About The Backwaters Press
Founded in 1997, the Backwaters Press has published award-winning books by some of America’s finest writers. The University of Nebraska Press acquired the Backwaters Press in 2018, with its impressive backlist in poetry and prose that contributes to the cultural landscape of our state and region. As a general interest imprint of UNP, the Backwaters Press continues to plant it roots firmly in the Great Plains, delighting readers with literature of enduring value and consequence. Nebraska is proud to announce that titles under the Backwaters Press imprint will be available as ebooks as well.
The Backwaters Prize in Poetry, an international poetry book competition, was initiated in 1998 and continues under the auspices of UNP. Contest winners are chosen by distinguished American poets; past judges include Hayden Carruth (winner of the National Book Award and the National Book Circle Critics Award), Philip Levine (National Book Award winner and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and Ted Kooser (Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize winner).
Visit the Backwaters Prize in Poetry page for more information and a link to make an electronic submission.
Join our mailing list to receive updates about the prize competition and the Backwaters Press.
Support the Backwaters Press by joining Friends of UNP.
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From the UNP Blog
From the Desk of Kim Garcia: Agency as a Gift
The Backwaters Press is now accepting submissions for this year’s Backwaters Prize in Poetry contest. The winner and honorable mention will receive cash prizes and book publication with the University of Nebraska Press. The judge for the 2021 contest is Huascar Medina, Poet Laureate of Kansas. For more [...]
Upcoming Event: Larry Baldassaro in conversation with Tom Shieber
Join Tom Shieber, Senior Curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and UWM Professor Emeritus Lawrence Baldassaro, author of Beyond DiMaggio and Baseball Italian Style, for a virtual conversation via Zoom hosted by Boswell Book Company about his major new baseball biography on Thursday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. Bef [...]