of Ernesto Trejo
2019 Prizewinner: Angel Gonzales, “An Ode to Hands”

California State University, Los Angeles 
Prize Name: Henri Coulette Memorial Award
Founded: 1979
Donor: California State University, Los Angeles
2019 Prizewinner: Kirsten Ogden, “My Atoms Come from those Stars”

California State University, Northridge 
Prize Name: George Dillon Memorial Award
Founded: 1968
Donor: California State University, Northridge
2019 Prizewinner: Angel Baker, “Vista, California”

University of California, Berkeley 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Lise Gaston, “talus”

University of California, Davis 
Prize Name: Celeste Turner Wright Poetry Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Prof. Celeste Turner Wright
2019 Prizewinner: Anthony DiCarlo, “For Fiver and Cassandra”

University of California, Irvine 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1969
Donor: Mr. Walter J. Thomson
2019 Prizewinner: Lauren Swift, “The Hunt”

University of California, Los Angeles
Prize Name: Fred and Edith Herman Memorial Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Ms. Joan LaBombard
2019 Prizewinner: Rhiannon McGavin, “Jewish Geography as According to Auntie L”

California Polytechnic State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: California Polytechnic State University
2019 Prizewinner: Katherine Flitsch, “Howl for the Piedly Pious”

Calvin College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Calvin College
2019 Prizewinner: Daniel Hickey, “Apostatic Floor Mopper”

Carnegie Mellon University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1977
Donor: Carnegie Mellon University
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Central Michigan University
Prize Name: Eric Torgersen Poetry Prize
Founded: 2010
Donor: Phillip Sterling
2019 Prizewinner: Isabella Barricklow, “Dictionary of Wanting”

Central Pennsylvania College 
Prize Name: Geraldine G. Britcher Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Centre College 
Prize Name: Paul Cantrell Poetry Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mr. Phillip Sterling
2019 Prizewinner: Sophie Grindon, “Smooth”

Chatham University
Prize Name: The Laurie Mansell Reich Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Laurie and Henry Reich
2019 Prizewinner: Janette Schafer, “What we want to remember about this river”

University of Cincinnati (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The George Elliston Poetry Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Charli Littleton, “Washed Out”

University of Cincinnati (graduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The George Elliston Poetry Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Madeleine Wattenberg, “James River, Virginia”

The City College of San Francisco 
Prize Name: The Felicia Farr Lemon Poetry Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: Mrs. Felicia Farr Lemmon
2019 Prizewinner: Wesley Wang, “the water tower”

Cleveland State University 
Prize Name: Alberta Turner Poetry Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Cleveland State University
2019 Prizewinner: James Yang, “Aibohphobia”

Colorado State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: Colorado State University Faculty & Administration
2019 Prizewinner: Susannah Lodge-Rigal, “Habituation”

Columbia College Chicago 
Prize Name: Eileen Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Nick Weaver, “Gun Oil”

Columbia University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Anonymous
2019 Prizewinner: Melissa Ho, “Colonial”

Columbia University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Bennett Poetry Prize
Founded: 1959
Donor: The New York Times Advertising Department
2019 Prizewinner: Kelley Hess, “I Am Desperate to Waste Things”

Connecticut College 
Prize Name: Charles B. Palmer Poetry Award
Founded: 1979
Donor: Connecticut College
2019 Prizewinner: Deverly Perez, “mama says we can't take flowers to papi's grave this year”

Cooper Union 
Prize Name: Elizabeth Kray Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Cooper Union
2019 Prizewinners: No prize awarded

Cornell College 
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Clyde and Jewell Bothwell Tull
Founded: 1990
Donor: Ms. Alice Louise Haug
2019 Prizewinner: Marin Dettweiler, “Unthoughtful Town”

Cornell University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Litowitz Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Creighton University 
Prize Name: Oscar M. Macelliao Poetry Prize
Founded: 1989
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Caleb Jones, “To the Lord God, the Good Savior, the Giver of Life”

Dartmouth College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Dartmouth College
2019 Prizewinner: Julia O'Sullivan, “October from the Pacific”

University of Delaware 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Nimalah Baaith-Ducharme, “Untitled Haiku 1-6”

