Rules

  1. The Griffin Poetry Prize
    1. The Griffin Poetry Prize, valued at $130,000, is awarded annually in two categories – International and Canadian. Each prize is worth C$65,000.
    2. A two-week residency in the Leighton Artists’ Studios at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Alberta, Canada is offered, in addition to the prize monies, to the International winner.
    3. A six-week Affiliated Fellowship with the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Perugia, Italy, is offered in addition to the prize monies to the Canadian winner.
    4. In each category, the prize is for the best collection of poetry, in English, published during the preceding year. One prize goes to a living Canadian poet or translator, the other to a living poet or translator from any country, which may include Canada.
    5. Translations are assessed for their quality as poetry in English; the focus is on the achievement of the translator.
    6. Should a prize-winning book be a translation from a living poet, the prize is awarded 60% to the translator, and 40% to the original poet. If the original poet is dead, but his/her work is within copyright, 40% of the prize is given to the original poet’s estate. Otherwise, the disbursement of that portion of the prize is left to the discretion of the judges.

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  2. The Trustees
    1. The trustees of The Griffin Trust For Excellence in Poetry are:
      Mark Doty
      Carolyn Forché
      Scott Griffin
      Sarah Howe
      Marek Kazmierski
      Karen Solie
      Ian Williams
      David Young
    2. Trustees may not participate in judging in any way.
    3. No trustee may participate in the selection of judges if he or she has a financial interest in a publishing house that issues contemporary poetry.*

    * In May 2002, Scott Griffin purchased House of Anansi Press, a Canadian literary publisher. To preserve the integrity of the Griffin Poetry Prize, Scott Griffin no longer takes part in the selection of judges, and is also prohibited from any involvement in the judging process. With these safeguards in place, House of Anansi titles are deemed to be eligible for the Griffin Poetry Prize.

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  3. The Judges
    1. The trustees will select qualified judges of stature annually.
    2. Judges may not be on salary at a publishing house that issues contemporary poetry.
    3. The judges will compile a shortlist of up to seven outstanding books of poetry, four international, and three Canadian.
    4. From the shortlist, the judges will select the final winners in the international and Canadian categories. Shortlisted Canadian books are eligible for both prizes.
    5. The judges have absolute discretion in interpreting the rules, and their decision is final.
    6. All decisions of the judges will be unanimous.

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  4. Eligibility Criteria
      1. Submissions must come from publishers, who may enter an unlimited number of titles.
      2. To be eligible for the international prize, a book of poetry must be a first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English, or translated into English, by a poet/translator from any part of the world, including Canada.
      3. To be eligible for the Canadian prize, a book of poetry must be a first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English, or translated into English, by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in Canada.
      4. Books must have been published in English during the calendar year preceding the year of the award.
      5. Winning the Griffin Poetry Prize (or any other prize) in previous years does not render a poet ineligible for the current year’s prize.
      6. Only books of poetry written by authors or translators alive at the date of publication will be considered.
      7. Books must be the work of one poet.
      8. Selected and Collected volumes are only eligible as translations into English.
      9. New and Selected volumes are only eligible as translations into English.
      10. A book of translations by two translators is eligible if they have collaborated throughout. A collection of translations by various hands is not eligible.
      11. A book by a trustee or current judge is not eligible.
      12. No self-published book is eligible.*
      13. Books only available in digital form are not eligible.
      14. The judges’ decision as to a book’s eligibility is binding.
      15. All books must carry an ISBN.
      16. A book is defined as having at least forty-eight pages of poetry. The page count does not include blank pages or a book’s front and end matter, such as table of contents, introduction or acknowledgements.

    * A self-published work is one for which the author has paid and managed all aspects of producing the work, from the creative to the work’s editing, physical and/or digital production, marketing and promotion, and distribution. Learn more here.

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  5. Conditions of the Prize
    1. A book which is entered for the Griffin Poetry Prize will not qualify for the award unless the publisher agrees:
      • To prepare and encourage its nominated poet(s) to participate in all reasonable publicity associated with the Griffin Poetry Prize;
      • ii. To sticker copies of the shortlisted and winning books with the Griffin Poetry Prize seals (to be provided in hard copy and digital format);
      • To secure the prior written approval of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry with respect to art work, when including facsimiles of the Griffin Poetry Prize seal on all reprints of the winning book(s); and
      • To comply with Rule 6(i).
    2. Poets and publishers agree to permit The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry to include selections from shortlisted works in a Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology and/or the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie Anthology. Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie is a national, bilingual, high school poetry recitation competition founded by The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry, in 2010. A one-time permission fee of C$200 will be paid to each originating publisher of the shortlisted books. Proceeds will be donated to a literary cause.

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  6. Submission Procedures and Deadlines
      1. Publishers may submit any number of titles.
      2. Works published between January 1 and June 30 are to be submitted and postmarked no later than June 30. Submissions must be received by July 7.

    * All 2022 Griffin Poetry Prize entries, regardless of their 2021 publication dates can be submitted up to December 31, 2021. For this year, the June 30th deadline will be waived.

