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."
The majority of the active University and College Poetry Prizes are endowed in perpetuity.
For inquiries, contact Nikay Paredes, Programs Director.
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, please write to Marti Irving, Programs Assistant, for details. Be sure to include the name of the school.
Fall
A faculty member or administrator 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 sends awards 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.
For questions, please contact Marti Irving, Programs Assistant.
2023 University & College Poetry Prizes
2022 University & College Poetry Prizes
2021 University & College Poetry Prizes
2020 University & College Poetry Prizes
2019 University & College Poetry Prizes
2018 University & College Poetry Prizes
2017 University & College Poetry Prizes
2016 University & College Poetry Prizes
2015 University & College Poetry Prizes
Participating Colleges & Universities
Agnes Scott College
Prize Name: Janef Preston Poetry Prize
Founded: 1976
Donor: Agnes Scott College
2024 Prizewinner: Carole Gilley, “i count”
University of Alabama
Prize Name: Hill-Kohn Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: University of Alabama
2024 Prizewinner: Jessica Cordes, “Orcinus”
Amherst College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1959
Donor: Trustees of Amherst College
2024 Prizewinner: Gabrielle Avena, “Slow Death of the Generic Tree Drawing”
Aquinas College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Mrs. Linda Nemec Foster
2024 Prizewinner: Lianne Martinez Bullain, “From Vibrant Colors, Bipolar Weather, and Alligators”
Arizona State University
Prize Name: Katharine C. Turner Prize
Founded: 1994
Donor: Ms. Katharine C. Turner
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of Arizona
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: University of Arizona
2024 Prizewinner: Astrid Liu, “quiet midautumn night's haibun”
University of Arkansas
Prize Name: C.D. Wright/Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2019
Donor: Geffrey Davis
2024 Prizewinner: Sarah Barch, “Gumdrops Line the Transmission Towers”
Auburn University
Prize Name: Robert Hughes Mount, Jr. Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mrs. Frances Mayes
2024 Prizewinner: Heidi VanderVelde, “I Saw My Dead Father in the Publix Produce Aisle”
Augsburg University
Prize Name: John R. Mitchell Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mrs. Jeanette Mitchell
2024 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
2024 Prizewinner: Anna Spiro, “we pretend we are not happening”
Baylor University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Beall Poetry Festival
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Beloit College
Prize Name: Beloit Poetry Journal Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Ms. Marion Stocking
2024 Prizewinner: Casey Barasch, “Parade Pt 2”
Bennington College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Kelly Green and Forrest MacGregor
2024 Prizewinner: Willa Brosnihan, “Whales”
Bergen Community College
Prize Name: The Steven W. Chung Poetry Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Steven W. Chung
2024 Prizewinner: R.J. Tierney, “Girl in a Kimono”
Boston University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: Boston University Creative Writing Program
2024 Prizewinner: Alejandro Aguirre, “Trailer Park Garden”
Bowdoin College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Colette Inez Poetry Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Mr. Jack Miller
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Bradley University
Prize Name: Sipple Poetry Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Bradley University
2024 Prizewinner: L.T. Ward, “Do not call me strong”
Brandeis University
Prize Name: The Ramón Feliciano Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Mariana Mcdonald
2024 Prizewinner: Rachel Shpuntoff, "Twelve years since the kidnap and murder that shook the country: the second trial begins"
Brigham Young University
Prize Name: Ethel Lowry Handley Poetry Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Helen Houghton
2024 Prizewinner: Samantha M. Sorenson, “Thoughts While Watching My Mother Make Dinner”
Brooklyn College, CUNY
Prize Name: Burton A. Goldberg Poetry Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Burton A. Goldberg
2024 Prizewinner: Isabelle Cachia-Riedl, “Fugue”
Brown University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Mr. and Mrs. Leander McCormick-Goodhart
2024 Prizewinner: Pranav Gundrala, “Selected Flowers”
Bryn Mawr College
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Marie Bullock
Founded: 1957
Donor: Mrs. Peter McCormick
2024 Prizewinner: Mel G, “A is for Anoush”
California State University, Fresno (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Larry Levis Memorial Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: The Friends of Larry Levis
