Is Your Poetry Worth a Grand?

With your best poem, you could win the $1,000 top prize in the Vivian Shipley poetry award contest hosted by the Connecticut Poetry Society (CPS).

This award is named in honor of Vivian Shipley, a Connecticut State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Shipley is a recipient of the Library of Congress’s Connecticut Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to the Literary Community, and a two-time Connecticut Book Award for poetry honoree. The last of her 12 poetry books, "Archaeology of Days" (2019) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

A second prize of $100, and a third prize of $50 will also be awarded. Winning poems will be published in "Connecticut River Review" and winners will earn membership in the CPS.

"This is one of our most popular contests," said Ed Dzitko, a Southbury resident and contest coordinator for the Connecticut Poetry Society. "With it's thousand dollar prize, winning adds quite the feather to a poet's cap."

You may submit up to three original poems in a single file, without contact information. Only electronic submissions through Submittable will be accepted. There is a $15 reading fee per entry. The contest's submission deadline is September 30.

Email contests.ctpoetry@gmail.com with questions.