    1. Works published between July 1 and December 31 are to be submitted and postmarked no later than December 31. Submissions must be received by January 7.
    2. Submissions postmarked after June 30 (for works published between January 1 and June 30), and December 31 (for works published between July 1 and December 31) of each year will not be eligible.
    3. The Griffin Poetry Prize may, at any time, call in a book that has not been submitted. In that event, the publisher will be required to forward an Entry Form, along with four copies of the book, to the Griffin Poetry Prize, and to comply with all other rules and regulations.
    4. The Griffin Poetry Prize will acknowledge receipt of submissions to publishers only.
    5. No books will be returned.
    6. Four copies of each book must be submitted to:
      Ruth Smith
      Executive Director
      The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry
      363 Parkridge Crescent
      Oakville, Ontario L6M 1A8
      Canada
    7. Each submission must include an Entry Form, along with any available press material, a current biography of the author and/or translator, and a high-resolution digital photograph of the author and/or translator. Digital photographs should be of 300 dpi or, preferably, greater, and in a TIFF or JPEG format. Digital photographs can be emailed to info@griffinpoetryprize.com.

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  7. Finalists
    1. A shortlist of finalists will be announced annually in March or April. Publicity promoting the shortlisted books and poets will begin at that announcement, and continue until after the winners are declared.
    2. It is expected that shortlisted poets will participate in reading their poetry at a public event, and will attend the awards evening.
    3. C$10,000 will be awarded to each shortlisted poet, conditional upon the shortlisted poet attending and participating in the readings event.
    4. The readings and awards evening will take place in Canada over two days in May or June, annually.
    5. The Griffin Poetry Prize will bear the cost of travel and overnight accommodation for authors who live outside Toronto, Canada.
    6. The judges will select the shortlist, and the winners, in private deliberations. Publishers will receive no advance notice of the shortlisted nominees or the winners.

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  8. Further InformationAll enquiries should be directed to:Mrs. Ruth Smith
    Executive Director
    The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry
    363 Parkridge Crescent
    Oakville, Ontario L6M 1A8
    Canada
    Telephone: (905) 618 0420
    E-mail: info@griffinpoetryprize.com
  9. Download the Rules: Click here for the prize rules.
    Click here for the entry form.

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55 Replies to “Rules”

  1. Please take a look on this page at section 4, Eligibility Criteria. We appreciate your interest in the Griffin Poetry Prize.

  2. Per 4a of the rules, we require that submissions come from publishers, not authors. Publishers can send unlimited numbers of entries. Thank you for inquiring.

  3. Hi, I would first like to ask if a published poet may enter his or her poetry into the Griffin Poetry Prize, if his poetry has already been entered into an unrelated competition?
    Also, what is the policy regarding self-published artists?
    Thankyou for your time.

  4. Publishers can submit their poets’ works to the Griffin Poetry Prize regardless of whether those works have been submitted to other prizes or competitions.

    If you scroll back up this page to point #4 l under Eligibility Criteria, you’ll see that “No self-published book is eligible.”

    Thanks for your questions.

  5. We require publishers to provide four copies of each submitted work and a photograph of each poet and/or translator. Thanks for your inquiry.

  6. The submission deadline is December 31, 2013 for books published in the year 2013, which then qualify for consideration for the 2014 Griffin Poetry Prize, which is awarded in the spring of 2014.

  7. What about a bilingual poet who translates his own poetry from Dutch into English, will he be eligible to enter the 2015 competition if the book has been published in the original language in 2013, the English translation in 2014?

  8. May I ask. Can a publisher submit an ebook ?
    Second Question ? Define self publishing please ?
    Example. I own a publishing Business and I write poetry for that that business.
    Can I submit a book for judging as both Publisher and Poet ?

  9. 1. The Griffin Trust asks for publisher submissions to consist of four printed copies of each entry. Ebook only submissions are not currently accepted.
    2. A self-published work is one for which the author has paid for and managed all aspects of producing the work, from the creative to the work’s editing, physical and/or digital production, marketing and promotion, and distribution.

    Thank you for your questions.

  10. Hello,

    I am a poet from Pakistan.The poems written by me have never been published.

    Can i apply?

    Thank you

  11. You’ve come to the perfect page to get your questions answered. Just scroll up to section 4, Eligibility Criteria for all the information you need. Thank you for your interest in the Griffin Poetry Prize and best wishes with your work.

  12. Hello,
    I am a Author and a Poet in Sri Lanka, I write in English and I have published a poetry book by a Sri Lankan publisher. My publisher wanted me to check out whether he could send my and some other English poetry books to this Prize. Can we apply?

    Thank you,

  13. If your and your publisher’s other works meet the eligibility requirements as detailed here, please do send in your entries, following the submission procedures also detailed here. Best wishes!

  14. I am a writer from Sri Lanka and my publisher also from Sri Lanka wants to know whether he could send poetry books for this competition. Please reply soon. I want to know whether we are eligible because we are from Sri Lanka though the works are in english.
    Sincerely,

  15. On this page, you will find all the information you need to answer your questions and determine your work’s eligibility. For example, take a look at the Eligibility section, 4b, above: “To be eligible for the International prize, a book of poetry must be a first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English, or translated into English, by a poet/translator from any part of the world, including Canada.”

