Contemporary voices in American poetry

The 42 Miles Press Poetry Award was created in an effort to bring urgent and original voices to the poetry reading public. The prize is offered annually to any poet writing in English, including poets who have never published a full-length book as well as poets who have published several. New and Selected collections of poems are also welcome.

Manuscripts submitted for the 42 Miles Press Poetry Award should exhibit an awareness of the contemporary “voice” in American poetry, an awareness of our moment in time as poets. We are excited to receive poetry that is experimental as well as work of a more formalist bent, as long as it reflects a complexity and sophistication of thought and language. Urgency, yes; melodrama, not so much. Our tastes are truly eclectic.

The winning poet will receive $1,000, publication of his or her book, and 50 author copies. The winner will also be invited to give a reading at Indiana University South Bend as part of the release of the book. The final selection will be made by the Series Editor. Current or former students or employees of Indiana University South Bend, as well as friends of the Series Editor, are not eligible for the prize.

The winning book will be published in August, 2025 and be available to purchase on in our bookstore, SPD and on Amazon.

• There is a $25, non-refundable, entry fee, made payable to Indiana University. 
• Your cover sheet should include name, address, phone number, and e-mail.
• The manuscript should be paginated (between 48 and 120 pp.) and include a table of contents and acknowledgments page.
• There is no limit on the number of entries an author may submit.
• Simultaneous submissions are fine (in fact they are encouraged), but please withdraw your manuscript if it gets taken for publication elsewhere.
• No manuscripts will be returned.
• Submit your entry at https://42miles.submittable.com/submit 

For more information, go to https://42milespress.com/contest/.