Are self-published poetry books eligible?
No. Entries must come from publishers only. Self-published books are not eligible (see Rule 4(l), Eligibility Criteria). This requirement is consistent with major literary prizes around the world. The annual jury for the Griffin Poetry Prize consists of three judges, who have approximately four months to read and evaluate 600 or more books/collections before the longlist and shortlist are formulated and announced. Opening the prize to include self-published works sent directly by authors would increase entry volume and make the judging process difficult to manage in a thoughtful and timely manner. The Griffin Poetry Prize is continuously evaluating the inclusion of self-published works.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE “SELF-PUBLISHED”?
A self-published work is one for which the author has paid for and managed all aspects of producing the work, from the creative to the work’s editing, physical and/or digital production, marketing and promotion, and distribution.
IS THERE AN ENTRY FEE TO ENTER THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE?
No. There are no entry fees for submissions to the Griffin Poetry Prize.
IS THERE AN AGE LIMIT?
No. There are no age restrictions associated with the prize. As long as your work complies with the eligibility criteria outlined in the rules, your publisher is welcome to submit it.
CAN PUBLISHERS FROM COUNTRIES OUTSIDE EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA SUBMIT TO THE PRIZE?
Yes. Publishers from anywhere in the world can submit poetry collections. Have a look at our submitting publishers database.
CAN A POETRY COLLECTION BE SUBMITTED TO THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE IF THE BOOK HAS ALREADY BEEN ENTERED INTO AN UNRELATED COMPETITION?
Yes. Publishers can submit their poets’ works to the Griffin Poetry Prize regardless of whether those works have been submitted to other prizes or competitions
CAN AN AUTHOR SUBMIT THEIR BOOK ON BEHALF OF THEIR PUBLISHER?
No. Publishers only can submit for the prize, see Rule 4(a), Eligibility Criteria, in the submission Rules. Publishers can send unlimited numbers of entries.
ARE E-BOOKS ACCEPTED?
No. Ebook-only submissions are not currently accepted. Publishers must submit four printed copies of each entry.
ARE BOOKS OF POETRY WRITTEN BY MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR ELIGIBLE?
Books written in English must be the work of one poet. Translated works are eligible if there are no more than two translators. See Rule 4(g), Eligibility Criteria, in the submission Rules.
ARE PUBLISHED SELF-TRANSLATED POETRY COLLECTIONS ELIGIBLE?
Yes. If the work meets all other eligibility requirements, a self-translated poetry collection can be entered for the Griffin Poetry Prize.
ARE SINGLE-POEM BOOKS (I.E., BOOK-LENGTH POEMS) ELIGIBLE?
Yes. As long as such books meet all other criteria (refer to the Rules), they are eligible.
WHAT IS YOUR POLICY ON COLLECTED OR SELECTED POETRY COLLECTIONS?
Volumes of selected or collected poetry are volumes of poems that were previously published in other collections. The Griffin Poetry Prize no longer accepts selected and/or collected volumes originally written in English, but selected or collected volumes that are translated from another language into English are eligible.
CAN YOU RECOMMEND A PUBLISHER TO ME?
We invite you to take a look at our database of publishers who have submitted eligible works to the Griffin Poetry Prize since the prize’s inception. Writers’ organizations and poetry associations often offer useful publishing resources, and we provide links to some of them here.
IF YOU ARE A PARTNER AT THE PUBLISHING COMPANY WHICH PRODUCED YOUR WORK, AND YOUR BOOK IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE, MAY IT BE SUBMITTED? OR IS YOUR BOOK CONSIDERED “SELF-PUBLISHED”?
If someone publishes their work with a publishing company of which they are a principal, they can still submit that work for the Griffin Poetry Prize as long as the publishing company publishes works by multiple authors. When your firm submits your entries, we invite you to include information about your publishing company’s current or recent catalogues.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “PRESS MATERIAL”?
By press material, we are referring to a selection of background information, book blurbs, articles, reviews, coverage, etc., pertaining to the poets and submitted poetry collections.
WHO RECEIVES THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE AWARD MONEY: THE PUBLISHER WHO SUBMITS THE TITLE OR THE WRITER OF THE BOOK?
Prizes are awarded to the poets and/or translators who produced the works. How the prize money is apportioned is described in the first section of the Rules. Publishers do not receive any prize monies from the Griffin Poetry Prize, but do benefit from the heightened profile their books receive when they are shortlisted for the prize.
WHAT IS THE MINIMUM LENGTH OF A POETRY BOOK ELIGIBLE FOR THE PRIZE?
A book is defined as having at least forty-eight pages of poetry. The page count does not include blank pages or a book’s front and end matter, such as table of contents, introduction or acknowledgements (see Rule 4(p) in the submission Rules).
WHAT DOES “FIRST EDITION” MEAN?
A first edition is the first worldwide edition of a poetry collection. That first edition must have been published within the 12 months of the calendar year preceding the award year, e.g., books published between January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 would be submitted for the 2022 Griffin Poetry Prize.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING POETS?
Check out our International Poetry Calendar which features poetry events, workshops, award deadlines, and publishing opportunities. We also invite you to explore our Previous Submissions section, featuring a database of publishers from around the world who have submitted to the Griffin Poetry Prize since 2000.