2015, Cave Canem has collaborated with O, Miami to spotlight exceptional chapbook-length manuscripts by Black poets. The winner of the prize receives

Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize 2022

Since 2015, Cave Canem has collaborated with O, Miami to spotlight exceptional chapbook-length manuscripts by Black poets. The winner of the prize receives a $1000 award, publication of their manuscript by O, Miami Books, 10 copies of the chapbook, a residency in The Writer’s Room at The Betsy Hotel in Miami, and a featured reading at the O, Miami Poetry Festival in April.

 Previous judges were: Robin Coste Lewis; Dawn Lundy Martin; Ross Gay; Major Jackson; Danez Smith; Mahogany L. Browne; and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram.

Deadline: Manuscripts must be submitted no later than Monday,November 14, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET. Winner announced by email on November 28, 2022.

Entry Fee: There is no entry fee.

Related Competitions

• Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize 2022
• ServiceScape Short Story Award 2022
• Sillerman First Book Prize 2022
• The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry 2022
• J.F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction 2022
• The Writers College Free Writing Competition 2022
• Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition 2023
• The European Writing Prize 2022
• Royal Institute Of Philosophy Essay Prize 2022

Judge: Herman Beavers (Judge reserves the right not to select a winner or honorable mentions.)

Eligibility: This is not a first-book award. All unpublished, original collections of poems written in English by Black writers are eligible.

 Simultaneous submission to other chapbook awards should be noted: immediate notice upon winning such an award is required.

Exclusions: Current or former students, colleagues, employees, family members and close friends of the judge; current or former employees and members of the board of Cave Canem Foundation, Jai-Alai Books or O, Miami; and authors who have published a book or have a book under contract with Jai-Alai Books are ineligible. 

If any of the selected authors fall under the above exclusions, they will be disqualified and a replacement chosen from among the finalists. As the poetry community is small and the contest is judged blind, acquaintance with the judge and participation in a workshop taught by the judge are not disqualifying criteria.

 

Submission Guidelines For Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize 2022

Submit manuscripts online via Submittable. Hard copy submissions will not be considered.

One manuscript per poet allowed.

Include a title page with the title only and a table of contents. Author’s name should not appear on any pages within the uploaded document.

Include a cover letter with a brief author’s bio and a list of acknowledgments of previously published poems. DO NOT include this information within the document of the manuscript.

Manuscript must be paginated, with a font size of 11 or 12, and 25-30 pages in length, inclusive of title page and table of contents. 

A poem may be multiple pages, but no more than one poem per page is permitted.

Manuscripts not adhering to submission guidelines will not be considered.

Post-submission revisions or corrections are not permitted.

 

Submit