Announcing Our Winner, Runner-Up, and Finalists
for the 2025 Press 53 Award for Poetry!

This year we received 352 entries from poets in 44 states. Competition was tough and took things down to the wire for our judge, Press 53 Poetry Series Editor Tom Lombardo. Here are Tom’s selections:

First Prize (Publication, $1,000 advance, and 53 copies): Meant to Be by Dave Nielsen

Meant to Be by Dave Nielsen was selected as our First Prize winner of the 2025 Press 53 Award for Poetry. Dave is the author of Unfinished Figures, winner of the 2016 Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry. His work has appeared in The Southern Review Southern Poetry Review, Tampa Review, The South Carolina Review, The 2River View, Aethlon, and numerous other literary journals and magazines. He studied English at the University of Cincinnati.

Tom Lombardo had this to say about Meant to Be: This collection attracted me because of its hyperbolic, somewhat fantastical approach to the poet’s life experiences, from his youth through parenting. Most of these poems use easy humor, though never too blatant, never a chuckle. Just admiration and a smile. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and kids.

Runner-Up (Publication, $500 advance, and 23 copies): Going Out and Being Normal by Vaughn M. Watson

Going Out and Being Normal by Vaughn M. Watson was selected as Runner-Up of the 2025 Press 53 Award for Poetry. Vaughn is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer based in New York City. His poetry, fiction, and nonfiction have been published in literary journals as varied as Tahoma Literary Review, About Place, and The Common.

Tom Lombardo had this to say about Going Out and Being Normal : A great collection of prose poetry that benchmarks sexuality, race, and ethnicity. This poet will propel readers through his lessons learned with his short cliff-hangers loaded with metaphor. Here is a strong, new voice in prose poetry.

Tom also selected the following Finalists:

Truth & Lore by Jasmine Griffin of Amelia, Ohio

The Shaping of a Woman: A Memoir in Prose Poems by Victoria Hauzy of Mill Valley, California

Place Made of Space by Carol Kapaun Ratchenski of Fargo, North Dakota

Windsock After a Rocket by Bill Rector of Sheldon, South Carolina

Little Knives by Dara-Lyn Shrager of Princeton, New Jersey

the thing has eyes by Isabel Smith of Roanoke, Virginia

~ ~ ~

Everyone at Press 53 congratulates Dave, Vaughn, and our finalists, and we give a big Thank You! to everyone who entered this year’s competition. We hope you will keep an eye out for Meant to Be and Going Out and Being Normal when they are published in April 2025.

The 2026 Press 53 Award for Poetry will open for entries on April 1, 2025

Award includes: Publication by Press 53 of the winning poetry collection as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection; $1,000 cash advance; 53 copies

The Press 53 Award for Poetry is awarded annually to an outstanding, unpublished collection of poems. This competition is open to any writer, regardless of his or her publication history, who is 18 years of age or older, provided the manuscript is written in English and the author lives in the United States or one of its territories.

Dates for submission: April 1, 2025–July 31, 2025. Submissions will close at midnight Eastern Standard Time on July 31. (Note: Deadline can be extended at the discretion of Press 53.)

Winner and Finalists announced: The winner of the Press 53 Award for Poetry will be announced on or before November 1, 2025, on the Press 53 website, and via email, Facebook, and by through Submittable to all who entered. We will also include a list of finalists.

Award: The author of the winning manuscript will receive a cash advance of $1,000, publication of the manuscript in April 2026 as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection, and 53 copies of the completed book with an option to purchase unlimited copies at a discount for as long as the book is in print. If a Runner-Up is selected, the author of the manuscript will receive an advance of $500, publication of the manuscript as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection, and 23 copies of the completed book with an option to purchase unlimited copies at a discount for as long as the book is in print. Prizes awarded upon publication.

How to submit:
Online: Enter here using Submittable (April 1 through July 31, 2025)

By Mail (Postmarked April 1 through July 31, 2025):
Send manuscript, cover sheet with contact information, and $30 reading fee (check/money order) to:
Press 53
560 N. Trade St., Ste 103
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Reading fee: A reading fee of $30 must be paid for each entry. Reading fees are nonrefundable.

Judging: Press 53 Poetry Series Editor Tom Lombardo will be the only judge for this contest; the contest will be judged solely on the strength of the poems as a collection.

Eligibility: The competition is open to manuscripts written in the English language from writers at all levels, 18 years years of age or older, who live in the United States or one its territories. Note: authors and editors who work for Press 53 or have published a book with Press 53 are not eligible to enter.

Manuscript Guidelines:

1. Manuscripts should be approximately 50 to 120 pages in length. We do not favor one length over the other. We are only concerned with the quality of the poems.

2. The author's name should not appear on the manuscript. This is a blind read.

3. Manuscript should include a Table of Contents with numbered pages.

4. An acknowledgments page for previous publication of poems in the manuscript is not necessary. Only the poems are read and considered.

5. Use a standard, easy-to-read font such as 11- or 12-point Times New Roman, Minion, Garamond, etc.

6. Poems previously published in journals, magazines, or anthologies, and poems that have won awards, may (and should) be included in the manuscript. Selected poems from chapbooks are fine, but please use only a reasonable number of poems, not the entire chapbook.

7. Previously published collections are not eligible, including self-published collections available as ebooks or in print.

8. Authors may submit more than one manuscript to the competition for consideration. Each submission will require a separate reading fee.

9. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please withdraw your manuscript if it is accepted by another publisher. Withdrawal can be completed via Submittable by opening your submission and clicking "Withdraw" in the upper-right corner of your screen. Reading fees are not refundable and withdrawn manuscript cannot be replaced with another manuscript.

10. Confirmation of receipt will be sent via e-mail by Submittable immediately after submission. An announcement of our shortlist and winner will be sent to all entrants via email through Submittable, and posted on the Press 53 website, Facebook, and Twitter on the dates indicated above.

11. The Deadline for entering is July 31. Requests to edit a manuscript will not be honored after the deadline. If a manuscript is withdrawn, it cannot be replaced with another manuscript, but you may enter another manuscript before the deadline, which would require another reading fee.

If you have any questions or concerns other than technical issues with the submissions manager, please contact Kevin Morgan Watson, Publisher & Editor in Chief

Previous winners