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Editors

Managing Editor

Emily Casillas

The Backwaters Prize in Poetry

The Backwaters Prize in Poetry, an international poetry book competition initiated by the Backwaters Press in 1998, has produced award-winning books by some of America’s finest authors. The annual Prize builds upon an impressive backlist in poetry and creative prose that contributes to the cultural significance and preservation of diverse social groups and societies across the world. Each year one poetry manuscript is selected as an overall winner, and one poetry manuscript is selected as an honorable mention, by a committee of preliminary judges and one final judge. Both the selected winner and honorable mention are published by the University of Nebraska Press. Submission guidelines for the prize series can be found at nebraskapress.unl.edu/the-backwaters-press-prize-in-poetry/.

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Living Room

Living Room

Laura Bylenok

October 2022

The Backwaters Press

Long Rules

Long Rules

An Essay in Verse

Nathaniel Perry 

November 2021

The Backwaters Press

The  Laugh We Make When We Fall

The Laugh We Make When We Fall

Susan Firer

August 2021

The Backwaters Press

Foxlogic, Fireweed

Foxlogic, Fireweed

Jennifer K. Sweeney

September 2020

The Backwaters Press

Skin Memory

Skin Memory

John Sibley Williams

November 2019

The Backwaters Press

Not Your Mama's Melting Pot

Not Your Mama's Melting Pot

Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley

October 2018

The Backwaters Press

Stunt Heart

Stunt Heart

Mary Jo Thompson

August 2017

The Backwaters Press

Drone

Drone

Kim Garcia

September 2016

The Backwaters Press

The Daughter's Almanac

The Daughter's Almanac

Katharine Whitcomb

October 2015

The Backwaters Press

To Live in Autumn

To Live in Autumn

Zeina Hashem Beck

September 2014

The Backwaters Press

Butterfly Nebula

Butterfly Nebula

Laura Reece Hogan

October 2023

The Backwaters Press

No Accident

No Accident

Aaron Anstett

May 2005

The Backwaters Press

The  Map of What Happened

The Map of What Happened

Susan Elbe

September 2013

The Backwaters Press

Sadie and Mendel

Sadie and Mendel

Anita N. Feng

May 2006

The Backwaters Press

Blinding the Goldfinches

Blinding the Goldfinches

Michelle Gillett

March 2005

The Backwaters Press

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