The Cave Canem Prize, one of the most important awards in American poetry for Black poets, is open for submissions. The prize supports Black first-book poets by pairing the winning manuscript with publication at a major press, this cycle, University of Pittsburgh Press, along with a $10,000 cash award, 15 author copies, and a featured reading. The judge for the 2027 prize is Jericho Brown, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of The Tradition.

The prize is open to all Black poets, defined by Cave Canem as any poet who identifies as a member of the African diaspora, who have not yet published a full-length collection with a professional press. Authors of chapbooks and self-published books with a print run of 500 copies or fewer are eligible. There is no entry fee.

Manuscripts should be between 60 and 75 pages, submitted as a PDF or Word document via Submittable, with no identifying information anywhere in the document itself. A cover letter, including a brief bio of up to 200 words and a list of acknowledgments for previously published poems, should be entered directly into the Submittable text box, not embedded in the manuscript file.

The deadline is 30 April 2026 at 11:59pm ET. Submit at cavecanem.submittable.com. Questions can be directed to [email protected]. Full application guideline here.