Calling All Connecticut Poets

Poets in Connecticut are invited to submit entries for the Nutmeg Poetry Award, sponsored by the Connecticut Poetry Society (CPS). Members may submit for free, while non-members and poets throughout the state may submit for a $10 reading fee.

The Nutmeg Poetry Award features prizes of $200, $100, and $50 for the top three poems. Submit up to three previously unpublished poems in one document without any contact information in the packet. Include one poem per page, with no poem being more than 80 lines. We do not accept work that was in any way created with AI software.

Only electronic submissions through Submittable will be accepted. Go to the Nutmeg Poetry Award page on the CPS website and click Submittable, or go directly to Submittable. Entries must be received by 6 p.m. Jan. 31, 2026. For more information, email Ed Dzitko, contest coordinator, at contests.ctpoetry@gmail.com.

Sandy Lee Carlson (Southbury, Conn.), managing partner of Orenaug Mountain Publishing, poet laureate emerita of Woodbury, and president of the Orenaug Poetry Group, will be the judge. Carlson is a past Nutmeg prizewinner, author of 11 poetry books, a lifelong resident of Connecticut.

The Connecticut Poetry Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of poetry. At its core is the idea that we demonstrate the deepest part of our humanity through interacting with each other and sharing experiences through poetry. CPS publishes the Connecticut River Review and oversees four major poetry contests, two of which offer $1000 prizes.