The Poetry Box

Announcements

Pushcart Nominees for 2025
(and links to poems)

by Leave a Comment

We are thrilled to announce the following poets have been put nominated for a Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Press Awards, for poetry published in 2025. 

2025 Nominees:

Click on the poem titles below to read these beautiful poems (and why we chose them):

 

 

We wish all of these talented poets the best of luck!

 

 

Chapbook Prize 2025: Winners

by

We are very excited to announce the winners of The Poetry Box Chapbook Prize for 2025 and look forward to sharing their chapbooks with you in February 2026. Thank you to all of the poets who entered our seventh annual contest.

And special thanks to our wonderful judge, George Bilgere!

Winners:

GRAND PRIZE
John Arthur (New Jersey) for Lucy the Elephant Wins in a Landslide
(selected by Guest Judge, George Bilgere)

EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD
Katie Dozier (Texas) for All That Glitter
(selected by Shawn Aveningo Sanders)

DESIGNER’S CHOICE AWARD
John Wojtowicz (New Jersey) for No Lightsabers in the Kitchen
(selected by Robert Sanders)

 

Finalists:

Lana Hechtman Ayers (Oregon) for Sky Over

Meredith Kirkwood (Oregon) for The Zero Womb

Maren O. Mitchell (Georgia) for A Letter Opener

Ralph Savarese (Iowa) for Yours by Blood

Laurel Szymkowiak (Pennsylvania) for Agnes

Evan Vandermeer (Tennessee) for Circling Back

Ellen Waterston (Oregon) for So Far as I Can Anthem

Cecilia Woloch (California) for I Spent the Summer in Chengdu

 

(We will be open again for contest submissions in Feb, 2026)

Pushcart Nominees for 2024
(and links to poems)

by Leave a Comment

We are thrilled to announce the following poets have been put nominated for a Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Press Awards, for poetry published in 2024. 

2024 Nominees:

Click on the poem titles below to read these beautiful poems:

 

 

We wish all of these talented poets the best of luck!

 

 

Chapbook Prize 2024: Winners

by

We are very excited to announce the winners of The Poetry Box Chapbook Prize for 2024 and look forward to sharing their chapbooks with you in February 2025. Thank you to all of the poets who entered our seventh annual contest.

And special thanks to our wonderful judge, Donna Hilbert!

Winners:

GRAND PRIZE
Flavian Mark Lupinetti (New Mexico) for The Pronunciation Part
(selected by Guest Judge, Donna Hilbert)

EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD
Laura Foley (New Hampshire) for Ice Cream for Lunch: A Grandparents Handbook
(selected by Shawn Aveningo Sanders)

DESIGNER’S CHOICE AWARD
Allison Thorpe (Kentucky) for A Girl, Her Slipper and Yesterday’s Rainbow
(selected by Robert Sanders)

Finalists:

Amy Baskin (Oregon) for Skull

Abby Caplin (California) for Blue Marble

Meredith Kirkwood (Oregon) for Alertness Seems Called For

Robin Michel (California)
for Crossing a Threshold into the Marriage of Our Two Selves

Gus Peterson (Maine) for Undiagnosed

Shawn Pittard (California) for Witness

Stephen Reilly (Florida) for Widower

Trinity Tibe (Georgia)

for My Blood Must Have Something to Do with Me

 

(We will be open again for contest submissions in Feb, 2024)

Discounted Pre-Orders for
The Poeming Pigeon #14

by Leave a Comment

The Poeming Pigeon

A Journal of Poetry & Art—

Don’t miss your chance to order this very special issue! The pigeon is resting its wings after a decade of beautiful poetry & art. This will be our final issue. For the full list of contributors and samples from the issue, click the button below.

 

Pre-order now thru Sept 15, 2024

For more details, samples, and placing orders: click here

 

Discounted Pre-Orders for
Searching for Home

by Leave a Comment

Searching for Home

by Elizabeth Mateer—

is an evocative poetry collection that explores love, loss, and the search for belonging. From tiny New York apartments to intimate moments in the desert, this collection captures the essence of human connection and celebrates the unyielding strength found in moments of vulnerability.

 

Pre-order now thru Sept 15, 2024

For details, reviews, and placing orders: click here

 

Discounted Pre-Orders for
Field Notes from an Illusion

by Leave a Comment

Field Notes from an Illusion

by Lois Levinson—

“Her studious-but-playful gaze falls on what she loves and lights it up: mule deer antlers are ‘moon-silvered,’ a coyote’s ‘well fed and swaggering like a senator,’ bluebird eggs seem ‘Insubstantial as rings of blue smoke suspended in air.’ But Levinson understands that we are finally as insubstantial as what we study; her melancholy negotiations with the fact of limit lends her seeing a poignant urgency.”

—Mark Doty, National Book Award-winning poet

 

Pre-order now thru Aug 15, 2024

For details, reviews, and placing orders: click here

 

Chapbook Prize 2023: Winners

by Leave a Comment

We are very excited to announce the winners of The Poetry Box Chapbook Prize for 2023 and look forward to sharing their chapbooks with you in February. Thank you to all of the poets who entered our third annual contest.

And special thanks to our wonderful judge, Andrea Hollander!

cr. Sarah Jordan

FIRST PLACE

Richard Jordan
of Massachusetts
for
The Squannacook at Dawn

Details about her book HERE

front book cover of The Squannacook at Dawn
Headshot-KirstenMorgan
cr: Greg Hoyle

SECOND PLACE

Kirsten Morgan
of Colorado
for
Inside Out

Details about her book HERE

image of woman outside wearing a hat
photo cr: Sarah Sargent

THIRD PLACE

Carol Barrett
of Bend, Oregon
for
Reading Wind

Details about her book HERE

Finalists:

The Mother/Daughter Papers by Gail Rudd Entrekin (CA)

Currents for Jellyfish by Briana Fischella (FL)

Journey of Trees by Susan Landgraf (WA)

The Last Angels by Richard Lyons (TN)

Now Is What Matters by Janet Steward (WA)

Beguiled by Ingrid Wendt (OR)

The Further Adventures of Zen Patriarch Dogen by James K. Zimmerman (NY)

Rescue Dogs by Fred Zirm (MD)

(We will be open again for contest submissions in Feb, 2024)