Announcing the 1st Annual Charles Potts Poetry Award!

The Charles Potts Poetry Award is a new award that will yearly present a writer with the resources to publish their first book of poetry.

From the Charles Potts Poetry Award website:

The criteria is simple. It must be the author’s first book of poetry with a total page count of 85 pages or more. Age, race, religion, sex, location, etc. are not important. Only one book can be submitted per author. Submissions are required to be sent via email in a file format that can be opened in Word or similar programs. We will work with the winning author on the cover design, etc. We will provide the ISBN.

The award will include monetary compensation of $1,000 US dollars paid directly to the author. The award will also include publication of the book by Hand to Mouth Books. Digital publication through Amazon will also be included. 

All entries must be submitted by October 15th, 2025. We will announce the winner before the end of the calendar year and schedule publication of the book for the spring of the following year.

How to submit your book:

Email your book in a format that can be opened in Word to: charlespottspoetry@gmail.com

Required info:

Your name, an address that we can physically send a check to, a phone number, the name of your book and the page count.

By entering contest, you agree to accept and be bound by these terms and conditions. All entry instructions form part of the terms and conditions of CPPA:

• Entry to this contest is FREE and no purchase is necessary.
• If your book is not chosen you may rework, rewrite, etc. and submit the book again next year.
• Family members of the CPPA board are not eligible for the contest.
• Work must be original (not copied). Entries will be checked for plagiarism and the use of AI and all AI aided entries will be disqualified.
• Book must be authors first book. All authors will be checked for a previously published book.
• Copyright remains with the author. The work will be published in a named title and assigned an ISBN. If the work is chosen as a winner the work will be published by Hand to Mouth Books. Book cover art will be discussed with author.
• Contest closing date is clearly stated. CPPA will not accept entries after closing date.
• All entries must be in English. Entries promoting racism, hate, sexism, etc. will not be considered.
• If any contest results in less than 50 entries CPPA reserves the right to cancel the contest and move entrants to the contest of the following calendar year.
• The promoter of CPPA contests is Hand to Mouth Books, PO Box 100 Walla Walla, WA 99362. Entries must be emailed electronically and physical submissions to the address will not be considered.
• Winner will be chosen by the CPPA board and winner will be notified via email before the end of the calendar year. Prize money will be delivered by a physical check delivered by USPS. Winner must provide a physical address and legal name to receive prize money.

You can learn more about the award and the poets on the CPPA board on their site HERE. We hope this will be a great resource for poets looking to publish their first book! To learn more about poet Charles Potts, you can listen to our podcast interview with him HERE.