This award is named in honor of Vivian Shipley, a Connecticut State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus who has written 12 books of poetry, the last of which, Archaeology of Days (2019), was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She is a recipient of the Library of Congress’s Connecticut Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to the Literary Community and she has twice won the Connecticut Book Award for poetry.

OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS: Midnight AUGUST 1, 2026, to 6 p.m. SPETEMBER 30, 2026 (ET)

READING FEE: $15.00

GENERAL GUIDELINES

• Entries are accepted via Submittable only. No exceptions or adjustments will be made to submission deadlines.
• Submit in one document up to three original, previously unpublished poems, in any form.
• Include one poem per page, no more than 80 lines (blank and printed) per poem.
• Do not include any contact information in your document. Your submission will be disqualified.
• Please notify the contest coordinator immediately if any poem in your entry is accepted elsewhere.

RESTRICTIONS

• We will not accept any work that perpetuates derogatory stereotypes, nor will we accept work that is obscene, prurient, or sexually graphic, hate-mongering, or abusive of any social, racial, ethnic, religious, or gender group.
• Any AI-generated poems, even in part, will be disqualified.
• Last year’s winning poets in any CPS contest are ineligible.

VISIT: Connecticut Poetry Society Website

QUESTIONS: Checkout of contest FAQs

CONTACT: contests.ctpoetry@gmail.com