2024 Prizewinner: Emily Peacock, “a series of letters out”
California State University, Fresno (graduate)
Prize Name: Ernesto Trejo Memorial Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: The Friends of Ernesto Trejo
2024 Prizewinner: Phoua Lee, “pov: asian girl vendetta no. ∞”
California State University, Los Angeles
Prize Name: Henri Coulette Memorial Award
Founded: 1979
Donor: California State University, Los Angeles
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
California State University, Northridge
Prize Name: George Dillon Memorial Award
Founded: 1968
Donor: California State University, Northridge
2024 Prizewinner: Gianne Braza, “Sonnet for My Autistic Brother”
University of California, Berkeley
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of California, Davis
Prize Name: Celeste Turner Wright Poetry Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Prof. Celeste Turner Wright
2024 Prizewinner: Emily Anne Granger, “Highway Hosts”
University of California, Irvine
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1969
Donor: Mr. Walter J. Thomson
2024 Prizewinner: Somi Jun, "Threshold"
University of California, Los Angeles
Prize Name: Fred and Edith Herman Memorial Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Ms. Joan LaBombard
2024 Prizewinner: Eli Nachimson, “autism screening questionnaire”
California Polytechnic State University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: California Polytechnic State University
2024 Prizewinner: Sarah Marks, “Permission”
Calvin College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Calvin College
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Carnegie Mellon University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1977
Donor: Carnegie Mellon University
2024 Prizewinner: Annie Nguyễn, “Coma”
Central Michigan University
Prize Name: Eric Torgersen Poetry Prize
Founded: 2010
Donor: Phillip Sterling
2024 Prizewinner: Juliana Theis, “Barbie and Ken”
Central Pennsylvania College
Prize Name: Geraldine G. Britcher Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: Haylee Boggs, “The Crow and I”
Centre College
Prize Name: Paul Cantrell Poetry Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mr. Phillip Sterling
2024 Prizewinner: Taylor Broder, “Virgin, in its least pure form”
Chatham University
Prize Name: The Laurie Mansell Reich Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Laurie and Henry Reich
2024 Prizewinner: Ashley Christian, “Home Buried”
University of Cincinnati
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The George Elliston Poetry Foundation
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Leila Chatti (graduate), "Living," and Tyler McDonald (undergraduate), “Zuihitsu on Braiding and Wishing to be a Cricket”
The City College of San Francisco
Prize Name: The Felicia Farr Lemon Poetry Prize
Founded: 1982
Donor: Mrs. Felicia Farr Lemmon
2024 Prizewinner: Ruben Diaz, “Emotional Spaces”
Cleveland State University
Prize Name: Alberta Turner Poetry Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Cleveland State University
2024 Prizewinner: Stephanie Ginese, “Prints”
Colorado State University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: Colorado State University Faculty and Administration
2024 Prizewinner: Tashiana Seebeck, “Ars Poetica at the End of Girlhood”
Columbia College Chicago
Prize Name: Eileen Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Huckleberry Shelf, “prepositions”
Columbia University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Anonymous
2024 Prizewinner: Esther Sun, “New York”
Connecticut College
Prize Name: Charles B. Palmer Poetry Award
Founded: 1979
Donor: Connecticut College
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Cooper Union
Prize Name: Elizabeth Kray Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Cooper Union
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Cornell College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: Ms. Alice Louise Haug
2024 Prizewinner: Varun Ramrakhiani, “Why I Love Scheherazade”
Cornell University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Litowitz Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Creighton University
Prize Name: Oscar M. Macelliao Poetry Prize
Founded: 1989
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Amanda La O Cartaya, “No Translation”
Dartmouth College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Dartmouth College
2024 Prizewinner: Maeve A. Kenney, “The Small Things”
Davidson College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2019
Donor: Elizabeth Wade
2024 Prizewinner: Isabel Smith, “daisy”
University of Delaware
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Vincent Olivieri, “I’ve folded multiple successful fortune tellers out of the napkins while we’ve been sitting here so I’m pretty sure we’re onto something”
University of Denver
