Furious Flower Poetry Prizes

Opening Soon: Submissions for the 2026 Furious Flower Poetry Prize will be accepted December 15, 2025 - February 15, 2026.

Furious Flower invites submissions from emerging writers for its annual poetry prize. Poets with no more than one published book are invited to submit up to three poems (no more than a total of 6 pages) for consideration. The winner and honorable mention receive $1500 and $750, respectively, and will be invited to read at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, in September 2026. The winner, honorable mention, and select finalists will also be published in Obsidian. Winners are announced in April.

Submission fee: $20

2026 Judge: Major Jackson

Major Jackson is the award-winning author of six books of poetry. Jackson is the recipient of multiple fellowships, including fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Major Jackson has been awarded a multitude of prizes and has been honored by the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress. Major Jackson lives in Nashville, TN where he is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in literature.

How to submit your work

Go to Submittable

Make a free Submittable account
Read eligibility requirements
Fill out the form and pay the non-refundable $20 submission fee
Attach a pdf of your poems (no more than 6 pages) and ensure no identifying information is in the manuscript or the filename