The Other Futures Award 2026

The Other Futures Award is an annual prize from Futurepoem Books — a New York City-based non-profit publishing collaborative — for an innovative, adventurous full-length manuscript that pushes at the edges of genre, language, content, and form. They're looking for writing that imagines new possibilities, questions established paradigms, and challenges what poetry and prose can be.

The winner receives publication with Futurepoem, a $1,000 USD advance, a standard royalty contract, and 25 author copies. The winning book will be published in 2028, with the decision announced in late 2026.

Submissions are read anonymously by Futurepoem staff, who recommend a shortlist to the permanent editorial team. Please ensure your name does not appear anywhere in the manuscript — include only a title page and table of contents.

Eligibility:

• Open to writers at any career stage, including those outside the United States
• Unpublished, full-length manuscripts of poetry, prose, or multi-genre work
• Previously published individual poems or chapbooks may be included, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished
• Bilingual and multilingual work is welcome; translations of work originally written in a language other than English are not accepted
• Simultaneous and multiple submissions are accepted (each submitted separately with its own fee)
• Past or present students, colleagues, or close friends of Futurepoem editors are not eligible

Format: 50–150 pages suggested. Manuscripts can be slightly shorter or longer.

Entry fee: $28 USD standard. Need-based reduced fees of $18 or $9 are available — select what's appropriate for you. A full fee waiver is also available for anyone who needs it; email sydney@futurepoem.com with the subject line: *2026 OFA Fee Waiver*. You can also choose to sponsor another writer's submission for $35.

Submit online via Futurepoem's Submittable page. Hard copy and emailed submissions are not accepted.