A call for submissions for the following prizes goes out annually in February:
Poetry Prizes
The Academy of American of Poets Prize: Given for excellence in the craft of writing poetry. ($100 to winner from AAP).
Best New Poets Anthology: Submissions are judged for nomination to Best New Poets for consideration. Winners may be published in Best New Poets the following year.
The Daniel and Merrily Glosband MFA Fellowship in Poetry: Awarded to recognize and support poets of exceptional merit and promise at a critical stage of their progress. (Approximate award: $3,000)
The Deborah Slosberg Memorial Award in Poetry: Given by Mr. and Mrs. Jay Slosberg in memory of Deborah Slosberg, who studied at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, to MFA candidates whose work in poetry or prose constitutes substantial and worthy achievement over their careers in the MFA Program. (Approximate award: $1,400)
The Karen Skolfield and Dennis Goeckel MFA Award in Poetry: This award was established by alumnus, Karen Skolfield and her husband Dennis Goeckel, to recognize excellence in poetry by an MFA candidate. The award of approximately $1,000 is given in even years only.
Fiction Prizes
The Harvey Swados Fiction Prize: Named for the novelist and short-story writer who taught on the MFA faculty from 1970 to 1972, awarded for excellence in the craft of fiction writing. (Approximate award $1,400)
The Deborah Slosberg Memorial Award in Fiction: Given by Mr. and Mrs. Jay Slosberg in memory of Deborah Slosberg, who studied at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, to MFA candidates whose work in poetry or prose constitutes substantial and worthy achievement over their careers in the MFA Program. (Approximate award $1,400)
The Cara Parravani Memorial Award in Fiction: Offered by the family of Cara Parravani (MFA ’07) for excellence in fiction. ($250 award)
The James W. Foley University of Massachusetts Memorial Prize honors the conviction and courage of alumnus James Wright Foley. Jim studied fiction and literature in the MFA for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1999 until 2003. In his years as a student here, he dedicated himself to working with marginalized communities, helping others to find their voices. He later became a freelance journalist on the front lines in Libya and Syria, where he was kidnapped and horrifically executed by the so-called Islamic State in August of 2014. This Memorial Prize seeks to support the work of writers who express a political awareness and sensitivity in their prose, and whose concerns extend beyond the limits of their particular circumstances and home language. The prize will be awarded annually to current MFA candidates, based on a sample of prose, in the form of an honorarium generated by an endowment. ($750 for the Award Winner; $250 for the Honorable Mention)