PHOENIX POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCEMENT:

New Prizes (against our better judgement); poet laureate shenanigans; 2025 poets rejoice!

Let me summarize what could be an otherwise really complicated announcement. A few new things are happening:

1. The Phoenix Poetry Prize is introducing two NEW, additional prizes to be awarded in 2027.
2. The Phoenix Poetry Prize is honoured to collaborate with THE POET LAUREATE PODCAST
3. The aforementioned two things will create opportunities for 2025 Canadian poets / poets publishing in Canada to be awarded recognition that they deserved for their hard work and words this year. 
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Okay now onto the complicated part. What does this all mean??? 

The Phoenix Poetry Prize is introducing two NEW prizes to be awarded in 2027.

The Phloreate Award

Judged by poet laureate Drew Lavigne: 
This prize is awarded to the best poetry book by a current or former Poet Laureate, because apparently representing poetry in public life is not exhausting enough. Judged by one of our past podcast Laureates, who for reasons known only to poetry will agree to take on yet another poetry-related responsibility.

PRIZE: an interview on the Poet Laureate Podcast, a modest sum of money depending on the current state of poetry economics, and this hat: 
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Alt text: Denim Ball Cap by brand Out of Print that says Born to Read Forced to Work.

The Nix Award

Sponsored by Isabella, judged by rob mclennan
This prize is awarded to an outstanding book of poetry written by a Canadian poet or poet publishing in Canada from 2025. Eligible poets must self-nominate; full list of eligibility criteria and nomination instructions can be found on the Nix Award page. 
Through bribery and begging on Isabella's part, rob has kindly agreed to judge. Hasn't he already read all the poetry books from 2025 anyway? 

PRIZE: brand new industry standard, wireless Sony WH-1000xm4 headphones with active noise cancelling valued at $400 AND $100 worth of support from a combo of the poet's choosing:
- contest fee waiver / lit mag subscription
- cannabis / bookstore / grocery / pet store / Uber gift cards
- 1-year kobo e-book subscription
- libro.fm audiobook credits
- kids / YA books by Indigenous / LGBTQ2+ / BIPOC authors
for the poet's child
- Ravensong candles, bath bombs,  soaps, products
- plain hard cash

Submission Guidelines

ABOUT The Poet Laureate Podcast 

NIX AWARD JUDGE: rob mclennan

Born in Ottawa, Canada’s glorious capital city, rob mclennan currently lives in Ottawa, where he is home full-time with the two wee girls he shares with Christine McNair. The author of some fifty trade books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, his most recent titles include On Beauty: stories (University of Alberta Press, 2024), the poetry collections the book of sentences (University of Calgary Press, 2025) and edgeless (Caitlin Press, 2026), and the anthology groundworks: the best of the third decade of above/ground press 2013-2023 (Invisible Publishing, 2023). The current Artistic Director of VERSeFest: Ottawa’s International Poetry Festival, he spent the 2007-8 academic year in Edmonton as writer-in-residence at the University of Alberta.

HOW TO SUBMIT TO THE NIX AWARD

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PHLOREATE AWARD JUDGE: Drew Lavigne

​Drew Lavigne is the anglophone Poet Laureate of Moncton, New Brunswick. A member of the editorial board at The Fiddlehead and co-host of the Attic Owl reading series. Recent work has appeared in Vallum, Visual Arts News, Tourniquet Magazine, and with Éditions Rhizome. He  translated the collection Poems Twofold with Georgette LeBlanc and is the author of Evening Dress with Anstruther Press.