University of Denver 
Prize Name: Edward M. Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Dickinson College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Dickinson College
2019 Prizewinner: Kimberly Phillips, “New Year's Guts” 

Drew University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Susan Vartanian Barba
2019 Prizewinner: Perry Asibey-Bonsu, “Stitches”

Duke University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Biddle Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Valerie Muensterman, “Prophet Syndrome”

Elizabethtown College
Prize Name: The Raymond and Mausolene Stouffer Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Emerson College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Emerson College
2019 Prizewinner: Myles Taylor, “poem envisioning the opposite of violence” (undergraduate) and Brandon Melendez, “Field Notes on Desire” (graduate)

Emory University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: The Friends of Creative Writing
2019 Prizewinner: Annie Li, “No Light”

Florida International University 
Prize Name: Christopher F. Kelly Award for Poetry
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. John Bond
2019 Prizewinner: Samantha Leon, “Elegy for My Childhood Home Ending in the Sound of a Lawnmower”

Florida State University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: John MacKay Shaw Award
Founded: 1984
Donor: Florida State University
2019 Prizewinner: Raven Halle, “My Brain is a Book of Celebrity Horoscopes and Snapple Cap Facts”

Florida State University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: Florida State University
201 Prizewinner: Dustin Pearson, “To the Sons”

Fordham University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Fordham University
2019 Prizewinner: Julia Gagliardi, “Celestial Bodies”

Franklin & Marshall College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. and Mrs. C. Hunter Boll
2019 Prizewinner: Jonathan Teklit, “Black Mythology”

George Mason University 
Prize Name: The Joseph A. Lohman III Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Ms. Judith V. Lelchook
2019 Prizewinner: Lloyd Wallace, “2”

George Washington University 
Prize Name: A. E. Claeyssens, Jr. Poetry Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: George Washington University
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Georgetown University 
Prize Name: Ora Mary Pelham Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Daniel Breen, “Still life on fragment (60-85 A.D.)”

Georgia College
Prize Name: Frankye Davis Mayes Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mrs. Frances Mayes
2019 Prizewinners: Tanner Howard, “The Wind Gatherer” (undergraduate), and Danielle Johnson, “Bigger Things” (graduate)

Georgia State University
Prize Name: The Robert V. Morea III Poetry Prize
Founded: 2018
Donor: Dr. Katherine Kincer
Winner: Elizabeth Hazzard, “To Black & Brown Children”

Gettysburg College 
Prize Name: Marion Zulauf Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. Sander Zulauf
2019 Prizewinner: Ellianie Vega, ”Around North Street“

Grinnell College 
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Lorabel Richardson
Founded: 1994
Donor: Ms. Alice Louise Haug
2019 Prizewinner: Steven Duong, “Sonnet Crown Whose Four Jewels May Not be Dispensed Without the Written Prescription of a Medical Practitioner”

Hamilton College 
Prize Name: Ralph and Doris Hansmann Poetry Prize
Founded: 1962
Donor: Hamilton College
2019 Prizewinner: Ruth Coolidge, “Dane Dehaan Talks to a Bear”

Harrisburg Area Community College 
Prize Name: Dale T. Guhl Memorial Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Hartwick College 
Prize Name: Anna Sonder Prize
Founder: 1979
Donor: Dr. Otto Sonder
2019 Prizewinner: Taylor P. Miller, “baptizing saturn”

Harvard University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Harvard University
2019 Prizewinner: Sarah Toomey, “My Question is the Following”

University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Amalia Bueno, “Pasdan River”

Hofstra University 
Prize Name: Nancy P. Schnader Award
Founded: 1974
Donor: Hofstra University
2019 Prizewinner: Sumayyah Uddin, “Poison”

University of Houston 
Prize Name: Brazos Bookstore/ Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Mr. Karl Kilian
2019 Prizewinner: Emelie Griffin, “In Summer”

Hollins University 
Prize Name: Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize
Founded: 1971
Donor: Mr. W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
2019 Prizewinner: Adriana Rewald, “Shocked Quartz”

College of the Holy Cross
Prize Name: Dominick Lepore Poetry Award
Founded: 1992
Donor: Dominick J. Lepore
2019 Prizewinner: Aubrey Ashmun, “Ode to Katama Beach”

