November 2026 is the season’s big book-prize month for poets. Yale, BOA, Georgia, Nightboat, Fordham’s Poetic Justice prizes and Beloit’s Chad Walsh chapbook all close, plus a handful of single-poem contests, broadsides and paying journal calls.
Below is a curated roundup of poetry contests November 2026 and related calls we verified on official contest or publisher pages. Every entry is marked Fee (with the entry cost) or No Fee, so you can spot free calls at a glance. Always double-check guidelines (fees, eligibility, and formatting) before you send.
Looking for another month? See the Poetry Submission Deadlines Calendar, which we update monthly and publish about two weeks before each month begins.
Poetry Contests & Prizes Closing in November 2026
- Open Season Awards — Poetry (The Malahat Review) – Fee: CAD$35 (Canada) / CAD$45 (elsewhere) – Deadline: November 1, 2026 (11:59pm PST). CAD$35 per entry from Canada, CAD$45 from elsewhere; CAD$10 for each additional entry paid at the same time. CAD$2,000 + publication in the spring 2027 issue; poetry judged by Ayaz Pirani. Up to 3 poems per entry, max 100 lines each; open worldwide.
→ Details: https://malahatreview.ca/contests/open_season/info.html - Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize (PRISM international) – Fee: $35 – Deadline: November 1, 2026. $35 entry fee; additional entries $5. $1,500 grand prize, $600 runner-up, $400 second runner-up. 1–3 poems per entry, max 100 lines each. Indigenous and Black writers enter through dedicated fee options; writers for whom the fee is prohibitive can contact PRISM.
→ Details: https://prismmagazine.ca/contests/ - Foster Poetry Prize (Contemporary Verse 2) – Fee: $35 – Deadline: November 1, 2026 (11:59pm Central Time). $35 first entry (includes a 1-year CV2 subscription), $20 each subsequent entry. $1,000 + publication in CV2; $350 / $250 / $150 for second, third and honourable mention. Emerging poets of any age who have not published a full-length poetry book (chapbooks OK).
→ Details: https://contemporaryverse2.ca/foster-poetry-prize/ - Malinda A. Markham Memorial Prize in Translation (Saturnalia Books) – Fee: $25 – Deadline: November 1, 2026. $25 online fee. $2,000 + publication by Saturnalia Books. Book-length poetry translation into English (48–120 pages) by a female translator of a female poet (as defined in the guidelines); permission from the poet or estate required unless public domain.
→ Submit here: https://saturnaliabooks.submittable.com/submit - Ashland Poetry Broadside Contest (Ashland Poetry Press) – Fee: $10 – Deadline: November 1, 2026 (opened September 1). $10 per entry (one to two unpublished poems, 40 lines or fewer). $250 + 50 printed copies of the winning broadside; two runners-up get 25 printed copies each. Judged by Janine Joseph.
→ Submit here: https://ashlandpoetrypress.submittable.com/submit - Scott King Award in Eco-Poetry (Trio House Press) – Fee: $25 – Deadline: November 7, 2026 (opened August 1). $25 per manuscript. $1,000 + publication + 25 books; inaugural year, judged by Anna Lena Phillips Bell. Poetry manuscripts focused on nature, rural life and eco-poetics; open to poets at any level.
→ Details: https://www.triohousepress.org/submissions - Yale Series of Younger Poets (Yale University Press) – Fee: $25 – Deadline: November 15, 2026 (midnight EST; hard copies postmarked by Nov 15). $25 fee. $1,000 advance + publication + a writing fellowship at The James Merrill House; judged by Monica Youn. Poets of any age who have not published a book of poetry and reside in the U.S.; 48–90 pages.
→ Details: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/yale-series-of-younger-poets-rules/ - Nightboat Books Poetry Prize – Fee: $28 – Deadline: November 15, 2026 (11:59pm EST). $28 entry fee (refunded to all if no manuscript is chosen). $1,200 advance + standard royalty contract + 25 copies. Any poet writing in English, international welcome; 48+ pages; previous books don’t affect eligibility.
→ Details: https://nightboat.org/poetry-prize/ - PJI Prize (Poetic Justice Institute / Fordham University Press) – Fee: $28 – Deadline: November 15, 2026. $28 fee ($25 reading fee + $3 processing). $1,000 + publication by Fordham University Press + publicity consultation and virtual launch; judged by Alicia Ostriker. 50–100 pages (suggested), read anonymously; open with or without a previous book.
→ Submit here: https://pol.submittable.com/submit - PJI Editor’s Prize for BIPOC Writers (Poetic Justice Institute / Fordham University Press) – No Fee – Deadline: November 15, 2026. No entry fee. $1,000 + publication by Fordham University Press + publicity consultation and virtual launch; selected by series editor Elisabeth Frost. 50–100 pages (suggested), read anonymously.
