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The Iowa Poetry Prize

A project of University of Iowa Press (see other related projects).

About

The Iowa Poetry Prize was first awarded in 1990. Originally called the Edwin Ford Piper Poetry Award, the series was renamed with the 1993 award. Until 2001, the award honored only writers who had already published at least one book of poetry; the award is now open to new writers as well. Books in this series have also won the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions.
The fee is USD $20 (average for contests).
The editors may not respond to all submissions. After waiting a reasonable amount of time, assume your submission will not be accepted.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 1990

Publication Medium & Contest Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication
Awarded 1 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Statistics Synopsis

Regular Speed
The Iowa Poetry Prize's overall average response time is within a normal range for contests.
Normal Acceptance
The Iowa Poetry Prize's overall acceptance rate is within a normal range for contests.
More Responsive
The Iowa Poetry Prize's overall rate of non-response is lower than most contests.

Poetry Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 April 2027 12:00 AM CDT (in 197 days) through 30 April 2027.

4

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poetry Collection: 50 - 150 pages.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Winner's Prize:

No monetary advance + Unknown royalties No monetary advance. Unknown royalties.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

The Iowa Poetry Prize Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 27 reports from 27 different members within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
60 min | 79.0 mean avg | 77.0 median | 108 max days (11.4 std dev)
Responses
96.29 %
Acceptances:
3.70 % of submissions accepted (108.0 avg. days per acceptance) | 3.70 % of submitters accepted Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most publishers have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here.
Rejections:
92.59 % (78.5 avg. days per rejection) | 0.0 % personal, 72.0 % form, 28.0 % unspecified
Non-Responses
0.00 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
-
Withdrawals
3.70 % (60.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Other Information

The editors may not respond to all submissions. After waiting a reasonable amount of time, assume your submission will not be accepted.
The most common submission fee paid: USD $20.00.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 10 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 30 Apr 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 01:50 UTC (7 hours, 27 minutes ago).

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
  • Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
  • Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 12 Jul 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.

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