Hope College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Hope College
2019 Prizewinner: Kellyanne Fitzgerald, “Road Trip”

Hunter College 
Prize Name: Catalina Páez & Seumas MacManus Award
Founded: 1987
Donor: Miss Patricia MacManus, Mrs. Mariquita M. Mullan
2019 Prizewinner: S. Maxwell Quinn, “poem.” (undergraduate) and Jamie Smith (graduate)

University of Idaho
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Karen Trujillo and Don Burnett
2019 Prizewinner: Caitlyn Curran, “Sister in Recovery”

Illinois College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Ms. Deborah Klang Smith
2019 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
2019 Prizewinner: Kathryn Halford, “Dendochronology”

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
Prize Name: Ruth Llewellyn Baird Prize
Founded: 1966
Donor: Mrs. Robert D. Wood
2019 Prizewinner: Sarah Patrick, “Uncertain Elegy”

Indiana University Bloomington
Prize Name: The Vera Meyer Strube Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2019 Prizewinner: Austin Araujo, “Watching Him Cross”

Indiana State University 
Prize Name: The Madeline DeGaetano Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1996
Donor: Dr. Elaine L. Kleiner
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Johns Hopkins University
Prize Name: The Laureen Rita Schipsi Poetry Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: Mr. Thomas Newton Bolling
2019 Prizewinner: Laura Schelong, “Safe as Houses”

Kenyon College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Kenyon College
2019 Prizewinner: Paola Liendo, “Ode to Jigglypuff”

Keystone College 
Prize Name: Edward M. Cameron IV Poetry Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2019 Prizewinner: Kerri Homerick, “The Never-ending Spiral”

Lafayette College 
Prize Name: Jean E. Corrie Poetry Prize
Founded: 1989
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2019 Prizewinner: Emily Lugos, “Bruises. Tongues, and a Funeral”

Lewis & Clark College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Lewis & Clark College
2019 Prizewinner: Xiao Yumi, “Ghost-Flower-Fish”

Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus 
Prize Name: John & Agnes McCarten Memorial Award
Founded: 1967
Donor: Ms. Jeanne Marie Scott
2019 Prizewinner: Tasia Hernandez, “2nd Best”

Loyola University Maryland 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: Loyola University Maryland
2019 Prizewinner: Alexis McIlvain, “May I Have a Moment of Your Time?”

Loyola University of Chicago
Prize Name: Dr. Frank C. Lawler Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Lynchburg
Prize name: Miriam T. and Jude M. Pfister Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Miriam T. and Jude M. Pfister
2019 Prizewinner: Hiatt O'Connor, “Murmurations”

Macalester College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Macalester College
2019 Prizewinner: Miriam Moore-Keish, “My Oma Says it is Sacrilege to Drink Wine Cold”

Marietta College
Prize Name: The Stephen Schwartz Prize in Poetry
Founded: 2005
Donor: Laura Baudo Sillerman
2019 Prizewinner: Rachel Ewing, “Broken Dishes”

University of Maryland, College Park
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Anaïs Nin
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mr. Robert W. Newcomb
2019 Prizewinner: Anna Newman, “Razing”

University of Mary Washington
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Massachusetts, Amherst 
Prize Name: Joseph Langland Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2019 Prizewinners: Rebecca Valley, “Lake Echo”

University of Massachusetts, Boston 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Eliza Bartlett Anise, “Spring”

University of Memphis 
Prize Name: The Deborah L. Talbot Poetry Award
Founded: 2002
Donor: Deborah L. Talbot
2019 Prizewinner: Hannah Feustle, “Do I Believe In God?”

Messiah College
Prize Name: Carrie A. Guhl Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: Olivia Bardo, “Sweet Sixteen”

Miami-Dade College 
Prize Name: Fred Shaw Poetry Prize
Founded: 1973
Donor: Miami-Dade Community College
2019 Prizewinner: Gabriela Azeem-Angel, “Children of Bolivar”

Miami University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Harris S. Abrahams Poetry Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mr. Jeffrey Abrahams
2019 Prizewinner: Talia Mesnick, “The Hollow Women: After TS Eliot and Terrance Hayes”

Miami University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Betty Jane Abrahams Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Mr. Jeffrey Abrahams
2019 Prizewinner: Jessica Smith, “Daybooks 3 May 2013”

