❄︎ (2026W) PHIL LIT Poetry Prize
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PHIL LIT Poetry Prize
Awarded twice yearly — Winter & Summer Cycles
Send us your best poem. (Submit only one poem per entry. Multiple entries are fine.)
The PHIL LIT Poetry Prize is awarded twice a year, for a $900 cash prize pool. Each cycle recognizes one winner and three finalists for cash award, publication in the annual PARAGON, and mailed contributor copies.
Winter 2026 Cycle PRIZES
One Winner will receive:
- $300 cash prize
- Publication in PHIL LIT PARAGON 2027, annual poetry anthology
- Mailed contributor copy of PARAGON 2027
- Promotion across PHIL LIT’s supported media outlets
- An opportunity to serve as the final judge for a future PHIL LIT Poetry Prize cycle
Three Finalists will each receive:
- $50 cash honorarium (increased from last year)
- Publication in PHIL LIT PARAGON 2027
- One print contributor copy of PARAGON
Shortlisted poems will also be considered for publication in PHIL LIT PARAGON 2027 and sent digital copies.
*Due to multiple submissions, it is possible to place in multiple lists. If your work is selected as a finalist + winner; or holds two finalists spots, you will be awarded for both.
Eligibility:
- Open to all writers over 18yo.
- All work must have never appeared publicly, to maintain anonymity. This includes work published on personal websites, blogs, social media, or other publicly accessible platforms.
- Please only submit one poem per submission.
- Multiple submissions are welcomed, but each submission must be a new entry.
- Winners are asked to wait at least one year before submitting to the semiannual contests again.
- Simultaneous submissions are okay. However, given the nature of this single-poem contest, and the time our editors and final judge invest in each round, we sincerely appreciate when the poem is not submitted elsewhere while under consideration for the PHIL LIT Poetry Prize. We understand that this is not always possible, and simultaneous submissions will not count against you in any way. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw it as soon as possible through the submission portal as soon as possible.
- If you have a close relationship with the Judge, please do not submit to this cycle. (The PHIL LIT Poetry Prize has 2 cycles a year.) A close relationship is defined by immediate family, coworkers, or any friendships in which the judge would recognize your work from a completely blind read.
Guidelines:
- Submissions must be in English or accompanied by an English translation by the original author.
- We do not accept AI-generated writing.
- New and emerging writers are encouraged to submit.
- Please refrain from submitting work containing erotica, excessive gore, animal abuse, or hate speech. Such submissions will be declined.
- We can not approve revisions or edits for contest submissions.
- We will try our best to respond to every submission within 90 days.
Judging Process:
Round 1: Eligible submissions are read and scored individually and blindly by PHIL LIT Editors and Readers (1, 0, -1). Poems with a total positive score form the Longlist. Approximately the top 25% of the Longlist, with a minimum of 15 poems, advance to the Shortlist. Ties may result in a slightly larger Shortlist. Round 2: PHIL LIT Poetry Editors, re-read and score the shortlisted poems. The 5–6 highest-ranked poems advance to final judging for a blind read. Once scoring is complete, the EIC-only will review submissions for announcements and eligibility. Identifying information and cover letters may be reviewed after this stage but are not provided to the final judge or any other editor. Round 3: The final judge receives only the poems selected for final consideration, without author names, biographies, cover letters, publication histories, or other identifying information. The judge ranks the poems independently. The four highest-ranked poems become the Finalists, with the highest-ranked poem receiving the PHIL LIT Poetry Prize and the rest remain shortlisted. *Due to multiple submissions, it is possible to place in multiple lists. If your work is selected as a finalist, and a winner; or holds two finalists spots, you will be awarded for both.
Blind Judging: All judging is conducted without author-identifying information. If at any point the final judge recognizes a poem, believes they can identify its author, or identifies another potential conflict of interest, they must notify PHIL LIT immediately and refrain from evaluating the affected work while PHIL LIT applies its conflict-of-interest procedure. This is why all submissions must/should be unpublished; including, social media accounts, websites, and blogs.
This Cycle's Judge is Melina Charis!
Melina Charis is a poet who writes at the intersection of grief, womanhood, and the natural world. She holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Southern California. Her work has appeared in PHIL LIT, Hollow and Sky, The Wild Roof Journal, Opol, and others. She lives with her family in Los Angeles. And when she isn’t reading or writing poetry, she is a devoted tea ceremonialist who has spent more than five years immersed in its study and practice. melinacharis.substack.com
What She Looks for in Poetry
“I’m looking for poetry that moves me, poetry that feels true and embodied and comes from a place deep within. I want to see poetry that surprises me, that makes me see the world in a new way, that bridges both careful craft and the wildness of being human.”
NOTIFICATION SCHEDULE
LONGLIST by Dec 7 (Posted on Instagram, Website, and Substack)
SHORTLIST* by Dec 14 (Listed in Winter issue; Posted on Instagram, Website, Substack) *Shortlisted entries are also notified via email when Finalists and Winner are decided.
FINALISTS and WINNER by Feb 1 (Notified via email; Posted on Instagram, Website, Substack: Listed in the following Spring issue)
A Note About Fee Waivers: We offer a limited number of fee waivers for our contests on a first-come, first-served basis. Because we're a young nonprofit, our contests are mostly funded by entry fees and we’re unable to offer unlimited waivers. If a contest entry fee would be a barrier to submitting, we encourage you to request one; and once you receive the link, we recommend using it promptly: waivers are not held or reserved, and another writer may redeem one before you do. Once the available waivers for that contest cycle have been used, we are not able to offer additional ones. However, PHIL LIT’s general submissions are always free to enter.