Prize Name: Edward M. Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Dickinson College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Dickinson College
2024 Prizewinner: Lily Bibro, “1 Gillot Road”
Drew University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Susan Vartanian Barba
2024 Prizewinner: SHAY, “Palestine (Apocalypse)”
Duke University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Biddle Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Nima Babajani-Feremi, “Dreams to Persepolis”
Elizabethtown College
Prize Name: The Raymond and Mausolene Stouffer Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Emerson College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Emerson College
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Jennah Figueroa (graduate), “Ripening,” and Annalisa Hansford (undergraduate), “Abecedarian for My Future Lover”
Emory University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: The Friends of Creative Writing
2024 Prizewinner: Isabel Cuellar Ferreira, “As it turns out he wasn't even buried under the pine tree”
Florida International University
Prize Name: Christopher F. Kelly Award for Poetry
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. John Bond
2024 Prizewinner: Ana María Caballero, “Milk”
Florida State University
Prize Name: John MacKay Shaw Academy of American Poets Award
Donor: Florida State University
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Olivia Sokolowski (graduate), "Tourist Bracelet," and Victoria D'Amico (undergraduate), "How to Make a Birthday Cake"
Fordham University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Fordham University
2024 Prizewinner: Prettystar Lopez, “[SOMEWHERE OFF THE CROSS BRONX EXPRESSWAY]”
Franklin and Marshall College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. and Mrs. C. Hunter Boll
2024 Prizewinner: Sarah Nicell, “Eucharist: Digesting Men”
George Mason University
Prize Name: The Joseph A. Lohman III Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Ms. Judith V. Lelchook
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
George Washington University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets College Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: George Washington University
2024 Prizewinner: Aurea Day, “Confessional”
Georgetown University
Prize Name: Ora Mary Pelham Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Clayton Kincade, “A Sonnet to my Scottish Forefathers”
Georgia College
Prize Name: Frankye Davis Mayes Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mrs. Frances Mayes
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Georgia State University
Prize Name: The Robert V. Morea III Poetry Prize
Founded: 2018
Donor: Dr. Katherine Kincer
2024 Prizewinner: Chris Ketchum, “Horseshoe Crab”
Gettysburg College
Prize Name: Marion Zulauf Prize
Founded: 1987
Donor: Mr. Sander Zulauf
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Grinnell College
Prize Name: Lorabel Richardson/Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1994
Donor: Ms. Alice Louise Haug
2024 Prizewinner: Isaiah Schlimm, “Nixon's Imperial Seals”
Hamilton College
Prize Name: Doris M. and Ralph E. Hansmann Poetry Prize
Founded: 1962
Donor: Hamilton College
2024 Prizewinner: Gabriela De Mendonca Gomes, “Lingua Dupla”
Harrisburg Area Community College
Prize Name: Dale T. Guhl Memorial Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Hartwick College
Prize Name: Anna Sonder Prize
Founder: 1979
Donor: Dr. Otto Sonder
2024 Prizewinner: Sofia Escobar, “Sky Scorpion”
Harvard University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Harvard University
2024 Prizewinner: Leila Jackson, “Exit Wound”
Haverford College
Prize Name: James C. Ransom Poetry Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Jason Fritz and James Haglund
2024 Prizewinner: Maia Schwallie, “Raspberry Juice”
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Sierra Choi, “refrain”
Hofstra University
Prize Name: Nancy P. Schnader Poetry Award
Founded: 1974
Donor: Hofstra University
2024 Prizewinner: Kogen Serrano, “Radio Glenside”
University of Houston
Prize Name: Brazos Bookstore/ Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Mr. Karl Kilian
2024 Prizewinner: Kelan Nee, “Cathedral”
Hollins University
Prize Name: Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize
Founded: 1971
Donor: Mr. W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
2024 Prizewinner: Rebecca Edgren, “Georgia O’Keeffe, Painting through Pelvis Bone III”
College of the Holy Cross
Prize Name: Dominick Lepore Poetry Award
Founded: 1992
Donor: Dominick J. Lepore
2024 Prizewinner: Lilly Baumfeld, “Stick Season Sestina”
Hope College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Hope College
2024 Prizewinner: AnnaLeah Lacoss, “(keeping out the coyotes)”
Hunter College
Prize Name: Catalina Páez and Seumas MacManus Award
Founded: 1987
Donor: Miss Patricia MacManus, Mrs. Mariquita M. Mullan
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Seth Amos, "A Smile for Frances," and Raki Jordan, "Fatherless Home"
