The Montreal International Poetry Prize 2026 is now open for submissions. Enter your poem of 40 lines or fewer for a chance to win a cash prize of $20,000.
The Montreal Prize celebrates the craft of the stand-alone poem as a work of art. The biennial competition, open to poets from around the world, is a not-for-profit initiative hosted by the Department of English at McGill University. All entries must be previously unpublished and simultaneous submissions are permitted. An international jury will select sixty-five finalists and the winner will be chosen by the final judge Natalie Diaz, whose many honours include a MacArthur Fellowship, Lannan Literary Foundation Fellowship, and Native Arts and Culture Foundation Fellowship. All finalists will be published online and included in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology 2026.
Submission fees for first entries are $25 until the early bird deadline 1 May, and $28 after that until submissions close. Every additional poem is $20 at any time (all prices in Canadian dollars).
The final deadline is 15 May. We are looking forward to reading your work!
Submit at https://montrealpoetryprize.awardsplatform.com
For more information on the jury, past winners, and more, visit www.montrealpoetryprize.com
Poetry Society of Virginia 