TORONTO – October 1, 2025 – The Griffin Poetry Prize is pleased to announce that Andrea Cote (Colombia), Luke Hathaway (Canada), and Major Jackson (US) are the judges for the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize.
Andrea Cote
Andrea Cote is the author of Querida Beth / Dear Beth (2025), En las praderas del fin del mundo / In the Prairies of the End of the World (2019), La ruina que nombro / The Ruin that I Name (2015), and Puerto calcinado / Port in Ashes (2003; 2010), among others. Cote has received the the National Poetry Prize from the Universidad Externado of Colombia (2003), the Bridges of Struga International Poetry Award (2005), the Città di Castrovillari Prize (2010), and the XXIV Premio Casa de América de Poesía Americana (2024), among other honours. Her poems have been translated into numerous languages, and she has translated the poets Tracy K. Smith and Jericho Brown into Spanish.
Luke Hathaway
Luke Hathaway is a trans and queer poet, lyricist/librettist, and theatre-maker whose work has been celebrated as “deftly conversant” with its sources in tradition; and, at the same time, as superbly musical. He is the author of four books of poems as well as numerous chapbook and broadside publications, and the co-creator of many works for stage—including, most recently, the immersive opera Eurydice Fragments (re:naissance opera, 2024). Hathaway frequently works with singer-scholar Daniel Cabena as part of the ensemble ANIMA—“a place of queer friendship and sustaining story: a place where old texts and melodies are animated by spirit and voice.” He teaches English and creative writing at Saint Mary’s University in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Canada.
Major Jackson
Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems. He is also the author of A Beat Beyond: The Selected Prose of Major Jackson, edited by Amor Kohli. A recipient of fellowships from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Academy of American Poets, the John S. Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Major Jackson is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves as the Poetry Editor of The Harvard Review. From 2023–2025, he hosted the award-winning podcast The Slowdown. Major Jackson was recently named the inaugural recipient of the Patricia Cannon Willis Prize for American Poetry from Yale Library.
Note to Publishers
The deadline for receipt of submissions for the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize, for books published between July 1 and December 31, is Friday, December 19, 2025.
If you have any questions regarding the rules, or would like to download an entry form, please visit this page.
General Inquiries: Ruth Smith, Executive Director, Tel: (905) 618-0420, info@griffinpoetryprize.com
Media Inquiries: Chloe Coome, Tel: (437) 446-2126, publicity@griffinpoetryprize.com