This contest for a first or second full-length poetry collection is open to any poet writing in English who has not yet published more than one full-length book in poetry (poets with multiple chapbooks ​are ​eligible), and offers a cash prize of $1,000 and publication by Ghost Peach Press, as well as ten free copies of the published book.

Entries will first be read anonymously by Ghost Peach’s panel of editors, and 2025 judge Paige Lewis will choose the winning collection from ten finalists. All manuscripts should include a title page, table of contents, and an acknowledgements page (if applicable). No identifying information should be included in the submission.

Manuscripts should be paginated and formatted in a pleasant-to-read font (as in, not comic sans), with no more than one poem per page. Manuscripts should consist of approximately 48 – 90 pages of poetry (not including front and back matter). We prefer that you are ethical and do not submit if you are related to/work with/are besties with or otherwise have personal connections to the judge which could cause your work to be recognized. 

Ghost Peach Press accepts the $25 entry fee exclusively through our Submittable page. The entry fee is due at the time of submission and includes a copy of the winning book upon its publication. For a discounted entry fee that does not include a copy of the book, choose the "2025 Ghost Peach Press Prize in Poetry - No Book" form.

This contest runs from January 1st, 2025 – April 30th, 2025. The winner will be announced in fall 2025 and publication is expected in late 2026.

This contest for a first or second full-length poetry collection is open to any poet writing in English who has not yet published more than one full-length book in poetry (poets with multiple chapbooks ​are ​eligible), and offers a cash prize of $1,000 and publication by Ghost Peach Press, as well as ten free copies of the published book.

Entries will first be read anonymously by Ghost Peach’s panel of editors, and 2025 judge Paige Lewis will choose the winning collection from ten finalists. All manuscripts should include a title page, table of contents, and an acknowledgements page (if applicable). No identifying information should be included in the submission.

Manuscripts should be paginated and formatted in a pleasant-to-read font (as in, not comic sans), with no more than one poem per page. Manuscripts should consist of approximately 48 – 90 pages of poetry (not including front and back matter). We prefer that you are ethical and do not submit if you are related to/work with/are besties with or otherwise have personal connections to the judge which could cause your work to be recognized. 

Ghost Peach Press accepts the entry fee exclusively through our Submittable page. The entry fee is due at the time of submission and includes a copy of the winning book upon its publication. This form is for a discounted entry fee that does not include a copy of the book. If you'd like to receive a copy of the winning book, choose the "2025 Ghost Peach Press Prize in Poetry" form.

This contest runs from January 1st, 2025 – April 30th, 2025. The winner will be announced in fall 2025 and publication is expected in late 2026.

 We offer an expedited option with an expected response time of two weeks. Submitting through the expedited option does not guarantee acceptance.   

Please send one creative/lyric nonfiction essay of up to 5,000 words. We welcome submissions that blur genre and play with form, experiment with compression or expansion, use language in surprising ways, and bring attention to subject matter of contemporary urgency or uncommon interest. We especially love work that is tender, weird, and wild, hard-hitting and incisive, clear-sighted and daring. Stun us, wound us, share your gifts, or keep us warm—send us work that is unapologetically yours. 

We offer an expedited response time with an expected response time of two weeks. Submitting through the expedited option does not guarantee acceptance.  
Please submit  up to 3 poems in one document. We welcome submissions that blur genre and play with form, experiment with compression or expansion, use language in surprising ways, and bring attention to subject matter of contemporary urgency or uncommon interest. We especially love work that is tender, weird, and wild, hard-hitting and incisive, clear-sighted and daring. Stun us, wound us, share your gifts, or keep us warm—send us work that is unapologetically yours. 

We welcome submissions of creative nonfiction with a focus on lyric essays. While the definition of what makes a lyric essay is expansive and ever-evolving, our editors gravitate towards work that experiments with form and language, complicates our understanding of a topic, challenges our sense of certainty, or eschews truth in favor of the unknown, and takes us somewhere new. We are not particularly interested in essays that simply inform or document, but ones that bring to us to the threshold (of what? Anything) and incite conversations. We're looking for your essays that meander through time, challenge expectations, introduce nuance, humor, and paradox. We want work that lingers, elides, and leaves things unsaid. All is fair play for the lyric essay.

Please send one essay of up to 5,000 words or up to four related short essays within the same total word limit.