A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize

Ask yourself this question. When was the last time you went into a book store and bought a book of poetry? For many of us the answer is never. That is why there are so few traditional publishers willing to publish your poetry manuscript; there just isn’t a big enough market to sell your book of poetry. Many have turned to self-publishing as a way of self financing their dream of publication and that is a viable option for today’s poet. Over the years I’ve spoken to many poets who feel their work is to good for self-publishing and what I tell them is that it doesn’t matter how good your poetry is, if you don’t have some way of marketing yourself and your book than no publisher is interested. There are very few literary agents willing to take on clients who are poets because the retail market for poetry is so poor.

There is one publisher who still accepts manuscripts for review. Boa Editions, Ltd. is a publisher who specializes in publishing poetry. They hold a yearly contest for the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize which is awarded to honor a poet's first book. If you have a poetry manuscript and you’ve never published a book of poetry than I suggest this contest. It is an extremely competitive competition so be prepared for a negative response, but you can’t win if you don’t submit your book.

Good Luck,
Pete