About the Cave Canem Prize

The Cave Canem Prize supports the work of Black poets to overcome the obstacle of publishing their first book of poems. Awarded to one poet annually, the Prize recipient receives a monetary award, as well as having their manuscript published by one of our partner publishers, Graywolf Press; University of Pittsburgh Press; or University of Georgia Press. The judge for the 2027 Cave Canem Prize will be poet and scholar Jericho Brown.

About the Judge

Jericho Brown is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award and fellowships from The Academy of American Poets, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Brown’s first book, Please (2008), won the American Book Award. His second book, The New Testament (2014), won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was named one of the best of the year by Library Journal, Coldfront, and the Academy of American Poets. He is also the author of the collection The Tradition (2019), which was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award, and the winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Award: The Winner of the 2027 Cave Canem Prize will receive $10,000; publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press in Fall 2027, 15 copies of the book, and a featured reading.

Submission & Selection Process

Deadline: Manuscripts must be submitted no later than Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.

Entry Fee: Free

Eligibility: All unpublished, original collections of poems written in English by Black poets who have not had a full-length book of poetry published by a professional press. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora. Authors of chapbooks and self-published books with a maximum print-run of 500 may apply. Simultaneous submission to other book awards should be noted: immediate notification upon winning such an award is required. Winner agrees to be present in the continental United States at her or his own expense shortly after the book is published to participate in promotional reading(s). 

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 or University of Georgia Press; and authors who have published a book or have a book under contract with University of Georgia Press are ineligible. If any of the selected authors fall under the above exclusions, they will be disqualified, and a replacement will be chosen from among the submissions. As the poetry community is small and the contest is judged without knowledge of the submitter’s identity, acquaintance with the judge, or participation in a workshop taught by the judge are not disqualifying criteria.  

Guidelines

• Manuscripts must be submitted via Submittable. Hard copy submissions will not be considered.
• One manuscript per poet.
• Upload manuscript as a .docx or .pdf document. 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.
• Include a cover letter in the Submittable text box—DO NOT include within the .docx or .pdf document of the manuscript. Cover letter should include the author’s brief bio (200 words, maximum) and a list of acknowledgments of previously published poems.
• Manuscript must be paginated and 60 - 75 pages in length, inclusive of 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.
• Post-submission revisions or corrections are not permitted.

 Questions? Contact us at programs@ccpoets.org.