Poetry Chapbook Contest

2027 Guidelines

The seventh annual Wolfson Poetry Chapbook Prize is an award for a chapbook-length manuscript (maximum 40 pages, minimum 25 pages) of original poems in English with a required submission fee of $15. The winning poet receives $500 in prize money, plus 50 copies. Winning manuscripts are published by Wolfson Press at Indiana University South Bend. Although the contest judge selects only one winner annually, we may offer to publish a small number of select finalists in addition to the prize winner. The contest judge is Nancy Botkin, author (most recently) of The Next Infinity (Broadstone Books 2019) and The Honeycomb (Winner of the Steel Toe Books 2022 Chapbook Award).

Previous winners are Steven Ostrowski, Renee Agatep, Triin Paja, Julia B. Levine, Sera Gamble, and Kaecey McCormick. Finalists whose chapbooks we have published include John Surowiecki, Jim Daniels, Kenneth Pobo, and Alex Tretbar (forthcoming).

Schedule

  • The contest opens October 1, 2026.
  • The submissions window closes March 21, 2027.
  • Our aim is to announce results in July 2027.
  • The winning manuscript will be published in 2028.

submit

  • Eligibility Requirements
  • Persons eligible: Authors writing in English, regardless of nationality, residence, or publication history may submit to the competition. 
  • Persons not eligible: In keeping with well-established ethical standards, no current or former Wolfson Press staff member, board member, or volunteer may enter the competition. Also ineligible are former or current Indiana University students and employees, friends, family, and students of the director of the press, and friends, family, and students of the contest judge.
  • Young and early-career poets are encouraged to participate in the competition, along with more established authors. The contest isn’t designed with any particular type of poet or style of poetry in mind.
  • Only previously unpublished collections are eligible, but individual works within the larger manuscript may have been published previously in magazines, journals, or multi-author anthologies.
  • Although previous publication of individual poems in anthologies is fine, no poem shall have appeared in an author’s previous (including self-published) book or pamphlet. (Please query if you have doubts: wolfson@iu.edu)

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