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
