Poetry scholarships might be something you’d be interested in if you’re into writing poetry. They are aimed to recognize and support students’ creative talent and love for poetry. Plus, they can help you with college fees and other expenses.

There are many kinds of poetry scholarships available for students, and some of them are offered by schools and colleges, while others are sponsored by various foundations, organizations, or individuals.

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the most interesting annual poetry awards, and we encourage you to give one of them (or maybe some of them) a shot.

Several of these scholarships have a deadline in November, so you need to hurry up! After all, you never know where it might take you!

Top Poetry Scholarships

The Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships

The Poetry Foundation awards Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. These awards are specifically for young poets between the ages of 21 and 31 based in the United States. The fellowship comes with a generous monetary prize of $25,800, and it was established in 1989 by the philanthropist Ruth Lilly and expanded in 2013 with a gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund. Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg were both passionate about poetry, and their legacies continue to inspire and enrich the world of literature. Every year, a select group of poets is chosen through a highly competitive process to receive the fellowship. You can become one of them. Sounds pretty cool, right?

The Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship

If you’re a US poet looking for ways to travel and study outside North America, here’s an opportunity for you! Every year, an award of around $66,500 is given to a deserving poet for this purpose. To apply, submit two copies of your published or unpublished poetry (up to 40 pages) or two copies of a published poetry collection by October 15 (Go to the website to find the entry form and detailed guidelines and deadline). There’s no entry fee.

Nightboat Books Poetry Prize

Nightboat Books offers up to four prizes of $1,000 each and publication for poetry collections annually. To participate, submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages using the online submission system. The entry fee is $28, which is a small price to pay for a chance to see your work in print. The deadline for submission is November 15, so you still have time to polish your masterpiece.

Yale Series of Younger Poets

Yale University Press is offering a prize of $1,000 and a writing fellowship at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut, along with the publication of a poetry collection. It’s open to poets who haven’t published a full-length book of poetry yet! Rae Armantrout will be judging, so you’ll be in great hands. To enter, submit a manuscript of 48 to 64 pages along with a $25 entry fee by November 15.

The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry

Each year Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry (The University of Tulsa) hosts the Nimrod Literary Awards. If interested, you can submit your entries between January 1 and April 1. You stand a chance to win either $2,000 or $1,000 and a chance to get published. The entry fee is just $20 per entry. This contest is sponsored by the University of Tulsa and is held in honor of the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Do give it a shot!

Barbara Stevens Poetry Book Manuscript Competition

If you’re a talented poet looking for an opportunity to showcase your work, you can try to win a prize of $1,000 and get your work published by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies Press. The winner will also be invited to read at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies convention and will receive a travel stipend of $300. To participate, send in a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $25 entry fee ($20 for NFSPS members) by November 15.

The National High School Poetry Contest

Are you a high school student who loves poetry? Then, try your luck with the award sponsored by The Live Poets Society of New Jersey. If you win, you’ll receive a prize and an offer of publication. The contest is open to all US high school students, so you can enter no matter where you live between now and June 30 of your senior year, as there are several submission periods (and no entry fee). To enter, you need to write a poem that’s 20 lines or less. Make sure it’s your own original work that hasn’t been published anywhere else. Oh, and one more thing: the poem must be written in English.

Rising Writer Prize 

Are you an aspiring poet? The Autumn House Press is offering a prize of $1,000 and publication for a debut work of poetry or fiction (the prize for 2024 will be given for poetry specifically). So, if you’ve got a poetry collection of 50 to 80 pages, don’t miss this opportunity! The winner will also receive a $500 grant for travel and book promotion. So, don’t waste any more time; go and check their complete guidelines now.

The 1800wheelchair.com Scholarship

The 1800wheelchair Scholarship Fund provides one or two annual awards of $500 to eligible high school, college, or university students in the US. Instead of a traditional application, the scholarship encourages you to get creative and make a visually appealing and thought-provoking “visual poem” on wheelchair mobility. Your creation should be limited to materials that fit on an 8.5in x 11in piece of paper. You’re expected to create a visual poem that would touch on subjects related to the wheelchair community and provide a personal statement between 500 and 1,000 words.

100-Word Writing Contest

100-Word Writing Contest is a biannual prize of $2,000 for a work of flash poetry or prose. Don’t worry if your work was originally written in another language—English translations are accepted, too! All you need to do is submit a piece of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction that’s no more than 100 words long. The entry fee is just $15, and the deadline is November 30th. If you’re interested, check out the website for more info and to access the entry form.

The Haiku Scholarship Contest

Want to try your luck writing haiku? There’s a special contest with an award for it: the Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku and Senryu Competition. It’s an annual contest for students in grades 7–12, sponsored by the Haiku Society of America and the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association. Founded in 1990 in memory of Nicholas A. Virgilio, a charter member of the Haiku Society of America, it aims to inspire young people to write haiku and senryu—beautiful short poems that capture a moment of experience or emotion. If you win, you’ll get a cash prize and the chance to have your work published in the Haiku Society of America’s journal, Frogpond, and on its website.

Frost Farm Prize for Metrical Poetry

Are you good at rhyming? An annual prize of $1,000 is awarded to the author of a poem written in metrical verse. In addition, the winner will receive a scholarship to attend the Frost Farm Poetry Conference in Derry, New Hampshire, in June and give a reading. To participate, you can submit any number of poems with a $6 entry fee per poem. The competition is sponsored by the Trustees of the Robert Frost Farm and the Hyla Brook Poets.

Poetry Contest

The Kenyon Review is offering a scholarship for a high school sophomore or junior who submits a poem. The winner will be able to attend the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop and get the costs of the workshop covered. Aspiring writers who haven’t published a poetry book can participate. The winners will be announced in the late spring.

We hope that you’ve found this list of poetry scholarships for students and professional writers inspiring.

Nevertheless, at BookScouter, we understand that not everyone is a poetry fan. So, here’s our article where you can learn how to get a scholarship for college, even if you are not that into writing verses.

Moreover, BookScouter offers a quarterly $500 textbook scholarship that you can apply for, regardless of whether you are an aspiring poet or scientist!

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