Letter Review

Poetry is one of the most ancient and revered forms of creative expression, stretching back to the dawn of literature.

Poets have utilized their talents in innumerable ways: to express the personal and political, to chip away at the ineffable, to conjure the sublime, and to delve into the most intimate and puzzling elements of the human experience.

Poetry regularly undergoes thrilling evolutions and permutations, often mirroring emerging social movements, as poets seek to reimagine the form afresh for their age. Society frequently turns to poetry to understand itself.

Excitingly, poets are now more popular than ever, in part due to the explosion of poetry in the digital sphere. The shorter form, consumable in a single sitting, being ideal for the fast paced demands of contemporary audiences.

Poetry competitions represent a wonderful opportunity for emerging writers to demonstrate their ability and secure publication. They also offer established writers an exciting arena in which to showcase new work.

We believe in poetry, in literature, and in the importance and magic of new writing.

The total prize pool is $800 USD. First place receives $400 USD and publication. Second place receives $250 USD and publication. Third place receives $150 and publication. 20 poems will be longlisted, and 10 shortlisted. All entries are considered for publication, and with your permission may be submitted to prestigious anthologies such as the Pushcart Prize.  

The Letter Review Prize is judged blind to ensure fairness.

Read some of our previous winning entries by clicking here.

View our Writers and Readers Comments Section / Testimonials Page by clicking here.

How To Enter

• We are seeking poems up to 70 lines.
• The Prize is open to anyone, from anywhere in the world.
• There are no style or subject restrictions: all poems welcome.
• It costs $15 USD to enter one poem, $27 USD to enter two (save $3), and $35 USD to enter three (save $10).
• Enter via Submittable. No entries via post please.
• The Prize opens on the 1st March 2023 closes at 11:59 pm (ET) on the 30th April 2023.
• Please include a short biography of less than 200 words in your cover letter. Ensure the biography is suitable for publication. 
• Ensure the file name of your document is only the title of your poem/s. Do not include your name in your story document or file name as the Prize is judged blind.
• You may enter as many times as you wish.
• The judges will be Ol James and Nakita Dass.
• Format: If submitting multiple poems, please submit all poems together as a single document. No translations please. Submissions must be primarily written in English. Any non English phrases should be accompanied by a translation. The author must own the copyright to every part of the poem. Very light quotation from another work is acceptable at the submission stage.
• Poetry must be unpublished, and free from any claims by other parties.
• No AI generated content please.
• Entrants will receive automatic confirmation via email after entry.
• You must be the sole author of the work. You may not submit someone else's work.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed. If selected for the Longlist you will have 72 hours in which to confirm your poem remains unpublished (we will contact you).
• You may submit work that has been awarded elsewhere, as long as no part of it has been published.
• If you decide to publish your poem elsewhere, please withdraw from our prize.
• No dedications at this stage please (can be added later if publication discussed).
• Terms and Conditions. 
• With your permission, we may submit winning entries to prestigious anthologies such as the Pushcart Prize, and the Best of the Net. Also with your permission, we may include your work in our end of year Letter Review anthology.
• Enter via Submittable using the form below. Click here for a guide to using Submittable.