University of Idaho
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Karen Trujillo and Don Burnett
2024 Prizewinner: Miriam Akervall, “Mormor's Interview: 1998”
Illinois College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Ms. Deborah Klang Smith
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Illinois Wesleyan University
Prize Name: Arthur William Hinners and Louise Hinners Sipfle Poetry Prize
Founded: 1980
Donor: Friends and Family of Louise Hinners Sipfle
2024 Prizewinner: Farah Bassyouni, “رحم // mercy”
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Prize Name: Ruth Llewellyn Baird Prize
Founded: 1966
Donor: Mrs. Robert D. Wood
2024 Prizewinner: Chloe Hensler, “A Tuesday During March”
Indiana University Bloomington
Prize Name: The Vera Meyer Strube Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2024 Prizewinner: Teja Sudhakar, “TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW / ABOUT DISMEMBERMENT”
Indiana State University
Prize Name: The Madeline DeGaetano Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1996
Donor: Dr. Elaine L. Kleiner
2024 Prizewinner: Basia Bryan, “Cleaning Out the Closet of a Dead Relative”
Institute of American Indian Arts
Prize Name: The Betty and Norman Lockwood Poetry Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: James Harder
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Victoria Sanchez, “The Accountant"
Johns Hopkins University
Prize Name: The Laureen Rita Schipsi Poetry Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: Mr. Thomas Newton Bolling
2024 Prizewinner: Eben Woo, ”Trips to H-Mart”
Kenyon College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Kenyon College
2024 Prizewinner: Marilyn Gates, “World”
Keystone College
Prize Name: Edward M. Cameron IV Poetry Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Lafayette College
Prize Name: Jean E. Corrie Poetry Prize
Founded: 1989
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Lewis and Clark College
Prize Name: Vern Rutsala Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Lewis and Clark College
2024 Prizewinner: Ashly N. Flores, “reciting Ginsberg in the shower”
Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus
Prize Name: John and Agnes McCarten Memorial Award
Founded: 1967
Donor: Ms. Jeanne Marie Scott
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Loyola University Maryland
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: Loyola University Maryland
2024 Prizewinner: Taylor Moyer, “What There Might Be To Know”
Loyola University of Chicago
Prize Name: Dr. Frank C. Lawler Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 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
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Macalester College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Macalester College
2024 Prizewinner: Miriam Ruiz, “Bull-Headed”
Marietta College
Prize Name: The Stephen Schwartz Prize in Poetry
Founded: 2005
Donor: Laura Baudo Sillerman
2024 Prizewinner: Olivia Lemasters, “swimming with serial killers”
University of Maryland, College Park
Prize Name: Prize in Memory of Anaïs Nin
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mr. Robert W. Newcomb
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of Mary Washington
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2024 Prizewinner: Emily Bailey, “Why Wonder, Why Wander?”
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Prize Name: Joseph Langland Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2024 Prizewinner: Suzanne Bagia, “It Is the Women Who Cry”
University of Massachusetts, Boston
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: A.H. Salazar, “God's Work”
University of Memphis
Prize Name: The Deborah L. Talbot Poetry Award
Founded: 2002
Donor: Deborah L. Talbot
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Messiah University
Prize Name: Carrie A. Guhl Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: Evelyn Kelly, “We in Our Worship”
Miami-Dade College
Prize Name: Fred Shaw Poetry Prize
Founded: 1973
Donor: Kathleen Welton
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Miami University (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Harris S. Abrahams Poetry Prize
Founded: 2000
Donor: Mr. Jeffrey Abrahams
2024 Prizewinner: Max Kaufman, “The Box”
Miami University (graduate)
Prize Name: Betty Jane Abrahams Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2001
Donor: Mr. Jeffrey Abrahams
2024 Prizewinner: Matt Farley, “Two Cardinals”
University of Miami
Prize Name: Alfred Boas Poetry Prize
Founded: 1993
Donor: University of Miami
2024 Prizewinner: Sankara Olama-Yai, “Erasure of Rape Apology Letters from my former love”
Millersville University
Prize Name: Louis Darrell Sage Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: Reagan Gorham, “I went to college in Virginia for a year”
University of Michigan (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1995
