Winner Receives $10,000 ADVANCE + PUBLICATION
Established in 1998, The X. J. Kennedy Prize highlights one full-length collection of poetry per year.
Submissions open each year on July 1 and close on September 30.
General Guidelines
- A fee of $28 must be paid at the time of submission.
- Open to any poet writing in English. Translations are not eligible.
- The X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize is not a first book prize, though we welcome first books. The Prize is open to poets at any stage of their career.
- There are no formal restrictions for this prize; we welcome manuscripts of any style/form.
- Poems may have been published individually in magazines or anthologies, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
- Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Please notify TRP immediately by withdrawing the manuscript via Submittable if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
- Current and former students and faculty of Sam Houston State University are not eligible. Family members or former students of the final judge are not eligible.
- Submissions are accepted through Submittable only.
Manuscript Guidelines
- Manuscripts must be between 50 and 100 pages in length.
- Please include a table of contents, title page, and page numbers.
- Do not include an acknowledgments page.
- No more than one poem per page.
- Submissions are judged blind. Please remove any identifying information from the manuscript.
- Submit as a .pdf, .docx, or .doc file format.
- No revisions will be accepted once the manuscript is uploaded.
Recent Winners
- 2021: Kathleen Rooney – Where Are the Snows
- 2020: Brooke Sahni – Before I Had the Word
- 2019: Caroline M. Mar – Special Education
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