Guidelines: 2024 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry

Submission Period July 1, 2024 – September 30, 2024

Final Judge Diana Khoi Nguyen

Award $2,000 cash award; publication by Black Lawrence Press; 25 author copies of the published book; and a public reading at California State University, Fresno

Please read the complete guidelines before submitting your manuscript.

Eligibility

The Philip Levine Prize for Poetry seeks previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscripts and is open to any poet writing in English. 

• Individual poems in a contest manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks, but the work as a whole must be unpublished. 
• Translations are ineligible for this prize, as well as previously self-published books. 
• Current and former faculty and students of California State University, Fresno are ineligible. 
• Close friends and family members of the final judge are also ineligible.

Manuscript Requirements

Before submitting, please carefully review the guidelines below to ensure that your manuscript is correctly formatted. Double-check your work. Address any errors or mistakes before you submit your manuscript. We will not be able to assist in addressing or fixing errors that occur as a result of failure to review the guidelines. If you make a mistake, you are welcome to make a new submission and withdraw your old submission through Submittable, though you will be charged another $25 entry fee. At this time, we are unable to provide refunds. Please carefully review your manuscript before you submit it.

• Include a title page with manuscript title only.
• Include a table of contents. 
• Number your pages. 
• Manuscript should be 48 pages minimum and approximately 80 pages maximum. 
• Each poem should start on a new page. 
• If needed, you may attach a ‘Notes’ page.
• Please do NOT include the following in your manuscript document: a cover letter; a dedication or thank-you page; an acknowledgements page; any biographical notes; your name or any identifying information. 
• Do NOT include your name or personal information in the file name or in the title of the manuscript. 
• Simultaneous submissions to other publishers or contests are permitted as long as you notify Levine Prize staff promptly if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

We are no longer accepting hardcopy manuscripts.

Deadline

All entries must be certified by Submittable (online) by September 30, 2024.

We are no longer accepting hardcopy manuscripts.

Entry Fee

• An entry fee of $25 (U.S.) must accompany each online submission.
• Multiple submissions are accepted so long as a separate entry fee accompanies each submission.
• A limited number of fee waivers to cover the $25 submission fee may be made available on a case-by-case basis. For more information, please email the contest coordinator, Mai Der Vang: maidervang@mail.fresnostate.edu 
• Do not send fee waiver inquiries until after the contest opens July 1, 2024; deadline to submit a fee waiver request is September 20, 2024.

Submit Your Manuscript

• Be sure that your document is complete and formatted correctly before uploading.
• Reminder: Do NOT include contact information in the body of your manuscript, in the file name, or in the title and/or title page of the manuscript.

Ethical Principles

The Philip Levine Prize for Poetry endorses and abides by the Ethical Guidelines of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP):

CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to:

1. Conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
2. To provide clear and specific contest guidelines — defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and
3. To make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public.

This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contest contributes to a vibrant literary heritage.

Notification of Receipt

Submittable will provide automated notification of receipt. Please keep this for your records.

Notification of Results

Results will be announced in early-February 2025. We notify all entrants in two ways:

• Via email.
• Online via our MFA program’s website, social media, and elsewhere.

Contact Information

Mai Der Vang, contest coordinator: maidervang@mail.fresnostate.edu

Levine Prize staff: levineprize@mail.fresnostate.edu or 559.278.1569