The 2020 Cave Canem Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize is now open for submissions! Launched in 2009, the prize is a second-book award for black poets of African descent, offered every other year. Presented in collaboration with Northwestern University Press, the award celebrates and publishes work of lasting cultural value and literary excellence.

The winner receives $1,000, publication by Northwestern University Press, 15 copies of the book and a feature reading in New York City.

This year’s prize is judged by Cave Canem faculty Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon. Manuscripts are accepted online via Submittable, now through June 12, 2020, 11:59pm EST. There is no entry fee to submit. Visit the prize page for guidelines.