The Steve Kowit Poetry Prize

Poetry Contest

The Steve Kowit Poetry Prize features: 

First Prize:  $1000; Second Prize:  $250; Third Prize: $100; Honorable Mention:  No Cash Award

Winners and Honorable Mentions will be invited to read at the annual awards reception each April.  The Steve Kowit Poetry Prize celebrates risk, innovation, and emotional engagement.  We especially encourage poets from underrepresented groups and backgrounds to send their work.

Contest Submission Guidelines

• Submissions accepted: June 15th to October 15th every year via Submittable.
• Open to any poet anywhere.
• Do not put your name on your poem(s).  The submissions are read anonymously.
• The $15 fee covers the submission of (1) one single poem up to three pages in length. Each poem must be submitted individually. Multiple poems submitted in the same document will not be considered.
• Poets may submit as many individual poems as they like so long as they are each in a single document. There will be a $15 fee for each submission.
• Submission fees are not refundable.  
• We will only consider work previously unpublished in print or online:  No simultaneous submissions.
• All submissions should use a 12 pt font and standard typeface (not Comic Sans or Impact,  etc.).
• Poets should only upload Word documents [.doc, .docx]. The AUTHOR'S NAME SHOULD NOT APPEAR IN THE UPLOADED DOCUMENT.
• Do not submit poems that imitate Steve Kowit's work.
• the entire entry fee is a tax-deductible donation to San Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild (SDEAG), a 501(c)(3) public charity celebrating The Arts. 
• Winning and Honorable Mention poems will be published in the San Diego Poetry Annual each March.
• The entry fee includes a copy of the San Diego Poetry Annual in PDF or e-book format, available for free downloading to each entrant upon the announcement of the winners each February.