BkMk Press

fine books since 1971

BkMk Press is changing ownership and distribution partners this summer.
Sales through this website will be interrupted temporarily during this transition.

John Ciardi Prize for Poetry

G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction

$1,000 and book publication for each prize

Submission Deadline: Contest entries temporarily suspended

2020 Contest Winners

We are pleased to announce the winners of our most recent contests:

John Ciardi Prize for Poetry: Laura Minor of Jacksonville, Florida. Selected by John Hodgen.

G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction: Amin Ahmad of Durham, North Carolina. Selected by Stephanie Powell Watts.

(The 2020 contest entry deadline was January 15, 2020.)

Electronic Submissions should include:

Postal Submissions should include:

Mail to: 

John Ciardi Prize or G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize, 

BkMk Press, 5101 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110

  • No faxed or emailed submissions, please.
  • Simultaneous and multiple submissions are acceptable. Please notify us of acceptance elsewhere.
  • Current students and employees of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and current volunteer members of the New Letters and BkMk Press staffs, are not eligible.
  • Manuscripts will not be returned. No refunds will be issued.
  • Judging will be blind at all levels. Initial judging will be done by a network of published writers and editors. The final judging will be done by a poet and a fiction writer of national reputation. 2021 winners will be announced August, 2021 and the winning entries will be published in 2022. These competitions are held annually.
  • BkMk Press supports the CLMP Code of Ethics for literary contests.