Thank you for your interest in The American Poetry Review! Please find submission guidelines under the categories below.
The American Poetry Review is dedicated to reaching a worldwide audience with a diverse array of the best contemporary poetry and literary prose. APR also aims to expand the audience interested in poetry and literature, and to provide authors, especially poets, with a far-reaching forum in which to present their work.
Please do not send previously published material. Send no more than five poems per submission. We strive to respond to all submissions within six months.
Copyright: APR holds first serial rights for material that we publish. The copyright automatically reverts to the author upon publication. We do not require that material be copyrighted prior to submission.
We pay authors at a rate of $1 per line of poetry and $60 per APR page of prose.
The American Poetry Review is dedicated to reaching a worldwide audience with a diverse array of the best contemporary poetry and literary prose. APR also aims to expand the audience interested in poetry and literature, and to provide authors, especially poets, with a far-reaching forum in which to present their work.
Please do not send previously published material. We strive to respond to all submissions within six months.
Copyright: APR holds first serial rights for material that we publish. The copyright automatically reverts to the author upon publication. We do not require that material be copyrighted prior to submission.
We pay authors at a rate of $1 per line of poetry and $60 per APR page of prose.
The Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize honors the late Stanley Kunitz’s dedication to mentoring poets. The winning poem will appear on the feature page of the September/October issue of The American Poetry Review, and the poet will receive a prize of $1,000. All entrants will receive a copy of the magazine. Poets may submit one to three poems per entry (totaling no more than three pages) with a $15 entry fee by May 15, 2025. No limit on number of entries per poet. Previous winners of the Kunitz Prize include Ocean Vuong, Alex Dimitrov, Nicole Sealey, Jane Wong, Elly Bookman, Maggie Queeney, Jared Harel, Katie Peterson, Ruth Madievsky, Iris McCloughan, Joy Priest, Casey Thayer, and Susan Nguyen.
Guidelines
1. Poets must be under 40 years of age.
2. All entries must be previously unpublished poems.
3. Multiple entries are acceptable; however each entry must be accompanied by a reading fee.
4. Entry fee covers up to three poems, totaling no more than three pages.
5. Contest entries must be received on or before May 15, 2025.
6. Contest results will be announced by July 1, 2025.