Submissions after Friday, August 7, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET will not be accepted.

About the 2027 Derricotte/Eady Chapbook Prize

The Derricotte/Eady Prize, named after Cave Canem co-founders Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, spotlights chapbook-length manuscripts.

Awarded to one poet annually, the Derricotte/Eady Prize recipient receives a monetary prize, the publication of their manuscript through Black Lawrence Press, a residency at The Writer’s Room at The Betsy Hotel-South Beach, and a featured reading at the O, Miami Festival in April.

Cave Canem is honored to partner with Black Lawrence Press to produce the annual Derricotte/Eady Prize in collaboration with The Writer’s Room at The Betsy Hotel-South Beach.

About the Judge

Tommye Blount was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He is the author of the chapbook What Are We Not For (Bull City Press) and the full-length collection of poetry Fantasia for the Man in Blue (Four Way Books)—which was afinalist for the National Book Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Poetry, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and others. A graduate from Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers, he is the recipient of commendations, fellowships, and grants from: the Amy Clampitt Residency, the Hawthornden Foundation, the Desert Rat Residency, the Whiting Foundation, the Aninstantia Foundation, Cave Canem, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and Kresge Arts.

 Application Guidelines

• One manuscript per poet is allowed
• Include a title page with the title only and a table of contents. The author’s name should not appear on any pages within the uploaded document
• The manuscript must be paginated, with a font size of 11 or 12, and 25-30 pages in length, inclusive of the title page and table of contents. A poem may be multiple pages, but no more than one poem per page is permitted
• Manuscripts not adhering to submission guidelines will not be considered
• Include a cover letter with a brief author’s bio and a list of acknowledgments of previously published poems. DO NOT include this information within the document of the manuscript
• Post-submission revisions or corrections are not permitted

Eligibility

All unpublished, original collections of poems written in English by Black poets who are 21 years of age or older. Please note that this is not a first-book award. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora.

Please note that in the event that an applicant has submitted the same manuscript to other book awards and received an award, they must disclose this information to Cave Canem.

Exclusions

Current or former students, colleagues, employees, family members, and close friends of the judge; current or former employees and members of the board of Cave Canem Foundation; O, Miami; and authors who have published a book or have a book under contract with Black Lawrence Press are ineligible.

Submissions after Friday, August 7, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET will not be accepted.

About the 2028 Derricotte/Eady Chapbook Prize

The Derricotte/Eady Prize, named after Cave Canem co-founders Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, spotlights chapbook-length manuscripts.

Awarded to one poet annually, the Derricotte/Eady Prize recipient receives a monetary prize, the publication of their manuscript through Black Lawrence Press, a residency at The Writer’s Room at The Betsy Hotel-South Beach, and a featured reading at the O, Miami Festival in April.

Cave Canem is honored to partner with Black Lawrence Press to produce the annual Derricotte/Eady Prize in collaboration with The Writer’s Room at The Betsy Hotel-South Beach.

About the Judge

Jonterri Gadson is a Cave Canem fellow who has published three poetry books, including the full-length poetry collection Blues Triumphant (YesYes Books). She is a TV/Film writer/director and a former creative writing professor. She has previously written on Comedy Central's EVERYBODY STILL HATES CHRIS, Netflix’s THE UPSHAWS, HBO’S A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW, and more. She won Kevin Hart’s LOL Film Fellowship for a short she wrote/directed and premiered at the American Black Film Festival.

 Application Guidelines

• One manuscript per poet is allowed
• Include a title page with the title only and a table of contents. The author’s name should not appear on any pages within the uploaded document
• The manuscript must be paginated, with a font size of 11 or 12, and 25-30 pages in length, inclusive of the title page and table of contents. A poem may be multiple pages, but no more than one poem per page is permitted
• Manuscripts not adhering to submission guidelines will not be considered
• Include a cover letter with a brief author’s bio and a list of acknowledgments of previously published poems. DO NOT include this information within the document of the manuscript
• Post-submission revisions or corrections are not permitted

Eligibility

All unpublished, original collections of poems written in English by Black poets who are 21 years of age or older. Please note that this is not a first-book award. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora.

Please note that in the event that an applicant has submitted the same manuscript to other book awards and received an award, they must disclose this information to Cave Canem.

Exclusions

Current or former students, colleagues, employees, family members, and close friends of the judge; current or former employees and members of the board of Cave Canem Foundation; O, Miami; and authors who have published a book or have a book under contract with Black Lawrence Press are ineligible.

New York, NY - Do Not Make Grief Your God

Instructor: Mahogany Browne

Application Period: Thursday, August 13, 2026 12:00AM EST - Thursday, September 3, 2026 11:59PM EST

Workshop Sessions: Weekly on Wednesdays, Sept. 16, Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 21, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 18

Workshop Location & Reading: Cave Canem Office

Cave Canem’s workshops are rare opportunities for poets of all experience levels to work with and learn directly from accomplished poets in Cave Canem’s network. Limited to small enrollment groups, these multiple-session workshops offer rigorous instruction, careful critique, and an introduction to the work of influential poets. Workshops are tuition-free and free to apply.

