Griffin Poetry Prize

f you’re interested in submitting an entry for the Griffin Poetry Prize, here is a brief overview of what you need to know:


Entries must come from publishers only. Inquiries about entries must also come from publishers only.
(Please note that the Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry is not a publishing company. If you are interested in learning more about companies around the world that publish poetry, we invite you to take a look at our database of publishers who have submitted entries to the Griffin Poetry Prize since the prize’s inception. Writers’ organizations and poetry associations often offer useful publishing resources, and we provide links to some of them here.)


Publishers are welcome to enter an unlimited number of titles. Please click here to download an Entry Form and a complete version of the Rules.


The Griffin Poetry Prize, valued at C$200,000, is awarded annually in two categories – International and Canadian. Each prize is worth C$65,000. In each category, the prize is for the best collection of poetry in English published during the preceding year. One prize goes to a living Canadian poet or translator, the other to a living poet or translator from any country, which may include Canada. C$10,000 goes to each shortlisted poet who reads at the annual Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Readings in Toronto, Canada.


To be eligible for the International prize, a book of poetry must be a first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English, or translated into English, by a poet/translator from any part of the world, including Canada. To be eligible for the Canadian prize, a book of poetry must be a first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English or translated into English by a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident in Canada.


No self-published book is eligible. This requirement is consistent with major literary prizes around the world.


Books must have been published in English during the calendar year preceding the year of the award.


For the 2017 Griffin Poetry Prize, books must be published between January 1st and December 31st, 2016. The deadline for submissions for the 2017 Griffin Poetry Prize are:June 30, 2016 for books published between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2016;December 31, 2016 for books published between July 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016.
Note: The Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist is announced every year in April. The official shortlist is issued by the Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry via press release and the Griffin Poetry Prize’s social media channels, and is posted to the Griffin Poetry Prize web site. From time to time, authors or publishers indicate that their works have been nominated for the prize, but what they are announcing is that their works have been submitted for prize consideration.