Each year, Boston Review runs competitions in poetry and fiction. We also partner with the Unterberg Poetry Center/92nd Street Y to publish the winner of the annual “Discovery”/Boston Review poetry contest.

We strongly encourage online submissions for our poetry and short story contests, with payment via credit card. Contestants also may submit entries via postal mail but will not receive acknowledgement of successful submission. Email submissions are not accepted. All contest entry payments are non-refundable and previously published work may not be submitted to any contest. All winners are announced publicly and informed prior to that announcement. Please do not contact us to ask whether you have won a contest or when the winner will be announced.Complete instructions for submission to all contests follow.

Seventeenth Annual Poetry Contest (Deadline June 2, 2014)

Aura Estrada Short Story Contest (Deadline: October 1, 2014)

“Discovery”/Boston Review 2014 Poetry Contest, with the Unterberg Poetry Center/92nd Street Y

Annual Poetry Contest

Deadline: June 2, 2014
Judge: Major Jackson
First Prize: $1,500 and publication

Complete guidelines:
The winning poet will receive $1,500 and have his or her work published in the November/December 2014 issue of Boston Review. Submit up to five unpublished poems, no more than 10 pages total. Any poet writing in English is eligible, unless he or she is a current student, former student, relative, or close friend of the judge. Mailed manuscripts must be submitted in duplicate, with a cover note listing the author’s name, address, email, and phone number. No cover note is necessary for online submissions. Names and other identifying information must not be on the poems themselves. Simultaneous submissions are not permitted, submissions will not be returned, and submissions may not be modified after entry. Failure to comply with any contest guidelines may result in your submission being disqualified. A non-refundable $20 entry fee, payable to Boston Review in the form of a check or money order or by credit card, must accompany all submissions. All submitters receive a complementary half-year subscription (3 issues) to Boston Review. Mailed submissions must be postmarked no later than June 2, 2014.

The winner will be announced in the fall on the Boston Review Web site. All poems submitted to the contest will be considered for publication in Boston Review.

Please enter online using our contest entry manager. This requires payment using a credit card.

Or mail submissions to:

Poetry Contest, Boston Review
PO Box 425786
Cambridge, MA 02142

Read winning poems from past years:
Scott Coffel (2013)
Sarah Crossland (2012)
Heather Tone(2011)
Anthony Caleshu (2010)
John Gallaher(2009)
Sarah Arvio (2008)
Elizabeth Willis(2007)
Marc Gaba (2006)
Mike Perrow (2005)
Michael Tod Edgerton (2004)
Susan Wheeler (2003)
Max Winter (2002)
D. A. Powell (2001)
Christopher Edgar (2000)
Stephanie Strickland (1999)
Daniel Bosch (1998)

For more poetry in Boston Review, click here.