Poets! Walt Whitman and John Ashbery Want Your Book!

The Academy of American Poets reminds us that we have less than a week to get our manuscripts ready for submission to the 2013 Walt Whitman Award. What is the Walt Whitman Award? This:

The Walt Whitman Award brings first-book publication, a cash prize of $5,000, and a one-month residency at the Vermont Studio Center to an American who has never before published a book of poetry. The winning manuscript, chosen by an eminent poet, is published by Louisiana State University Press. The Academy purchases copies of the book for distribution to its members.

The award was established in 1975 to encourage the work of emerging poets and to enable the publication of a poet's first book. Submissions for this year's contest will be accepted between September 15 and November 15. An entry form and fee are required. The judge for the 2013 award is John Ashbery.

To obtain the guidelines and entry form for the Walt Whitman contest, please follow the link below or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Academy.

Don't disappoint John Ashbery—submit!