University of Miami 
Prize Name: Alfred Boas Poetry Prize
Founded: 1993
Donor: University of Miami
2019 Prizewinner: Clayre Benzadon, “Linguistic Rewilding”

Millersville University
Prize Name: Louis Darrell Sage Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: Nathaniel Warren, “Hasten”

University of Michigan (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1995
Donor: Mrs. Sharon A. Galley
2019 Prizewinner: Nadia Mota, “ghazal for fear”

University of Michigan (graduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Mrs. Sharon A. Galley
2019 Prizewinner: Jennifer Huang, “Equinox, 2018”

University of Minnesota 
Prize Name: James Wright Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1963
Donor: University of Minnesota
2019 Co-prizewinners: Chelli Riddiough, “the drunk mother”

University of Missouri at Columbia 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: University of Missouri
2019 Prizewinner: Rebecca Pelky, “Little Fly”

University of Montana 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: University of Montana
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Mount Holyoke College 
Prize Name: Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize
Founded: 1960
Donor: Mr. W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
2019 Prizewinner: b holton, “Brother”

Muskingum College 
Prize Name: Beulah Brooks Brown Award in Poetry
Founded: 1993
Donor: Muskingum College
2019 Prizewinner: Jenna Durant, “Ode to my Car Radio”

Naropa University
Prize Name: The Margaret Randall Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Friends of Margaret Randall
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Nebraska, Lincoln 
Prize Name: Wilbur Gaffney Poetry Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Professor Emeritus Wilbur Gaffney
2019 Prizewinner: Cameron Steele, “Bubos”

University of Nebraska, MFA
Prize Name: Helen W. Kenefick Poetry Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. John C. Kenefick
2019 Prizewinner: Michelle Quick, “How Great Thou Art”

New Jersey City University 
Prize Name: The Walter Glospie Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: New Jersey City University
2019 Prizewinner: Scion Wellington, “Into the Jesusverse”

University of New Orleans 
Prize Name: Andrea Saunders Gereighty Poetry Award
Founded: 1986
Donor: Ms. Andrea S. Gereighty
2019 Prizewinner: Henry Goldkamp, “quintuple bullshit sonnet for mawmaws dialysis of her kidney”

New Mexico State University
Prize Name: Ruth Scott Poetry Award
Donor: Judith N. Scott
2019 Prizewinner: Caroline Chavatel, “Here We Don't Die, We Shop”

New York University
Prize Name: Judith Lobel Arkin Poetry Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: The Arkin Family
2019 Prizewinner: Vinnie Zhang, “The Fish in Fuzhou”

University of North Dakota 
Prize Name: The Thomas McGrath Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: University of North Dakota
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of North Texas
Prize Name: Paul R. Voertman Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: University of North Texas
2019 Prizewinner: Megan J. Arlett, “Jaw”

University of Notre Dame
Prize Name: The Billy Maich Award
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Paul & Jessica Maich
2019 Prizewinner: Maxime Berclaz, “Locus-Egg-Locus-Imago-Locus-Egg-Locus”

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
Prize Name: The Anne Williams Burrus Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1963
Donor: Mrs. Ann W. Burrus
2019 Prizewinner: Aisling Henihan, “I Saw a Prickly Pear Cactus Today”

University of North Carolina at Greensboro 
Prize Name: Noel Callow Poetry Award
Founded: 1963
Donor: Anonymous
2019 Prizewinner: Wesley Sexton, “On Seeing a Bee Drink His Nectar”

North Carolina State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: North Carolina State University
2019 Prizewinner: Josh Tvrdy, “Dad Said He Knew How to Weld”

Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts
2019 Prizewinner: Noor Hindi, “Zenana”

Northwestern University 
Prize Name: Jean Meyer Aloe Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2019 Prizewinner: Hannah Hall, “Celestial Confessions”

Northwest Indian College
Prize Name: The Betty and Norman Lockwood Poetry Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: James Harder
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Ohio State University 
Prize Name: Arthur Rense Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Ms. Paige Rense
2019 Prizewinner: Mags Colvett, “A Ghost Story”

Oklahoma State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1978
Donor: Oklahoma State University
2019 Prizewinner: Remigius Recchia, “Head Space”

