The Dworkin Prize
The Dworkin Prize extends its mission by organizing seminars, webinars, and community-serving programs. These initiatives are vital in educating audiences on the relevance and significance of poetjournalism, advocating for its critical role in a comprehensive understanding of news. The Dworkin Prize seeks to bolster the public's engagement with current affairs through an emotional lens, emphasizing depth and relatability while enhancing media literacy.
Each year, The Dworkin Prize cultivates a cadre of the world’s leading poetjournalists, setting a visionary precedent for creativity and insight in news reportage. It stands not only as an award but as a transformative force in the media landscape, championing the nuanced, the poignant, and the profound in the chronicle of human affairs.
Prizes
1st Place Poetjournalist Laureate - $150,000
2nd Place Poetjournalist Laureate - $20,000
3rd Place Poetjournalist Laureate - $15,000
4th Place Poetjournalist Laureate - $10,000
5th Place Poetjournalist Laureate - $5,000
Semi-Finalist (Longlist) Prize (20 awarded) - $2,000 (each)
Rules
The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over and a current United States resident.
A single entrant may make up to three entries into the competition (each entry may include only one newspoem).
Entries may only be made through the online website portal.
Newspoems must be in English.
Newspoems must be the entrant’s original work.
All entries will be considered anonymously by the jury, and the poetjournalist’s name must not appear on the newspoem itself.
Newspoems must have a title and must not exceed 40 lines in length (excluding title and line spaces between stanzas)
Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on a website, or made public on social media, broadcast, or any other manner before the conclusion of the competition finals.
Each newspoem submission has an entry fee of $10.
Process
The competition commences with a call for entries distributed on September 1st.
Entrants may submit their newspoems online until the deadline of December 1st.
The Longlist of 20 Semi-Finalists is announced on February 15th. Each Semi-Finalist is invited to participate in the competition Semi-Finals round.
Each Semi-Finalist is required to submit one additional newspoem to participate in the Semi-Finals round. Semi-Finals round submissions are due by April 1st.
The competition Semi-Finals and Finals take place the first weekend of May in St. Petersburg, FL. In-person attendance is required to receive Semi-Finals and Final prizes and to be considered for the Finals and Laureate recognition. During the Semi-Finals, each Semi-Finalist will have an opportunity to recite their two submissions and respond to questions from the jury. Upon completion of the Semi-Finals, the jury will select five Laureates to advance to the Finals round.
During the Finals round, each Laureate will have an additional opportunity to recite their two submissions and respond to questions from the jury. Upon completion of the Finals, the jury will select the final placement of the Laureates, including the recipient of the 1st Place Prize of $150,000.
Important Note
Empowering a cohort of poetjournalists who will continue to impact the field long after the competition through collaboration and creativity is a core philosophy of the competition. As a result, collegiality and mutual respect for fellow competitors is vitally important to the competition. Any competitor whose conduct does not align with this mission will be immediately disqualified at any point during the various rounds of the competition.
The Dworkin Prize, organized under the auspices of the Institute for Poetjournalism, stands as the pinnacle of international recognition of artistic and journalistic excellence, celebrating the confluence of poetry and journalism. With a generous 1st Place Laureate award of $150,000, it is the world's largest prize in poetry or journalism.
The mission of The Dworkin Prize is twofold: to identify and celebrate the world's leading poetjournalists, and to advocate for the integration of poetjournalism in media outlets, emphasizing the importance of an emotional connection in the comprehension of news.
The prize serves as both a recognition of excellence in poetjournalism and a beacon to attract talent to the field. The recipients gain financial support, increased visibility, and professional development opportunities, which further the field and their careers. By honoring the blend of poetry and journalism, the Dworkin Prize highlights the craft's unique ability to convey news and current events through the emotionally resonant power of verse, ultimately creating works that captivate and engage the public in the discourse of our times.
Applicants are asked to submit high-caliber poetjournalistic works (newspoems) that reinvent the narrative of current events. These entries should weave elements of sound, meter, rhythm, and creative illustration into compelling stories. A prestigious jury, comprising leaders from poetry, journalism, and media, rigorously evaluates the submissions. Their expertise guides the selection of a laureate cohort that represents the best in the world of poetjournalism.