Established in 1998, in honor of the poet Benjamin Saltman (1927–1999), this award is for a previously unpublished original collection of poetry. The awarded collection is selected through an annual competition that is open to all poets.
Award details
$3,000
Book publication by Red Hen Press
Judge: Brenda Cardenas
Submissions Open: April 30, 2025
Submissions Close: October 31, 2025
Note: Entry fee is $25.00. Name on cover sheet only, 48 page minimum, 96 page maximum. Entries will be accepted via Submittable only.
Submissions are currently open for this award.
Guidelines
The award is open to all writers with the following exceptions:
- Authors who have had a full-length work published by Red Hen Press, or a full-length work currently under consideration by Red Hen Press
- Employees, interns, or contractors of Red Hen Press
- Relatives of employees or members of the executive board of directors
- Relatives or individuals having a personal or professional relationship with any of the final judges where they have taken any part whatsoever in shaping the manuscript, or where, for whatever reason, selecting a particular manuscript might have the appearance of impropriety
Procedures and Ethical Considerations
To be certain that every manuscript finalist receives the fairest evaluation, all manuscripts shall be submitted to the judges without any identifying material.
Bios, acknowledgments, and other identifying material shall be removed from judged manuscripts until the conclusion of the competition.
Red Hen Press is committed to maintaining the utmost integrity of our awards. Judges shall recuse themselves from considering any manuscript where they recognize the work. In the event of refusal, a manuscript score previously assigned by the managing editor of the press will be substituted.
For questions or to withdraw a submitted entry, please contact editorial@redhen.org.
Recent Winners of the Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award
2024: Mock Vent Careening by Jane Won’t
Judged by Jason Schneiderman
2023: Portrait of the Artist As a Brown Man by Jose Hernandez Diaz
Judged by Juan Felipe Herrera
2022: Deer Black Out by Ulrich Jesse K. Baer
Judged by Brynn Saito
2021: A Plucked Zither by Phuong T. Vuong
Judged by Major Jackson
2020: Flutter, Kick by Anna V. Q. Ross
Judged by Jeffrey Harrison
2019: I Was a Bell by M. Soledad Caballero
Judged by Allison Joseph
2018: Body of Render by Felicia Zamora
Judged by Marilyn Nelson
2017: deciduous qween by Matty Layne Glasgow
Judged by Richard Blanco
2016: Southern Tongues Leave Us Shining by Mark Wagenaar
Judged by Afaa Weaver
2015: As Burning Leaves by Gabriel Jesiolowski
Judged by Carl Phillips
click here for a list of all past winners