Donor: Mrs. Sharon A. Galley
2024 Prizewinner: Giovanni Smith, “out of body day 1”
University of Michigan (graduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Mrs. Sharon A. Galley
2024 Prizewinner: Lailah Fritz, “Dawn”
University of Minnesota
Prize Name: James Wright Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1963
Donor: University of Minnesota
2024 Prizewinner: Isabel Zacharias, “the singing season”
Mississippi State University
Prize Name: Joy Taylor Rieves Poetry Prize
Founded: 2021
Donor: Mississippi State University
2024 Prizewinner: Haylee Morman, “Mother Land”
University of Missouri at Columbia
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1990
Donor: University of Missouri
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of Montana
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: University of Montana
2024 Prizewinner: Trinity Herr, “beaches. why I don’t care for them”
Mount Holyoke College
Prize Name: Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize
Founded: 1960
Donor: Mr. W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
2024 Prizewinner: Summer LoPriore, “Mummy”
Muskingum University
Prize Name: Beulah Brooks Brown Award in Poetry
Founded: 1993
Donor: Muskingum University
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Naropa University
Prize Name: The Margaret Randall Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: Friends of Margaret Randall
2024 Prizewinner: Sambhavi Jayashree Ashok, “I'm ready now”
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Prize Name: Wilbur Gaffney Poetry Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Professor Emeritus Wilbur Gaffney
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of Nebraska, MFA
Prize Name: Helen W. Kenefick Poetry Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. John C. Kenefick
2024 Prizewinner: Ashley DeVrieze, “Seasons”
New Jersey City University
Prize Name: The Walter Glospie Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: New Jersey City University
2024 Prizewinner: Gianna Valdez, “44°14'32.0"N 68°17'57.7"W”
University of New Orleans
Prize Name: Andrea Saunders Gereighty Poetry Award
Founded: 1986
Donor: Ms. Andrea S. Gereighty
2024 Prizewinner: Lin Flores, “Tio's Eulogy”
New Mexico State University
Prize Name: Ruth Scott Poetry Award
Founded: 2005
Donor: Judith N. Scott
2024 Prizewinner: Camdyn Bass, “Put Down Your Weapons”
New York University
Prize Name: Judith Lobel Arkin Poetry Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: The Arkin Family
2024 Prizewinner: Corey Baron, “All the Hollow Parts of Us”
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Prize Name: The Anne Williams Burrus Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1963
Donor: Mrs. Ann W. Burrus
2024 Prizewinner: Blaine Purcell, “While I'm tryna dance in Goodfellows”
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Prize Name: Noel Callow Poetry Award
Founded: 1963
Donor: Anonymous
2024 Prizewinner: James Daniels, “We Are All Starved for Touch”
North Carolina State University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: North Carolina State University
2024 Prizewinner: Phi Chu, “Funeral”
University of North Dakota
Prize Name: The Thomas McGrath Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: University of North Dakota
2024 Prizewinner: Veronika Linstrom , “어 리 다”
Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts
2024 Prizewinner: Matthew Breit, "Someday I'll Love Raphael Arevalo"
University of North Texas
Prize Name: Paul R. Voertman Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: University of North Texas
2024 Prizewinner: Meg McManama, “Elegy to My Mother's Breasts”
Northwestern University
Prize Name: Jean Meyer Aloe Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2024 Prizewinner: Ilana Hutzler, "After October 7”
University of Notre Dame
Prize Name: The Billy Maich Award
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Jessica Maich
2024 Prizewinner: Isabel Boutiette, “Figure 1”
Ohio State University
Prize Name: Arthur Rense Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Ms. Paige Rense
2024 Prizewinner: Misha Ponnuraju, “Letter to 外公 (or, Wàigōng, or My Mother’s Father)”
Oklahoma State University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1978
Donor: Oklahoma State University
2024 Prizewinner: Jerilynn Aquino, “Let Me Thank Taíno Ancestors and Say They Were Right”
Old Dominion University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Helena Edge (graduate), "Grave," and Madi Dill (undergraduate), “Hangover Birds”
Oregon State University
Prize Name: Weaver Undergraduate Poetry Award
Founded: 1986
Donor: Oregon State University
2024 Prizewinner: Flora Snowden, “You Could Almost Call This a Confession but I’m Too Tired To Offer Up Any Shame”
Pace University
Prize Name: David A. Bickimer—Promise of Learnings Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: The Promise of Learnings Inc.