Old Dominion University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2019 Prizewinners: Briel Felton, “All my mother's rambling” (undergraduate) and Matthew Olive, “Allowed to Watch, I Don’t” (graduate co-winner) and Tracy Rice Weber, ”Simple Comfort“ (graduate co-winner)

Oregon State University 
Prize Name: Weaver Undergraduate Poetry Award
Founded: 1986
Donor: Oregon State University
2019 Prizewinner: Grace Burks, “I Take Myself on Dates”

Pace University 
Prize Name: David A. Bickimer—Promise of Learnings Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: The Promise of Learnings Inc.
2019 Prizewinner: Ingrid Lorenzi, “Bayside at 3 A.M.”

Pennsylvania State Harrisburg
Prize Name: Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: Emma Bankert, “Father Figure”

Pennsylvania State University 
Prize Name: Leonard Steinberg Memorial Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Mrs. Pearl Steinberg
2019 Prizewinner: Andrea Brown, “I put on Ella Fitzgerald and Danced Alone in My Living Room to Her Rendition of Summertime”

University of Pennsylvania 
Prize Name: William Carlos Williams Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: University of Pennsylvania
2019 Prizewinner: Ethan Plaue, “Fog Line”

Perimeter College (note: formerly listed as "Georgia Perimeter College")
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The Chattahoochee Review
2019 Winner: Nethra Rammohan, “Falling”

Piedmont College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: Barbara Brown Taylor
2019 Prizewinner: Emily Pierce, “Collage”

University of Pittsburgh 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: University of Pittsburgh
2019 Prizewinner: Leyla Çolpan, “Kuşköy in Virginia” (undergraduate) and Joshua Palmer, “Self-Portrait in Tongues” (graduate)

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Prize Name: The Colleen M. Brown Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: Hannah Brown, “Elastic Yellow”

Portland State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: The Portland State University Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Morgaine Baumann, “An Education”

Pratt Institute 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1992
Donor: Pratt Institute
2019 Prizewinner: Paulina Meyer, “Letters in Half-Shadow”

Princeton University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Drs. William F. and Jerene Hewitt
2019 Prizewinner: Luke Soucy, “[12/13/2017]”

Purdue University
Prize Name: The Thomas H. Scholl and Elizabeth Boyd Thompson Poetry Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Thomas H. Scholl
2019 Prizewinner: Noah Baldino, “Passing”

Randolph-Macon College 
Prize Name: Charles and Fanny Fay Wood Poetry Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
2019 Prizewinner: Jena Davis, “Headspace” (undergraduate) and Mateo Lara, “Glint” (graduate)

University of Redlands 
Prize Name: Jean Burden Award
Founded: 1984
Donor: Ms. Virginia Everett Smith
2019 Prizewinner: Noa Josef Sperber, “Triptych”

Reed College 
Prize Name: The Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1994
Donor: Reed College
2019 Prizewinner: Sofia Valencia, “the morning hour”

University of Richmond
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2019 Prizewinner: Nicolas DelValle, “In the Night”

Rice University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Joyce Pounds Hardy
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of Rochester 
Prize Name: Marion Devendorf Van Laak Poetry Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: University of Rochester
2019 Prizewinner: Tianna Gonzalez, “Honey and Milk”

Rockford University
Prize Name: Colleen Holmbeck Poetry Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: Rockford University
2019 Prizewinner: Sintheyah Siyarath, “Autumn's Butterflies”

Rollins College 
Prize Name: Arden Goettling / Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Family & Friends of Arden Goettling
2019 Co-prizewinners: Hannah Butcher, “Moral Compass”

Rutgers University 
Prize Name: Enid Dame Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Jeanne Marie Beaumont
2019 Prizewinner: Flannery Rollins, “How to Heal a Bruise; How to Keep Cool; How to Read a Room; How to Explain Yourself; How to Dream Better;”

St. John’s University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Thomas McInerney
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

St. Lawrence University 
Prize Name: James Ligon Price III Memorial Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1975
Donor: St. Lawrence University
2019 Prizewinner: Olivia Reynolds, “I Dreamed I was in my Mother's Memory”

