Students can submit both poetry and prose (fiction or creative non-fiction) to enter for a chance to win both the Adroit Prize for Poetry and the Adroit Prize for Prose. Of course, students can also choose to either submit poetry or prose. Submissions are counted in “packets”, and each packet can include multiple pieces of writing. Each student can submit a maximum of 10 packets: 5 packets for poetry and 5 packets for prose. One poetry packet can have up to 6 poems with the total length capped at 10 pages single spaced. One prose packet can have up to 3 works of prose with the combined word count capped at 3,500 words. This means each student can submit up to a total of 30 poems (5 packets of 6 poems each) and 15 pieces of prose (5 packets of 3 pieces of prose each).

Additional Submission Guidelines:

Excerpts are acceptable for prose. Each student must also submit a cover letter and pay a $15 submission fee. Students can’t submit work previously published in a nationally- or internationally-distributed magazine.

What do I write in the cover letter?

The cover letter is essentially a paragraph-long (5 sentences), third-person biography briefly and eloquently introducing yourself and the work you’re submitting.

Have more questions? Check out the FAQ page.