The Poetry Society of Virginia is pleased to announce its annual Book Award Contest for 2019. This marks the fourth year of the contest.

Click here to download the Submission Form

Eligibility

The book of poetry submitted must be the work of a single author of at least 48 pages published in 2018 by an established press. Manuscripts, videos, CDs, and chapbooks are not accepted, nor are books that have won awards. It is expected that books will contain a collection of new poems and/or previously published poems.

Submission Date

Three copies of the submitted book must be sent to Nancy Powell (postmarked on or before February 1, 2019).

Nancy Powell
164 Mill Point Drive
Hampton, VA 23669

The Award Committee

Chaired by Nancy Powell, the Award Committee is composed of Henry Hart, Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, Sofia Starnes, Joshua Poteat, Jane Ellen Glasser, and Ron Smith.

Final Judge: Eric Pankey

Eric Pankey currently teaches at George Mason University and resides in Fairfax, Virginia. His work has appeared in the Antioch Review, the Antaeus, the Denver Quarterly, the Seneca Review, Quarry West, and AGNI. He has been honored with the Walt Whitman Award (selected by Mark Strand in 1984) and the Ingram Merrill Foundation Award. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim and the National Endowment for the Arts. Read more about Mr. Pankey at Ports.org.

Award

The winner will receive a plaque, a $500 monetary award, and will be recognized at the May Poetry Festival of the Poetry Society of Virginia.

Fees

$25 for members of the PSV; $35 for non-members (includes one-year membership to PSV)

Prior Book Award Winners by Year

2016

Winner: Rebecca Foust for her book, Paradise Drive

2017

Winner: Mary Jean Kledzik for her book As if Wine Could Pour from Her Nipple.
Runner-up: Amy MacLennan for her book The Body, a Tree

2018

Winner: Patricia Clark for her book The Canopy
Runner-up: Susan Hankla for her book Clinch River

Questions? Click here to contact Nancy Powell.