Guidelines: 2026 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry

Submission Period July 1, 2026 – September 30, 2026

Final Judge Kaveh Akbar

Award 

• $2,000 cash award;
• Publication by Black Lawrence Press'
• 25 author copies of the published book; and 
• Featured reading at California State University, Fresno with travel expenses paid

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The Philip Levine Prize for Poetry seeks previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscripts and is open to any poet writing in English.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may have been previously published in magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks, but the work as a whole must be unpublished.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 your manuscript is correctly formatted. Double-check your work. Address errors or mistakes before you submit your manuscript. We are unable able to assist in addressing or fixing manuscript 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. Thank you!

• 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 a cover letter inside your manuscript.
• Please do not include a dedication or thank-you page.
• Please do not include an acknowledgements page with publications.
• Please do not include any biographical notes.
• Please do not include your name or any identifying information.
• Please 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.

Deadline

All entries must be certified by Submittable (online) by September 30, 2026.

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.
• If you are experiencing a financial hardship and cannot pay the $25 submission fee, you may reach out to request a fee waiver. A limited number of fee waivers will be made available until they run out. For more information, please send an inquiry to contest coordinator, Mai Der Vang: maidervang@mail.fresnostate.edu. 
• Do not send fee waiver inquiries until after the contest opens on July 1, 2026. Any inquiries received before July 1, 2026 will not be reviewed.
• Please limit your fee waiver request to every two years. In order to support as many writers as possible, we will prioritize fee waivers to individuals who have not yet received one.

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 2027. 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