National Poetry Series

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An American literary awards program that sponsors the publication of five poetry collections each year, with manuscripts selected by distinguished poets and each winner receiving a $10,000 prize.

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Established: 1979
Organizer: National Poetry Series
Category: Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Application Deadline: around March
Announcement Period: around September
Status: Active

Description

The National Poetry Series is a U.S. literary program established in 1979 that solicits manuscripts through an annual open competition and selects multiple winners each year (typically 5) for publication support by participating publishers. Selections are made by prominent poets from around the world, and winning works are published by participating publishers. Related awards such as the Paz Prize for Poetry (for Spanish-language poetry collections) also exist.

Prize

Main Prize: Publication of winning poetry collection (by participating publishers)

Publication contract and support
Sales and promotion opportunities as a book
Paz Prize for Poetry (related award targeting Spanish-language works)

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Application reception (open competition)	Manuscripts solicited from the general public (open submission)	—	Proceeds to the next selection stage after application period ends
Selection (by annual selectors)	Prominent poets invited annually select approximately one book each	Very low (only a few books selected against total submissions)	Announced by organizer (official website) and participating publishers
Publication decision and release	Participating publishers proceed with publication based on selectors' selections	—	Winning works announced and published via official website, press releases, and publisher information

Application reception (open competition)

Judges Manuscripts solicited from the general public (open submission)

Announcement Proceeds to the next selection stage after application period ends

Selection (by annual selectors)

Judges Prominent poets invited annually select approximately one book each

Pass Rate Very low (only a few books selected against total submissions)

Announcement Announced by organizer (official website) and participating publishers

Publication decision and release

Judges Participating publishers proceed with publication based on selectors' selections

Announcement Winning works announced and published via official website, press releases, and publisher information

Criteria

Poetic quality (language, rhythm, imagery)
Originality and clarity of voice
Consistency and structure as a collection
Degree of completion suitable for publication

Application Tips

Dos

Thoroughly read the submission guidelines on the official website in advance
Prepare a highly polished full manuscript (with proper structure)
Comply with specified format and submission method (file format, page count, etc.)
Read past winning works to understand the required quality and tendencies