2024 Prizewinner: Emily Shafer, “swing time”
Pennsylvania State Harrisburg
Prize Name: Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: Caitlyn Henzie, “Remembrance”
Pennsylvania State University
Prize Name: Leonard Steinberg Memorial Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Mrs. Pearl Steinberg
2024 Prizewinner: Aliyah Rios, “Evidence of our Existence”
University of Pennsylvania
Prize Name: William Carlos Williams Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: University of Pennsylvania
2024 Prizewinner: Christos Kalli, “Short History of O”
Perimeter College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: The Chattahoochee Review
2019 Winner: No prize awarded
Piedmont College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: Barbara Brown Taylor
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of Pittsburgh
Prize Name: Jean Meyer Aloe Poetry Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Lila Bonow (graduate), “Love Poem,” and Trish Le (undergraduate), “All I want for Christmas is my pink T-Mobile flip phone back”
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Prize Name: The Colleen M. Brown Prize
Founded: 2012
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: Fernando Disla, “currents”
Portland State University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: The Portland State University Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Aspen Hansen, “Brokedown Palace”
Pratt Institute
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1992
Donor: Pratt Institute
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Princeton University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Drs. William F. and Jerene Hewitt
2024 Prizewinner: Ivy Chen, “July in Xi'an”
Purdue University
Prize Name: The Thomas H. Scholl and Elizabeth Boyd Thompson Poetry Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Thomas H. Scholl
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Randolph College
Prize Name: Charles and Fanny Fay Wood Poetry Prize
Founded: 1963
Donor: Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Mia S. Willis (graduate), “unbridled.,” and Savannah Gale (undergraduate), “Rest”
University of Redlands
Prize Name: Jean Burden Award
Founded: 1984
Donor: Ms. Virginia Everett Smith
2024 Prizewinner: Katie Grierson, “Circles”
Reed College
Prize Name: The Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1994
Donor: Reed College
2024 Prizewinner: Estella Burque, “From the Marsh”
University of Richmond
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2024 Prizewinner: Mackenzie Proukou, “Confession”
Rice University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Joyce Pounds Hardy
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of Rochester
Prize Name: Marion Devendorf Van Laak Poetry Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: University of Rochester
2024 Prizewinner: Alayna Leestma, “Utopian Prelude and Dystopian Fugue”
Rockford University
Prize Name: Colleen Holmbeck Poetry Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: Rockford University
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Rollins College
Prize Name: Arden Goettling / Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Family and Friends of Arden Goettling
2024 Prizewinners: No prize awarded
Rutgers University
Prize Name: Enid Dame Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Jeanne Marie Beaumont
2024 Prizewinner: Veeda Khan, “Madonna on the Mechanical Bull”
St. John’s University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2006
Donor: Thomas McInerney
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
St. Lawrence University
Prize Name: James Ligon Price III Memorial Prize in Poetry
Founded: 1975
Donor: St. Lawrence University
2024 Prizewinner: jack gaulter, “how to get worse”
Saint Mary’s College of California
Prize Name: Russell and Yvonne Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Sam Houston State University
Prize Name: The William C. Weathers Memorial Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Ms. Melissa Morphew
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
San Francisco State University (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Piri Thomas Poetry Prize
Founded: 2009
Donors: Friends and Family of Piri Thomas
2024 Prizewinner: Jess Carranza Montoya, “No pensaba qué iba llegar este día”
San Francisco State University (graduate)
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1996
Donors: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
University of San Francisco
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2009
Donor: University of San Francisco
2024 Prizewinner: Audrey Walker, “Untitled Pantoum"
San Jose State University
Prize Name: Virginia de Araujo Prize
Founded: 1981
Donor: Virginia de Araujo Trust
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Santa Clara University
Prize Name: Tamara Verga Poetry Prize
Founded: 1995
Donor: Victoria Verga Logan and Frank Verga, Jr.