→ Submit here: https://pol.submittable.com/submit - C.D. Wright Emerging Poet’s Prize (The Arkansas International) – Fee: $20 – Deadline: November 15, 2026 (opened October 5). $20 entry fee. $1,000 + publication in The Arkansas International; judged by Shane McCrae. 3–5 poems, no more than 6 pages total; poets with no full-length poetry book published or forthcoming before May 1, 2027 (chapbooks OK; self-published books with a print run under 300 copies also allowed); open worldwide.
→ Submit here: https://acwlp.submittable.com/submit/370120/c-d-wright-emerging-poets-prize-2026 - Emily Dickinson Award for Poetry (LitMag) – Fee: $20 – Deadline: November 15, 2026. $20 contest fee. $1,500 + publication in LitMag + review by six literary agents; three finalists receive $100 each. 1–3 previously unpublished poems in one Word document.
→ Submit here: https://litmag.submittable.com/submit/358347/litmags-emily-dickinson-award-for-poetry-2026 - Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition – Fee: £25 – Deadline: Tuesday, November 17, 2026 (11:59pm UK online; postal entries postmarked by the deadline). £25 entry (£22 for subscribers to The North, Friends of the Poetry Business, and Poetry Society members). Two winners each get pamphlet publication with Smith|Doorstop and £500; judged by Andrew McMillan; open internationally, any career stage.
→ Details: https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/competitions/the-poetry-business-pamphlet-competition/ - Poetry Business 40th Anniversary Collection Competition – Fee: £38 – Deadline: Tuesday, November 17, 2026 (11:59pm UK; postal entries postmarked by the deadline). £38 entry (£35 discounted). £500 + full-collection publication with Smith|Doorstop and publication in The North; judged by Imtiaz Dharker. 40–60 pages; open internationally, age 18+.
→ Details: https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/competitions/the-poetry-business-40th-anniversary-collection-competition/ - Straid Collection Award (Templar Poetry) – Fee: £25 – Deadline: November 23, 2026 (receipt). £25 submission. Publication of the winning collections by Templar Poetry, with author support and launch readings (no cash prize stated on the page). Complete full-length poetry manuscripts in English; shortlisted poets get up to four poems in iOTA magazine.
→ Details: https://templarpoetry.com/products/straid-collection-awards-2026 - Chad Walsh Chapbook Series (Beloit Poetry Journal) – Fee: $20 – Deadline: November 30, 2026 (midnight Eastern; opened October 1). $20 reading fee (limited fee-free entries for hardship). $2,500 + publication + 50 author copies + an in-depth editorial consultation. 20–35 pages including table of contents and acknowledgments.
→ Details: https://bpj.org/submit/chad-walsh-chapbook-series-guidelines - A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize (BOA Editions) – Fee: $30 – Deadline: November 30, 2026 (11:59pm ET online, or postmarked by Nov 30). $30 fee. $1,000 + publication in spring 2028 in the New Poets of America series; judged by Jennifer Chang. First books only (no published full-length poetry collection; self-published OK); U.S. citizens, legal residents, DACA/TPS/LPS; 65–120 pages.
→ Submit here: https://boaeditions.submittable.com/submit/364259/a-poulin-jr-poetry-prize-2026 - Georgia Poetry Prize (University of Georgia Press) – Fee: $30 – Deadline: November 30, 2026 (11:59pm EST; opened October 1). $30 entry fee. $1,000 + publication by UGA Press, with readings at Georgia Tech and UGA; head judge Prageeta Sharma. Residents of North America; 50–100 pages recommended.
→ Submit here: https://georgiapress.submittable.com/submit - White Pine Press Poetry Prize – Fee: $20 – Deadline: postmarked by November 30, 2026 (mail entries). $20 entry, reading and processing fee (check to White Pine Press). $1,000 + publication by White Pine Press. 60–80 pages of original poetry (no translations).
→ Details: https://www.whitepine.org/white-pine-press-poetry-prize - Wishing Jewel Prize & Open Reading Period (Green Linden Press) – Fee: check listing – Deadline: November 30, 2026. Reading fee in three tiers (general, general + discounted book, and a discounted student/hardship rate; amounts not stated on the guidelines page). $1,000 + publication; all finalists considered for publication. Unpublished manuscript of 48+ pages that “challenges expectations of genre, form, or mode”; translations and co-authored work welcome.
→ Submit here: https://greenlindenpress.submittable.com/submit - Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition (Munster Literature Centre) – Fee: €7 per poem – Deadline: November 30, 2026 (midnight). €7 per poem ($8 / £6 by cheque); a fee-free Submittable option is capped at the first 100 entries. 1st €2,000, 2nd €500, 3rd €250 (plus smaller €50 awards). Unpublished poems in English of 40 lines or fewer; any nationality, anywhere.
→ Details: https://munsterlit.ie/odonoghue-competition/ - McNally Robinson Booksellers Poetry Contest (Prairie Fire) – Fee: $34 – Deadline: November 30, 2026 (postmarked if mailed; email entries accepted). $34 entry (includes a Prairie Fire subscription, with fewer issues for U.S. and international addresses). $1,250 + publication in the summer issue, plus an honourable mention; poetry judged by Patrick Friesen. Up to 3 poems, 150 lines max total; unpublished.
