The River Heron Poetry Prize opens on March 1, 2025.
Winners of the 2024 River Heron Poetry Prize
The River Heron Poetry Prize Issue is now available.
The River Heron Poetry Prize
“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.”
― Albert Camus
The River Heron Poetry Prize awards the winning poet $500
and 2 runners-up $100 each, a Zoom reading, plus publication. Two finalists
will also be announced and awarded a Zoom reading and publication.
Submissions open March 1 through May 31.
The winning poet will receive a $500 award and 2 runners-up $100 each, a Zoom reading, and publication in a special contest issue released on August 1. The 2 finalists will be awarded a Zoom reading and publication in the contest issue.
It is our practice to read each submission without knowing the identify of the poet. Your name or initials are not to appear on any part of your poetry document. When naming your file, do not use your initials or any part of your name. Your submission will be assigned an auto-generated number by Submittable.
Initial judging will be done by the editors of River Heron Review, Robbin Farr and Dawn Terpstra.
Final judge is the 2023 River Heron Poetry Prize winner, Diane LeBlanc.
Previous first prize winners are not eligible, nor are associates, friends, or students of the final judge.
The winning poem, two finalists’, and two runners’-up poems will be announced in July.
The poem of the winner and the poem of each of the finalists and runners-up will be published in a special contest issue on August 1.
There is a $15 submission fee.
Poets may submit up to 3 poems, 5 pages maximum.
Multiple submissions require an additional form and fee.
Previously published poems are not eligible.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Let us know immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere by sending us a message through Submittable.
Submissions not adhering to our guidelines will not be considered.
All submissions through Submittable.
River Heron Review is not funded by any university, college, or organization. We do not receive any grants.
Council of Literary Magazines and Presses Contests Code of Ethics
CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.