For Fall 2026, Cave Canem is excited to welcome poet and teacher Mahogany (Cave Canem Fellow, 2007) as the facilitator of our New York Regional Workshop, Do Not Make Grief Your God.

This poetry workshop aims to lead you through a poetic exploration influenced by both grief and love, while also responsive to political themes and the nuances of sound. The objective is to craft a piece shaped by form, breath, and the fundamental laws of nature. By integrating these elements, we seek to expand our understanding of poetry creation. Throughout the workshop, you will gain insights into using poetic forms effectively while maintaining the authenticity and strength of your unique voice.

Eligibility

Any adult (18 or older) Black poet of any experience level who is a resident of the city or theimmediate surrounding area may apply to participate in the workshop. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora.   

Guidelines

• Applicants must submit five original poems and a short cover letter through the Submittable application.
• One application per poet will be accepted. 
• Please note that all workshop participants are required to take a post-workshop survey after the conclusion of the program. Photos of participants may be taken throughout the workshops and reading.     

About Mahogany Browne

Mahogany L. Browne is a writer, playwright, organizer, and educator, as well as an NY Emmy, NAACP, and Audie finalist. A 2022 Kennedy Center Next 50 Fellow, Browne served as inaugural Poet-in-Residence at Lincoln Center, and celebrated the 2024 Paterson Poetry Prize for her poetry collection Chrome Valley. Her YA novel was longlisted for the National Book Award, and she is the latest recipient of Princeton University's Holmes Poetry Prize in 2025. She holds an honorary doctorate from Marymount College. 

Kingston, Jamaica - Shaping New Poems: Finding a Form to Fit This Place

Instructor: Tanya Shirley

Application Period: Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 12:00AM EST - Monday, September, 7, 2026, 11:59PM EST

Workshop Sessions: Weekly on Saturdays, Oct. 3, Oct. 10, Oct 17, Oct. 24, Oct. 31, Nov. 7

Workshop Location & Reading: 10 A West Kings House Road

Cave Canem’s workshops are rare opportunities for poets of all experience levels to work with and learn directly from accomplished poets in Cave Canem’s network. Limited to small enrollment groups, these multiple-session workshops offer rigorous instruction, careful critique, and an introduction to the work of influential poets. Workshops are tuition-free and free to apply.

For Fall 2026, Cave Canem is excited to welcome poet and teacher Tanya Shirley (Cave Canem Fellow, 2004) as the facilitator of our Kingston Regional Workshop, Shaping New Poems: Finding a Form to Fit This Place. 

This workshop will encourage intermediate-advanced stage poets to think about ways to write about the reality of living in Jamaica. Through a combination of lectures, prompts, close readings and peer critique, we will focus on how traditional forms can be used as a base for capturing our unique individual and collective experiences and elevate our poems from mere description or abstraction. How can the elegy be used to portray the paradox of grieving for the receding shoreline while enjoying the delicious fry fish at Hellshire Beach or mourning the loss of our favourite cookshop, or the death of the colleague who annoyed us with her music blaring over our too-tight cubicle, but who baked a potato pudding for us every end-of-month? How can the sonnet’s turn be used to capture our journey on the highway – one minute, admiring the majestic mountains and singing a reggae song, the next, cursing the taxis swerving through traffic? How can the ekphrastic form encourage us to revel in the ordinary details of our lives – the cacophony of Coronation Market, the boisterous rise of high rise buildings, the exercise enthusiasts at Emancipation Park weaving in and out of a wedding party’s photoshoot, the colourful conversations in a bank or utility company’s queue, the sights and sounds of a hurricane observed through a slit in the plyboard? How do we make praise songs for the street we grew up on, the things about this country that we hold dear?

The workshop will also make a space for our innovative spirit and offer ways to bend these forms to fit the shape of this place we call home.  

Eligibility

Any adult (18 or older) Black poet of any experience level who is a resident of the city or the immediate surrounding area may apply to participate in the workshop. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora.   

Guidelines

• Applicants must submit five original poems and a short cover letter through the Submittable application.
• One application per poet will be accepted. 
• Please note that all workshop participants are required to take a post-workshop survey after the conclusion of the program. Photos of participants may be taken throughout the workshops and reading.     

About Tanya Shirley

Tanya Shirley has published two poetry collections with Peepal Tree Press (Leeds, UK): She Who Sleeps with Bones and The Merchant of Feathers. They will also be publishing her third collection, Riddled, in April 2026. Shirley’s work has been featured on BBC World Service, BBC Front Row, Scottish Poetry Library, www.poetryarchive.org and translated into Spanish and Polish. Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Unwritten: CaribbeanPoems After the First World War ed. by Karen McCarthy Woolf, To Coventry by Sun: Poems from Twin Cities ed. by Jane Commane, New Caribbean Poetry: An Anthology ed. by Kei Miller, Another English: Anglophone Poems from Around the World ed. by Catherine Barnett and Tiphanie Yanique and Jubilation!: Poems Celebrating 50 Years of Jamaican Independence ed.by Kwame Dawes. She received an MFA from the University of Maryland and taught for many years at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. She is the recipient of a Silver Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica for her outstanding contribution in the field of Literature. She is also a proud Cave Canem Fellow. More information can be found at www.tanyashirley.com.