Giovanni-Steger Poetry Prize- Call for poetry submissions

All undergraduate students at Virginia Tech are invited to submit an original poem to The Giovanni-Steger Poetry Prize contest, established by the late President Emeritus Charles W. Steger and University Distinguished Professor Nikki Giovanni. The first-place prize is $1,100. The second-place prize is $500 and third place is $300. The prize is administered by Professor Giovanni and judged by a committee of faculty from various disciplines at the university.

Writers of the top ten poems chosen by the Giovanni-Steger Poetry Prize Committee will be notified within three weeks of the submission deadline. All participants are welcome to attend a celebration on Tuesday, March 23rd, but the top ten must agree to attend (either virtually or in-person) and participate in the reading. First, second, and third-place prize winners will be revealed at the event.

The top ten poets will read their poems publicly at the Nikki Giovanni Celebration of Poetry on Tuesday, March 23rd at 5:00 pm. Winners also give permission for their winning poems to be published at a later date by Professor Giovanni and for their poems (including audio) to be published on a forthcoming Giovanni-Steger website, but students otherwise retain all rights to their work.

Submission deadline: Friday, February 12th, 2021 (by 11:59 pm). See attached submission form.