2026 Poetry Contest: Kaveh Akbar (Domestic and International)

The entry fee covers one submission of up to 6,000 words. This category is for both domestic and international submissions.

• Cover letters are welcome.
• Please do not include identifying information in your submission document. We will use your Submittable information to contact you, so make sure your contact information is accurate and up-to-date.
• Multiple submissions are welcome, as are simultaneous submissions. We ask that you notify us immediately if your submission is accepted elsewhere. You can message us through Submittable or reach out to us at blackwarriorreview@gmail.com. Include the title of your submission in the subject line. 
• We accept only previously unpublished work for publication.
• The winner will receive a cash prize and publication in BWR 53.2, our 2027 Spring/Summer issue. The first runner-up in each genre receives monetary compensation, acknowledgment in the print issue, and online publication. 
• The contest is open until August 1st, 2026. 

Additional Information:

• We welcome international submissions.
• Our commitment to diversity is reflected in both the writers we support and the stories we publish.
• AI-generated work is not accepted.
• We offer an optional fee waiver for anyone who needs it, which can be requested whenever we are open for submissions by emailing us at feewaiver.bwr@gmail.com. 

POETRY JUDGE: Kaveh Akbar

Kaveh Akbar's poems appear in the New Yorker, New York Times, Paris Review, Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. He is the author of two poetry collections: Pilgrim Bell (Graywolf 2021) and Calling a Wolf a Wolf (Alice James 2017), in addition to a chapbook, Portrait of the Alcoholic (Sibling Rivalry 2016). He is also the editor of The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse: 100 Poets on the Divine (Penguin Classics  2022). Martyr! (Knopf 2024), Kaveh’s first novel, was a New York Times  Bestseller and one of the NYT’s Ten Best Books of the Year. Martyr! was also the 2024 recipient of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize, the  Dayton Literary Peace Prize, a 2024 Discover Prize Finalist, and a 2024  National Book Award Finalist. Akbar was born in Tehran, Iran, and lives in Iowa. His work has been translated into over thirty languages.