Book-length poetry manuscripts will be accepted from October 1, 2023, through the deadline of January 14, 2024.  (Note: We will observe a grace period through midnight Mountain Standard Time January 19, 2024.) The winner will be announced by May 2024.

The winning book will be published by the Center for Literary Publishing and distributed by the University Press of Colorado in the fall of 2024. The poet will receive a $2,500 honorarium.

The online entry fee is $28 ($1.11 is a credit card fee and $1.89 goes to Submittable), which includes a one-year subscription to Colorado Review. Poets with a US address may choose either a print or digital subscription; those living outside the US will receive a digital subscription. Please select the relevant option when submitting your manuscript. We have reached our limited number of fee waivers for writers experiencing financial hardship this year. 

This year's final judge is Brenda Shaughnessy. Friends and students (current and former) of the final judge are not eligible to compete, nor are Colorado State University employees, students, or alumni. Entrants must be at least 18 years old.

Manuscripts may consist of poems that have been published, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. Please do not submit self-published books. If individual poems in the manuscript have been published previously, please do not include a list of publication credits.

In the cover letter form--separate from the manuscript--tell us your manuscript title, your name, address, e-mail address, and phone number. You may provide a bio note here, if you wish, but it is not required.

The title page of your manuscript should provide only the title, not your name or contact information.

Your name should NOT appear anywhere in the manuscript itself or in the name of the electronic file you upload; this contest is judged without identities of the writers revealed to judges. Please make sure your name is not in your document's running heads.

Manuscripts must be at least 48 pages but no more than 100 pages.

The theme and style are both open.

Manuscripts may be double or single spaced.

Please include a table of contents.

You may enter more than one manuscript. Each manuscript must be entered as a separate submission with its own entry fee. If you'd like the additional subscription(s) sent to someone other than yourself, please include that information. Otherwise, your subscription will be extended by one year for each additional entry.

Authors do NOT need to be residents of Colorado or the United States. If you are, however, a foreign national working in the United States, please check the conditions of your visa status with regard to receiving payment (in the event that your manuscript is selected as the winner) from entities other than your sponsor. Colorado State University cannot issue honoraria to foreign nationals with B1/WB, B2/WT, H-1B, or F-1 visas. A J-1 visa holder with a sponsor other than CSU must have written authorization from the Responsible Officer (RO) at their sponsoring institution prior to the activity.

The Colorado Prize for Poetry adheres to the following Contest Code of Ethics, as adopted by the Council of Literary Presses and Magazines, of which the Center for Literary Publishing is a longtime member: “CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines — defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.”

Questions? Please call us at (970) 491-5449 or send an e-mail to creview@colostate.edu