THE ANHINGA PRIZE FOR POETRY

2024 WINNER: “The Origin of Wounds” by Rasaq Malik Gbolahan
SELECTED BY Kaveh Bassiri

The Anhinga Prize for Poetry began in 1983. The competition is open to all U. S. poets for a manuscript of original poetry in English. The winner receives $1000, 25 author copies, and a 50% discount on books. We will also offer an online reading for the winner. NEW FOR 2025! $500 STIPEND FOR BOOK-RELATED TRAVEL

A percentage of all submission fees will be donated to Second Harvest of the Big Bend.

A limited number of waivers (10) for a reduced fee ($5 fee) are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Email info@anhinga.org to apply — include a narrative explaining your situation and why you want to publish with Anhinga Press. 

All manuscripts are screened carefully by paid-readers. Our reading team is diverse in aesthetic. Five out of six current readers are published poets and all have advanced degrees and/or experience in publishing and writing. If you are interested in being a reader for the Prize, contact Kristine Snodgrass.

Entrants do not need previous publications nor degrees in poetry and writing to submit.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (2025)

  • February 15 to May 31, 2025

  • Submit via our Submittable page ONLY

  • Reading fee for each manuscript is $28

  • Manuscripts must be 48-100 pages, excluding front matter. They may be single- or double-spaced.

  • Do not put your name on your manuscript. Submittable will add your name to your file.

  • Finalists and winner are announced on this website, in social media, and in Poets & Writers.

  • Past judges include Ching-in Chen, Joy Harjo, Evie Shockley, Allison Joseph, Diane Wakoski, Naomi Shihab Nye, Major Jackson, Kaveh Bassiri and Brian Turner.

  • Past winners of the Prize include: Joaquin Zihuatanejo, Hauntie, Elizabeth A.I. Powell, Robin Beth Schaer, Frank X. Gaspar, Julia Levine, and Erika Meitner.

 

ADDITIONAL CONTEST INFORMATION

Poems previously published in journals and anthologies should be accompanied by an acknowledgments page. Authors may submit multiple manuscripts; each will require a reading fee. Previously submitted manuscripts and manuscripts under consideration by other publishers are also eligible. Please notify us as soon as possible if your manuscript is accepted by another press. No significant changes may be made to manuscript after acceptance of prize.

Entrants will be notified via Submittable and our website and social media. Additionally, contest winner will be announced in Poets & Writers. The winning book is published about one year after its selection.

For more info, contact Kristine Snodgrass at info@anhinga.org.

RECIPIENTS OF THE ANHINGA PRIZE FOR POETRY

1983 • Ricardo Pau-Llosa • Sorting Metaphors
1984 • Sherry Rind • The Hawk in the Backyard
1985 • Judith Kitchen • Perennials
1986 • Robert Levy • The Whistle Maker
1987 • Will Wells • Conversing with the Light
1988 • Julianne Seeman • Enough Light to See
1989 • Nick Bozanic • The Long Drive Home
1991 • Jean Monahan • Hands
1992 • Earl S. Braggs • Hat Dancer Blue
1993 • Janet Holmes • The Physicist at the Mall
1994 • Frank X. Gaspar • Mass for the Grace of a Happy Death
1995 • Ann Neelon • Easter Vigil
1996 • Keith Ratzlaff • Man Under a Pear Tree
1997 • Michele Wolf • Conversations During Sleep
1998 • Julia B. Levine • Practicing for Heaven
1999 • Kathleen Wakefield • Notations on the Visible World
2000 • Ruth L. Schwartz • Singular Bodies
2001 • Patti White • Tackle Box
2002 • Erika Meitner • Inventory at the All-night Drugstore
2003 • Deborah Landau • Orchidelirium
2004 • Joshua Poteat • Ornithologies
2005 • Sandy Longhorn • Blood Almanac
2006 • Meredith Walters • All you have to do is ask
2007 • Kenneth Hart • Uh Oh Time
2008 • Rhett Iseman Trull • The Real Warnings
2009 • Gretchen Steele Pratt • One Island
2010 • Kimberly Burwick • Horses in the Cathedral
2011 • Rosalynde Vas Dias • Only Blue Body
2012 • Anna Ross • If a Storm
2013 • Bethany Schultz Hurst • Miss Lost Nation
2014 • Robin Beth Schaer • Shipbreaking
2015 • Elizabeth A.I. Powell • Willy Loman’s Reckless Daughter
2016 • Hautie • To Whitey & the Cracker Jack
2017 • Joaquin Zihuatanejo • Arsonist
2018 • Heidi Reszies • Of Water and Other Soft Constructions
2019 • Caronae Howell • Index for September 11th
2020 • Clemonce Heard • Tragic City
2021 • Craig Beaven • Teaching the Baby to Say I Love You
2022 • Katie Fuller • Careful
2023 • Julie Marie Wade • Quick Change Artist
2024 • Rasaq Malik Gbolahan • The Origin of Wounds