2024 Prizewinner: Mei Backof, “Flower Mother, Fever Daughter”
Sarah Lawrence College (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Sarah Lawrence College (graduate)
Prize Name: The John B. Santoianni Award for Excellence in Poetry
Founded: 2005
Donor: Joseph McCrindle and Charmaine Ferenczi
2024 Prizewinner: Hannah Butcher, “Shana Rishona”
Shimer Great Books School at North Central College
Prize Name: Ruth Cooley Poetry Prize
Founded: 1976
Donor: Mr. Peter Cooley
2024 Prizewinner: Sophia Mae Hiatt, “Lessons in Vampirism”
Shippensburg University
Prize Name: Laura A. Rice Poetry Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Laura A. Rice Poetry Prize
2024 Prizewinner: Shaley Spivey, ”A Sonnet on Lesbian Sex and the Medieval Warrior”
Skidmore College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Skidmore College
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Smith College
Prize Name: Anne Bradstreet Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Smith College
2024 Prizewinner: Helen Marino, “Self Portrait, 1988”
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (undergraduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Mr. Rodney Jones
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (graduate)
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1998
Donor: Carolyn Forman Moe
2024 Prizewinner: Brock William Storey, “If it is not enough to say: My best friend is dead. I miss him”
Spelman College
Prize Name: Edith A. Hambie Poetry Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: Friends and Family of Edith Hambie
2024 Prizewinner: Renée Anderson, “From Carlo There Came”
Spring Hill College
Prize Name: Reverend Andrew C. Smith, S.J., Poetry Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Abigail Davis, “Skin”
Stetson University
Prize Name: The Holly M. Kimball Poetry Prize
Founded: 2005
Donor: Mr. Phillip Blumberg
2024 Prizewinners: Hosanna Rae, “i”
SUNY Albany
Prize Name: Phyllis Hurd Liston Poetry Prize
Founded: 1998
Donor: The Liston Family
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
SUNY Binghamton
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1979
Donor: SUNY Binghamton
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Derek Ellis (graduate), “Rehearsing the Death of My Father,” and Grigory Stanskiy (undergraduate), “Modernity”
SUNY Buffalo (graduate)
Prize Name: Dan Liberthson Poetry Prize
Founded: 2010
Donor: Mr. Dan Liberthson
2024 Prizewinner: a.m.d., “the gravesite on center road”
SUNY Buffalo (undergraduate)
Prize Name: The Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1974
Donor: SUNY Buffalo
2024 Prizewinner: Claire L. McDonough, “My Friend, the Crow”
SUNY Farmingdale
Prize Name: Raynor Wallace Poetry Award
Founded: 1988
Donor: SUNY Farmingdale
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
SUNY Oswego
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Mr. John W. Mincher, Jr.
2024 Prizewinner: K.J. Loughran, “Windows”
Swarthmore College
Prize Name: Nathalie F. Anderson Prize
Founded: 2021
Donor: Alumni of Swarthmore College
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Foster Hudson (graduate), “Car With One Headlight,” and Ivy Hoffman (undergraduate), “Grendel's Mother”
Sweet Briar College
Prize Name: The Jean Taylor Meyer Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 2003
Donor: Jean Meyer Aloe
2024 Prizewinner: Jess Munley, “The New Boyfriend”
Temple University
Prize Name: Albert J. Caplan Prize
Founded: 1985
Donor: Mr. Albert J. Caplan
2024 Prizewinner: M. Marti, “borscht, after Berrigan”
University of Texas at Austin
Prize Name: Andrew Julius Gutow Poetry Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: The Andrew Julius Gutow Memorial Fund
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Trinity College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1997
Donor: Trinity College
2024 Prizewinner: Sadie Zeiner-Morrish, “The Octopus”
Tufts University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: Tufts University
2024 Prizewinner: Zacchai (Sage) Singer, “Monterey”
Tulane University
Prize Name: Anselle M. Larson / Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Mr. Herbert V. Larson, Jr.