→ Details: https://www.prairiefire.ca/contests/ - Poetry Broadside Contest (Sundress Publications) – Fee: $10 – Deadline: November 30, 2026. $10 per batch of up to three poems (waived if you buy or pre-order a Sundress title). $200 + 20 copies of a letterpress-printed 8.5″ x 11″ broadside with custom art. Poems up to 28 lines each.
→ Details: https://www.sundresspublications.com/submit/ - Black Fox Prize: “Eclectic Endings” (Black Fox Literary Magazine) – Fee: $12 – Deadline: November 30, 2026 (midnight EST). $12 entry fee. $325 + print publication in the Winter 2027 issue. Up to three poems in one document (fiction and nonfiction also eligible); judged on how well the work interprets the theme.
→ Submit here: https://blackfoxlit.submittable.com/submit/368057/black-fox-prize-eclectic-endings - Winter Contest — Prose Poem (Baltimore Review) – Fee: $8 – Deadline: November 30, 2026. $8 fee. $400 + publication in the winter issue; all entries considered for publication at the regular $75 rate. No theme.
→ Submit here: https://baltimorereview.submittable.com/submit - Audio Book Competition 2026 (Wildfire Words) – Fee: £12 – Deadline: November 30, 2026 (11:59pm). £12 entry. 1st £150 + audio book publication in 2027; 2nd £75; 3rd £35; commended work goes into the ABC anthology. A collection of 6+ poems and/or flash fiction, with at least 2 also entered as audio recordings in your own voice.
→ Details: https://wildfire-words.com/abc26/
Journals & Open Calls Closing in November 2026
- CLOCKHOUSE, Volume 14 – No Fee – Deadline: November 15, 2026 (11:59pm; opened September 1). No entry fee (none listed on its Submittable form, rechecked Oct 19). Payment is one contributor’s copy plus a discount on that volume (print, summer 2027). Up to three poems of any length, each as a separate submission.
→ Details: https://www.clockhouse.net/submit.html - Free the Verse, Issue 20: “Good Bones” – No Fee – Deadline: November 25, 2026. Free to submit. $10 honorarium per published poem (PayPal). One poem per issue; open to poets 18+ worldwide; don’t title your poem “Good Bones.”
→ Details: https://www.free-the-verse.com/poetry-submissions/issues - The American Poetry Journal (online issues) – Fee: $3 (free Nov 13) – Open November 1–30, 2026. $3 submission fee; free on November 13 (capped at 55 submissions). $25 honorarium for publication. Three poems in a single file, via Duosuma.
→ Details: https://www.apjpoetry.org/submit-to-apjs-online-issues - Contemporary Verse 2 (CV2), General Submissions – Fee: $3 international (Canadian: No Fee) – Open October 1–November 30, 2026. $3 for international submissions (the Canadian category on Submittable lists no fee). Published authors are paid (rate not stated on the form). Up to 5 poems, max 6 pages; French and translation projects welcome.
→ Submit here: https://contemporaryverse2.submittable.com/submit - Baltimore Review, Poetry Submissions – No Fee – Open August 1–November 30, 2026. No fee. $75 per accepted work + a copy of the annual print compilation. Three poems in one document; one submission per reading period.
→ Details: https://www.baltimorereview.org/submit - The Arkansas International, “Museum as Muse” feature – Fee: $4 – Open October 1–November 30, 2026. $4 submission fee (waivers for BIPOC writers and those in financial need). $50 per accepted piece + a one-year digital subscription. Poetry (or prose) inspired by an artifact in the University of Arkansas Museum collections, for a spring 2027 online feature.
→ Submit here: https://acwlp.submittable.com/submit
Quick Submission Tips for November 2026
- November 15 and November 30 are pile-up days: Yale, Nightboat, both PJI prizes, C.D. Wright and LitMag close on the 15th, both Poetry Business competitions close on the 17th, and eleven contests close on the 30th. Finish packets the week before.
- Watch the time zones. Malahat closes in Pacific time, Foster in Central, Yale and Nightboat in Eastern, and the Poetry Business and Munster Lit competitions run on UK/Irish time.
- First-book prizes (Yale, BOA’s Poulin Prize, C.D. Wright) each define “first book” differently. Check the chapbook and self-publishing rules before you pay.
- Some calls are free: the PJI Editor’s Prize for BIPOC writers, Baltimore Review’s regular poetry submissions, CLOCKHOUSE, Free the Verse, and APJ’s free day on November 13.
- Mail-only or postmark deadlines (White Pine, and mailed entries to BOA, Prairie Fire and Munster Lit) mean you post early, not on the 30th.
- Keep a simple tracker (title, venue, fee, deadline, confirmation number) so withdrawals stay clean if a poem or manuscript is taken elsewhere.