— Reading Periods
Boa Editions offers several annual prizes for poetry, fiction, and essays. Select a prize below to view guidelines and submission information.
POETRY
The American Poets Continuum Series celebrates new collections of poetry by distinguished mid-career poets. Poets who have previously published a full-length book of poetry with a traditional publisher are eligible to submit to the American Poets Continuum Series via open reading period.
No submission fee.
Peter Conners
POETRY
The A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize is awarded to honor a poet’s first book, while also honoring the late founder of Boa Editions, a nonprofit publishing house of poetry and poetry in translation.
$1,000 honorarium and publication. Submission fee: $30.
August 1 – November 30, 2026
Poetry
Spotlights poetry collections by women of color. Blessing the Boats Selections is named after Lucille Clifton’s National Book Award-winning collection, Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems (Boa, 2000), in honor and celebration of her enduring legacy.
$1,500 honorarium and publication. No submission fee.
Evie Shockley
April 20 – June 30, 2026
FICTION
The Boa Short Fiction prize is awarded to an outstanding short fiction collections that demonstrate exceptional craft and vision.
$1,000 honorarium and publication. Submission fee: $30.
Peter Conners
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