2024 Prizewinner: Sydney Soganich, “On Queerness”
United States Naval Academy
Prize Name: Stuart Pitt Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1975
Donor: Mrs. A. Stuart Pitt
2024 Prizewinner: Madeline Torrez, “scientific inquiries from my kitchen window”
University of Utah
Prize Name: Larry Levis Memorial Poetry Prize
Founded: 1969
Donor: University of Utah
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
Valdosta State University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1986
Donor: Mr. Edward Davin Vickers
2024 Prizewinner: Rachel Larson, “Cesar Ceballos's 'Ocean Rising'”
Valparaiso University
Prize Name: Vivian S. Richards Memorial Prize
Founded: 1988
Donor: Mr. and Mrs. Nancy and Michael Becker
2024 Prizewinner: Emily Fletcher, “Hiraeth”
Vanderbilt University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Vanderbilt University
2024 Prizewinner: Sydney Mayes, “the walker system”
Vassar College
Prize Name: Mary Rousmaniere Gordon Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: Mr. Albert H. Gordon
2024 Prizewinner: Nandini Likki, “Tumblr Cento”
University of Virginia
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Henry Hoyns Bequest, Charles Wright
2024 Prizewinner: Kaitlyn Airy, “I once lived in a three-story mansion on 17th street”
Virginia Commonwealth University
Prize Name: Catherine and Joan Byrne Poetry Prize
Founded: 2002
Donor: Nan Byrne
2024 Prizewinner: Sarp Armağan Demiral, “Human Landscapes from my Datça”
Virginia Tech
Prize name: Virginia Tech / Poetry Society of Virginia Prize
Founded: 2007
Donor: The Poetry Society of Virginia
2024 Prizewinner: Emelia Kamadulski, “[this film is a montage of bears eating]”
Wake Forest University
Prize name: Academy of American Poets/Edwin G. Wilson Prize
Founded: 2022
Donor: Wake Forest University
2024 Prizewinner: Jasmine Marshall, ”Portals”
Washington College
Prize Name: The Jude and Miriam Pfister Poetry Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Dr. and Mrs. Jude Pfister
2024 Prizewinner: Carly Townsend, “It's my birthday and I was gifted a life-size plastic skeleton"
Washington and Lee University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Anonymous
2024 Prizewinner: Watson Deacon, “Theodicy”
Washington University
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1968
Donor: Washington University
2024 Co-Prizewinners: Ameen Animashaun (graduate), “Song,” and Katie Lee (undergraduate), “My Cousin Jasmine Hates Me”
University of Washington
Prize Name: Harold Taylor Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The New Hope Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Sara Cline, “Release of Liability”
Wayne State University
Prize Name: John Clare Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: Mr. and Mrs. Nancy and Michael Becker
2024 Prizewinner: Chuck McKeever, “Clark Park, Spring”
Wellesley College
Prize Name: Nevin Prize
Founded: 1957
Donor: The Family of Betty Nevin Marshall and Robert Nevin
2024 Prizewinner: Izzy Toy Rettke, “Ghosts of Cartilage”
Wells College
Prize Name: Catharine B. De Pau Poetry Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: The Lyric Foundation for Traditional Poetry
2024 Prizewinner: Abigail Colvin, “Graveyard Shifts”
Wesleyan College
Prize Name: George Warren Gignilliat, Jr. Poetry Prize
Founded: 1984
Donor: J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz
2024 Prizewinner: Ashanti Jacobs, “Whispering Cicadas”
Wesleyan University
Prize Name: Sarah Hannah Memorial Prize
Founded: 2008
Donor: Kate Bernheimer
2024 Prizewinners: Gray Sansom-Chiason, ”Tribute”
Westminster College
Prize Name: Anne Newman Sutton Weeks Prize
Founded: 1999
Donor: Westminster College
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
College of William and Mary
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 1983
Donor: Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda
2024 Prizewinner: Trung Phi, “Ông's Hammock”
Williams College
Prize Name: Bullock Poetry Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: The Academy of American Poets
2024 Prizewinner: Yeldana Talgatkyzy, “First Bull of the Spanish Enlightenment”
Wilson College
Prize Name: The William and Ivy Saylor Prize
Founded: 2013
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: Madeline Neway, “Mother None, III”
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Prize Name: George B. Hill Poetry Prize
Founded: 2004
Donor: Kevin P. Bjerregaard
2024 Prizewinner: No prize awarded
College of Wooster
Prize Name: Cora Owlett Latzer Award
Founded: 1983
Donor: Ms. Susan Donnell
2024 Prizewinner: Gabriel Z. McCreath, “Vision of St. Augustine (Ars Poetica)”
Yale University
Prize Name: Sean T. Lannan Poetry Prize
Founded: 1955
Donor: The Lannan Foundation
2024 Prizewinner: Jaye Chen , “altars for hetairai”
Yonsei University / Underwood International College
Prize Name: Academy of American Poets Prize
Founded: 2011
Donor: Yonsei University
2024 Prizewinner: Yejun Chun, “Mona Lisa Ode”
York College of Pennsylvania
Prize Name: Mary Jane’s Diamond Prize
Founded: 2015
Donor: Mr. Raymond W. Britcher
2024 Prizewinner: Lee Krauss, “Plath Confessional”