Juniper Prizes

Juniper Prize for Poetry

In 1975 the University of Massachusetts Press established the Juniper Prize for Poetry, an annual award for a selected manuscript of poems to be published by the Press. The award is named in honor of the poet Robert Francis (1901-1987), who for many years made his home at Fort Juniper in Amherst. The winning poet now receives a prize of $1,500. All submissions are judged anonymously by a panel of distinguished poets. For more information and submission guidelines, click here.

Juniper Prize for Fiction

In 2004, in collaboration with the UMass Amherst MFA Program for Poets and Writers, the Press established the Juniper Prize for Fiction to honor and publish outstanding works of literary fiction. The prize is judged each year by a distinguished writer of fiction and carries a cash award of $1,500 upon publication. For more information and submission guidelines, click here.

Juniper Prize Winners for 2012

Brandon Dean Lamson has won the 2012 Juniper Prize for Poetry for his collection Starship Tahiti. The runner-up for this year's poetry contest is Siobhán Scarry for her collection Pilgrimly.

Steve Yates has won the 2012 Juniper Prize for Fiction for his collection Some Kinds of Love.

For more information about the 2012 winners, please click here.