YEATS POETRY PRIZE RULES
The WB Yeats Society of NY is pleased to offer this annual competition in honor of our namesake, and to recognize the valuable contributions poets and poetry make to human consciousness and enlightenment. Yeats said poetry should be “the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds,” “the criticism of life,” and “the revelation of the soul of the poet.” The prize is open to anyone from anywhere in the world, regardless of age. First prize is $1,000, second prize is $500. There are honorable mentions, as well, at the judge's discretion. Winners are recognized at a public event in New York City in April, National Poetry Month. One or more poems on any topic up to 60 lines are eligible. Submissions and payment must be made between September 1st and February 1st at https://yeats.submittable.com/login.
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USE THE 'SUBMIT' BUTTON BELOW TO ENTER POEMS FOR THE 2026 COMPETITION.
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We also welcome mail-in entries to the WB Yeats Society of NY, c/o The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003. Make the check payable to the Society's full name. Enclose a self-addressed, U.S.-stamped envelope (SASE) to receive the printed copy of the judge’s report. Each mail-in poem must be 1) typed on a separate sheet of A4 paper (8.5x11in/0.21 x 0.297m) in 12-point Helvetica typeface, and 2) have a 3x5-in index card attached to it that includes the poet’s name, address, phone number, and email address, hand-written or typed. This information must not appear in the poems themselves.
2025 YEATS POETRY PRIZE JUDGE
January Gill O’Neil
Award-winning poet January Gill O’Neil is an associate professor at Salem State University (Salem, MA) and author of Glitter Road (February 2024), Rewilding (2018), Misery Islands (2014), and Underlife (2009), all published by CavanKerry Press. Her poems and articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Academy of American Poets’ "Poem-A-Day" series, American Poetry Review, Poetry, and Sierra, among other publications. Her poem “At the Rededication of the Emmett Till Memorial” was a co-winner of the 2022 Allen Ginsberg Poetry award. Ms. O’Neil has received fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Cave Canem, and Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. From 2019-2020, she was John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, and is 2022-2023 board chair of the Association of Writers and Writers Programs (AWP). She earned her BA from Old Dominion University and her MFA from New York University. She lives in Beverly, MA, with her two children.
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