Named in honor of the distinguished American poet Richard Wilbur, the competition welcomes submissions of unpublished, original poetry collections (public domain or permission-secured translations may comprise up to one-third of the manuscript). This biennial competition (even-numbered years) is open to all American poets--those with or without previous book-length publication--except previous recipients of the Richard Wilbur Award.

Manuscripts of between 50-100 typed pages may be submitted unbound, bound, or clipped. Manuscripts should be accompanied by two title pages: one with the title of the collection, the author's name, address, and telephone number; and one with only the title. Submitted manuscripts will not be returned.

The entry fee is $25 per manuscript made payable to the Richard Wilbur Award. The winning manuscript will be published by the University of Evansville Press in 2009. The postmark deadline for submission is December 1, 2008, and manuscripts should be sent to:

The Richard Wilbur Award
Department of English
University of Evansville
1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722

For notification of the contest results, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please note: These are the complete guidelines. Thank you.

Click here to see our list of previous winners