  16. I don’t understand eligibility criterion 4h: “Volumes of Selected and/or Collected poetry, previously published, will only be eligible as translation.” Does this mean that none of the poems in a collection can have previously been published in a poetry journal? This would exclude almost all books of poetry, because previous publication is one of the criteria publishers use in accepting books of poetry for publication.

  17. I’m sorry I don’t get this properly.You say publishers enter this competition. But the book cannot be yet a published one.
    4b.”To be eligible for the International prize, a book of poetry must be a first-edition collection (i.e. not previously published in any country), written in English, or translated into English, by a poet/translator from any part of the world, including Canada. ”
    Else where it says it could be a published book.
    4d.”Books must have been published in English during the calendar year preceding the year of the award. ”
    6a.”Submission Procedures and Deadlines
    Publishers may submit any number of titles, each published (or scheduled for publication) before the annual deadline of December 31st, for delivery by no later than January 10th.

  18. Books submitted for the Griffin Poetry Prize must be published by December 31st of the year preceding the year of the award – for the upcoming 2016 award, that would be December 31, 2015. We accept books submitted by publishers.

  19. Volumes of selected or collected poetry are volumes of poems that were previously published in other collections. The Griffin Poetry Prize no longer accepts selected and/or collected volumes originally written in English, but will still consider selected or collected volumes that are translated from another language to English.

  20. Dear sir,

    My self Sanjay from India. I have written many poems in Hindi but I have not published any book yet. Am I eligible to submit entry in form of number of poems?

    My all poems are in Hindi Language, do I need to translate it in English or you will translate it?

    Thanks

    Sanjay

  21. The answers to your questions are right here. Just scroll up to section 4, Eligibility Criteria for all the information you need. Thank you for your interest in the Griffin Poetry Prize and best wishes with your work!

  22. I am a poet from Nigeria. I have collection of poems to be publish next March, all things being equal. Can my publisher enter in the competition for 2016?
    Please sir can you furnish me names of publishers in Canada that have been listed to have worked with Author for this competition?

  23. Thank you for all your messages. Self-published works are not eligible for the Griffin Poetry Prize, as we believe we have already mentioned to you. (See #4 l on this page.)

    If you are seeking a publisher, we are not in a position to direct you to specific publishers in specific countries. We have a database of publishers who have submitted eligible works to the Griffin Poetry Prize, and in that database, you can search by country (including Nigeria). Perhaps that might give you a starting point from which to find a publisher for your work. Best wishes.

  24. I would like to know what is d page size of each submitting book?
    Also, U mentioned u will not be returning d books. If I am not selected then whether my poems will become your property? Can they be solely mine to publish anywhere else?
    I am an unpublished author from India

  25. One question. It mentions how the book must have been already published the preceding year. I am currently working on the book, but it is unpublished. Does this mean I am no longer able to enter this particular competition for this year?

  26. When your poetry collection is published, your publisher can then submit it in that year for the following year’s prize.

  27. If you are a partner at the publishing company which produced your work, and your book is eligible for the Griffin Poetry Prize, may it be submitted? Or is your book considered ‘self-published’?

  28. If someone publishes her work with a publishing company of which she is a principal, she can still submit her work for the Griffin Poetry Prize as long as the publishing company publishes works by multiple authors. Helpful to us in determining that is the company’s catalogue of publications. (We don’t see a catalogue on your company’s web site, but if you can provide a list of publications when you submit your entry, that would be useful.)

  29. Greetings, to all at The Griffin Trust,

    It would be of great help if you could specify the requirement of ‘ Press Material’.

    Thank you.
    Regards,
    Paperwall

  30. By press material, we are referring to any or all of biographies, background information, book blurbs, articles, reviews, coverage, etc. pertaining to the poets and submitted poetry collections.

  31. Is there any reason why self-published books are not allowed to enter this contest?

  32. [Is there any reason why self-published books are not allowed to enter this contest?]

    Can you provide in depth details to why self-published books are not allowed? This seems like a very foolish rule.

  33. Earl, have you had a chance to read our previous answers to this question? If not …

    The Griffin Poetry Prize rules state that entries must come from publishers only – no self-published book is eligible (#4l, Eligibility Criteria). This requirement is consistent with major literary prizes around the world.

    The annual jury for the Griffin Poetry Prize consists of three judges, who have four months or less to read and evaluate 450 or more books/collections before the shortlist is formulated and announced. Opening the prize to self-published works sent directly by authors would increase entry volume, and make the judging process difficult to manage in a thoughtful and timely manner. The publishers only requirement helps to ensure that the work of the Griffin Poetry Prize judges – for which The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry is most grateful – produces a high quality and representative Canadian and international shortlist every year.

    The Griffin Trust is continuously evaluating the self publishing realm to understand how it might fit into future eligibility criteria. Thank you for your comments on this subject.

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