About the prize

The Jane Underwood Poetry Prize was established to celebrate and memorialize Jane Underwood, the founder and long-time director of The Writing Salon who passed away in 2016. Jane was a gifted poet who made The Writing Salon a prominent and respected creative writing school in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was well known for her generous spirit and her direct and encouraging teaching style. A posthumous collection of her poems, entitled When My Heart Goes Dark, I Turn the Porch Light On, was published in 2017. Open to all poets, the prize is awarded for a single poem. This year’s final judge is David Hernandez.

Winners receive

• $250
• Publication of the winning poem at The Writing Salon’s website
• An invite to do a featured reading at The Writing Salon

Contest guidelines

• The contest is open to all poets.
• The entry fee is $15. This fee is non-refundable.
• Contestants may submit one entry of up to 3 poems. Poems must be sent in a single file.
• Each of the 3 poems may not exceed 80 lines in length.
• No previously published work, which includes online publications.
• Poems should not include any information that reveals the identity of the author. Any entries that reveal the author’s identity will be discounted.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Notify them immediately if a poem is placed elsewhere by adding a note to your submission at Submittable.
• Email and mail submissions will not be read.
• All rights revert to the author upon publication of the poem.
• The winner and finalists will be announced in March 2021.

Deadline to submit

December 1, 2020. Ready to submit? Do that here!