Saint Mary’s College of California 
Prize Name: Russell & Yvonne Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Sam Houston State University 
Prize Name: The William C. Weathers Memorial Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Ms. Melissa Morphew
2019 Prizewinner: Hunter Burke, “On Bondage and Homoerotic Thrills”

San Francisco State University (undergraduate) 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Piri Thomas Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donors: Friends and Family of Piri Thomas
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

San Francisco State University (graduate) 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1996
Donors: The New Hope Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

University of San Francisco
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: University of San Francisco
2019 Prizewinner: Sofia Skavdahl, “Idlib, Syria | San Francisco, CA”

San Jose State University 
Prize Name: Virginia de Araujo Prize
Founded: 1981
Donor: Virginia de Araujo Trust
2019 Prizewinner: Sophia Apodoca, “1992”

Santa Clara University
Prize Name: Tamara Verga Poetry Prize
Founded: 1995
Donor: Victoria Verga Logan and Frank Verga, Jr.
2019 Prizewinner: Erika Rasmussen, “Mylėti Means To Love (Barely Known)”

Sarah Lawrence College (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2019 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
2019 Prizewinner: Marjorie Tesser, “April”

Shimer Great Books School at North Central College 
Prize Name: Ruth Cooley Poetry Prize
Founded: 1976
Donor: Mr. Peter Cooley
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Shippensburg University
Prize Name: Laura A. Rice Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Laura A. Rice Poetry Prize
2019 Prizewinner: Courtney Caro, “June”

Skidmore College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Skidmore College
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Smith College 
Prize Name: Anne Bradstreet Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Smith College
2019 Prizewinner: Julia Falkner, “Piles”

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. Rodney Jones
2019 Prizewinner: Jay Livingston, “diction/\footing” 

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (graduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1998
Donor: Carolyn Forman Moe
2019 Prizewinner: Mary Ardery, “Fear of Drowning”

Spelman College
Prize Name: Edith A. Hambie Poetry Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Anonymous
2019 Prizewinner: Ariana Benson, “Pineapple Market”

Spring Hill College 
Prize Name: Reverend Andrew C. Smith, S.J., Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Kameron Powell, “The Unsent Letter”

Stetson University 
Prize Name: The Holly M. Kimball Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. Phillip Blumberg
2019 Prizewinners: Claretta Holsey, “Dis Placeholder”

SUNY Albany 
Prize Name: Phyllis Hurd Liston Poetry Prize
Founded: 1998
Donor: The Liston Family
2019 Prizewinner: Yolande Schutter, “She Lives”

SUNY Binghamton 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: SUNY Binghamton
2019 Prizewinners: Anna Berbary, “a poem to a friend who didn't drop the ribbon” (undergraduate) and Eniko Vaghy, “I Find a Child” (graduate)

SUNY Buffalo - Graduate
Prize Name: The Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: SUNY Buffalo
2019 Prizewinner: Travis Sharp, “Monoculture”

SUNY Buffalo - Undergraduate
Prize Name: Dan Liberthson Poetry Prize
Founded: 2010
Donor: Mr. Dan Liberthson
2019 Prizewinner: Katie Naughton, “debt ritual: grain” 

SUNY Farmingdale
Prize Name: Raynor Wallace Poetry Award
Founded: 1988
Donor: SUNY Farmingdale
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

SUNY Oswego 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Mr. John W. Mincher, Jr.
2019 Prizewinner: Sally Familia, “The Trouble with Reminiscing”

Sweet Briar College 
Prize Name: The Jean Taylor Meyer Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Temple University 
Prize Name: Albert J. Caplan Prize
Founded: 1985
Donor: Mr. Albert J. Caplan
2019 Prizewinner: Dynas Johnson, “space girl: prologue”

University of Texas at Austin 
Prize Name: Andrew Julius Gutow Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Andrew Julius Gutow Memorial Fund
2019 Prizewinners: Luisana Cortez, “The Cracking Bleat of the Ram” (undergraduate) and Sarah Matthes, “613 Mitzvot” (graduate)

Trinity College 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: Trinity College
2019 Prizewinner: Kirstin Fierro, “Gardener”

Tufts University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Tufts University
2019 Prizewinner: Sarah Walsh, “After Mother Road Died”

Tulane University 
Prize Name: Anselle M. Larson / Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Mr. Herbert V. Larson, Jr.
2019 Prizewinner: Simran Jain, “To Break Open Wings”

