The Academy Of American Poets:
Awards and Prizes
Fellowship
The Academy awards an annual Fellowship of $20,000 to an American poet for
distinguished poetic achievement. Past recipients have included Robert Frost, Ezra Pound,
Marianne Moore, E.E. Cummings, Elizabeth Bishop, and William Carlos Williams. No
applications are accepted.
Tanning Prize
The $100,000 Tanning Prize was endowed in 1994 by the painter Dorothea Tanning.
Recognizing outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry, it is the largest
literary award in the United States. The first recipient was W. S. Merwin. No applications
are accepted.
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
In 1994, the Academy was selected by the New Hope Foundation to administer the Lenore
Marshall Poetry Prize in conjunction with The Nation magazine. Established in 1975, this
$10,000 award recognizes the most outstanding book of poetry published in the United
States in the previous year. Past recipients have included Denise Levertov, Philip Levine,
Sterling A. Brown, Adrienne Rich, and Thom Gunn. A recent press
release announces the nominees for the 1995 prize.
Walt Whitman Award
Given in memory of Mathew King, this award brings first-book publication and
$5,000 to an American poet who has not vet published a book in a standard edition. The
winning manuscript, chosen by an eminent poet, is published by Louisiana State University
Press. The Academy purchases 3,000 copies of the book for distribution to its members. The
Academy accepts submissions of book length manuscripts each year from September 15 to
November 15. To receive the rules and required entry form, send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope to the Academy in late August.
James Laughlin Award
The James Laughlin Award is given to recognize and support a poet's second
book. It is the only second-book award for poetry in the United States. Originally known
as the Lamont Poetry Selection, the award is now named for the poet and publisher James
Lauglin, who founded New Directions in 1936. The Academy awards the winning poet a cash
prize of $5,000, and purchases over 3,000 coies of the book for distribution to its
members. The award is endowed by a gift from the Drue Heinz Trust. Submissions are
accepted each year from January 1 to April 30.
Harold Morton Landon Translation Award
This $1,000 award recognizes a published translation of poetry from any language into
English. A noted translator chooses the winning book.
University & College Poetry Prizes
In 1955, the Academy launched its University and College Poetry Prize program at 10
institutions. The Academy now sponsors over 150 annual prizes of $100. More than $200,000
has been awarded to student poets since the program's inception. The awards are
administered by the participating institutions. Many winners have gone on to publish books
of poetry and receive professional honors.
Reading Series
The Academy's Reading Series began at New York's's Guggenheim Museum in 1963.
The series is now presented on a national basis, with approximately 35 readings and panel
discussions each year, featuring over too poets and writers. Academy readings have
recently taken place in New York; Los Angeles; the San Francisco Bay area; Seattle;
Philadelphia; Kansas City; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; Charleston, South
Carolina; Portland, Oregon; and several towns in the Pacific Northwest.
This page was created on behalf of the Academy of American Poets by 
a service of Susannah Greenberg Public Relations.
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