| Year | Title | Publisher | Prize Amount | Judge |
| 2022 | Saltwater Demands a Psalm | Graywolf Press | $5,000 | Tyehimba Jess |
Born in The Gambia in 1997, Kweku Abimbola earned his MFA in Poetry Writing from the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. His debut poetry collection, Saltwater Demands a Psalm, was selected by Tyehimba Jess as the winner of the 2022 Academy of American Poets First Book Award.