United States Naval Academy 
Prize Name: Stuart Pitt Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Mrs. A. Stuart Pitt
2019 Prizewinner: Duncan Farrant, “Military Tuck”

University of Utah 
Prize Name: Larry Levis Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1969
Donor: University of Utah
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Valdosta State University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Mr. Edward Davin Vickers
2019 Prizewinner: Tyler Bentley, “Fear of Eden's Fruit”

Valparaiso University 
Prize Name: Vivian S. Richards Memorial Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Nancy & Michael Becker
2019 Prizewinner: Faith Smith, “Someday I'll Love Faith Smith”

Vanderbilt University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Vanderbilt University
2019 Prizewinner: Carlina Duan, “DO YOU HAVE A GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION?”

Vassar College 
Prize Name: Mary Rousmaniere Gordon Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Mr. Albert H. Gordon
2019 Prizewinner: Bella Dalton-Fenkl, “Two Sijo: 'Specularite' and 'Slate'”

University of Virginia
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Henry Hoyns Bequest, Charles Wright
2019 Prizewinner: Aimee Seu, “Nikki Lyn”

Virginia Commonwealth University 
Prize Name: Catherine and Joan Byrne Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Nan Byrne
2019 Prizewinner: Ty Phelps, “At the Ice Rink”

Virginia Tech
Prize name: Virginia Tech/ Poetry Society of Virginia Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2019 Prizewinner: Makensi Ceriani, “Our Body Restless”

Washington College 
Prize Name: The Jude and Miriam Pfister Poetry Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Dr. & Mrs. Jude Pfister
2019 Prizewinner: Justin Nash, “THAT THING THAT THING”

Washington & Lee University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Anonymous
2019 Prizewinner: Rossella Gabriele, “Kindling”

Washington University 
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Washington University
2019 Prizewinners: Adam Messer, “why i don't write love poems” (undergraduate) and  Emma Wilson, “Kill me, Daddy” (graduate)

University of Washington 
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Caleb Braun, “Prayer for the Long-Lost Invocation”

Wayne State University 
Prize Name: John Clare Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mr. & Mrs. Nancy & Michael Becker
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Wellesley College 
Prize Name: Nevin Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The Family of Betty Nevin Marshall & Robert Nevin
2019 Prizewinner: Haley Cheek, “Swan”

Wells College 
Prize Name: Catharine B. De Pau Poetry Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2019 Prizewinner: Savannah Olsen, “faraway place”

Wesleyan College 
Prize Name: George Warren Gignilliat, Jr. Poetry Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz
2019 Prizewinner: Anneliese Balfour, “Late Night Snack”

Wesleyan University
Prize Name: Sarah Hannah Memorial Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Kate Bernheimer
2019 Prizewinners: Dylan Moore, “Ireland from the M50”

Westminster College
Prize Name: Anne Newman Sutton Weeks Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: Westminster College
2019 Prizewinner: Kate Wilson, “black dog black dog black dog”

College of William & Mary
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda
2019 Prizewinner: Frida Salmoran, “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent, 1987”

Williams College
Prize Name: Bullock Poetry Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: The Academy of American Poets
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Wilson College
Prize Name: The William and Ivy Saylor Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: Molly Lemke, “Crow's Funeral”

University of Wisconsin, Madison 
Prize Name: George B. Hill Poetry Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: Kevin P. Bjerregaard
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

College of Wooster 
Prize Name: Cora Owlett Latzer Award
Founded: 1983
Donor: Ms. Susan Donnell
2019 Prizewinner: No prize awarded

Yale University 
Prize Name: Sean T. Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2019 Prizewinner: Rachel Kaufman, “New Mexico Lightning”

Yonsei University / Underwood International College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: Yonsei University
2019 Prizewinner: Jin Yoo, “A Landscape” (undergraduate) and B. J. Park, “Memory” (graduate)

York College of Pennsylvania
Prize Name: Mary Jane’s Diamond Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2019 Prizewinner: Samantha Sabatini, “Crying” 

Materials for Coordinators 

“Download PDF 

Contact Information 

For more information, please contact:

Nikay Paredes
Programs Manager
[email protected]
(212) 274-0343 x 13

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

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