Indirect Books
Indirect Books is pleased to announce the J. Alfred Prufrock Prize for Poetry, open to full length collections in any style or form.
The Prize—which includes $1,000 USD, ten (10) author copies, and publication & promotion with Indirect Books—will be given to the manuscript which best demonstrates command of language and style alongside a sustained commitment to formal innovation and thematic depth. Generally speaking, in poetry, we are more inspired by focus and technique than expanse and discourse.
We’re interested in poetry that presents unique voice, engages in formal play, and which centers a palpable delight in language as its engine. We love being surprised by a line break, an errant word choice, and poetry that isn’t afraid to subvert our expectations.
As with all our published work, we seek risk-adept, language-driven writing that pushes the boundaries of form and rests comfortably beyond convention.
Guidelines
- Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript, in English.
- The Prize will be open from March 1-May 31, 2026.
- There are no length requirements; full-length collections of poetry typically run between 48-100 pages.
- Material in your manuscript may have been published previously in a chapbook, magazines, journals or anthologies, but the work as a whole must be unpublished.
- Do not include your name or identifying information on the manuscript itself. However, please do include this information–including a third person brief bio–in the cover letter on Submittable.
- Translations and previously self-published books are not eligible.
- You may submit multiple manuscripts, but each must be treated as an individual submission, submitted separately and with a separate fee.
- Please let us know immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
- We consider using AI to generate your manuscript, in whole or in part, disqualifying. Such manuscripts will be rejected outright and no refund will be offered.
See full rules, terms, and conditions below.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please read these eligibility and entry rules carefully before submitting. Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of the entry rules. For any queries not covered below, please email us: indirectbooks@gmail.com.
1. The competition is open to published and unpublished writers around the world. Entrants should submit a complete manuscript of poetry.
3. Each submission should include a cover letter including a biographical note, contact details and brief outline of the novel.
4. The submission must be entirely original, human-written, work.
5. The entry must be the entrant’s own original creation and must not infringe upon the right or copyright of any person or entity.
6. The collection must be written in English (no translations).
7. All submissions should include page numbers.
8. The collection must be original and should not have been previously published anywhere in full. Published work is taken to mean published in any printed, publicly accessible form, e.g. anthology, magazine, newspaper. It is also taken to mean published online, with the exception of personal blogs and personal websites.
9. Indirect Books reserves the right not to award the prize this year, or to make multiple offers of publication.
10. Only submissions which meet all Terms and Conditions will be considered.
11. By entering this competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
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