The William Matthews Poetry Prize

Every year from September 15 – January 15, Asheville Poetry Review accepts entries for The William Matthews Poetry Prize.

First Prize: $1,000, publication in Asheville Poetry Review, and a featured reading in Asheville
Second Prize: $250, publication, and a featured reading in Asheville
Third Prize: Publication and a featured reading in Asheville

Final Judge for 2025: Nickole Brown

The final judging process will be anonymous (all identifying information will be removed from the poems).

All submissions will be considered for publication.

Postmark Deadline: January 15 of each year.

Send 3 poems, any style, any theme, any length, with a $20 entry fee.

Submissions should be sent online through Submittable:

Winners of the 2024 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Mary Makofske, “Sex, That Peacock”
Second Place: Paul Alexander, “Only in Darkness Can You See the Stars”
Third Place: Craig Van Rooyen, “Daylight Savings Poem”
(Judge: David Kirby)

Winners of the 2023 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Kate DeLay, “Repentance”
Second Place: Rodney Gomez, “Tableau With Tarantella, Public Housing, and Underwood Ham”
Third Place: Jeanne Wagner, “Penelope”
(Judge: Diane Seuss)

Winners of the 2022 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Maura High, “Verbesina Occidentalis”
Second Place: Christina Hutchins, “Meeting Memory on the Mendocino Coast”
Third Place: Anna Lena Phillips Bell, “Scissors”
(Judge: Marilyn Nelson)

Winners of the 2021 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Sean Webb, “American Genesis”
Second Place: Annie Woodford, “An Aunt Story, Improvised as a Blues Line”
Third Place: Earl Sherman Braggs, “Still Life”
(Judge: Quincy Troupe)

Winners of the 2020 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Denver Butson, “Study Guide”
Second Place: Melanie Tafejian, “On Occupation”
Third Place: Mark Kyungsoo Bias, “How God Breaks”
(Judge: Ilya Kaminsky)

Winners of the 2019 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Jude Nutter, “The Lions of Chauvet”
Second Place: Sarah Rose Nordgren, “Blessing”
Third Place: Joshua Martin, “Approaching My Brother, I Think of Karl Wallenda”
(Judge: Dorianne Laux)

Winners of the 2018 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Rosa Lane, “The Long Meadow”
Second Place: Kathleen Spivack, “M. Caillebotte Paints Mme. Boissiere Knitting”
Third Place: Mary B. Moore, “Quaking Grass”
(Judge: Alfred Corn)

Winners of the 2017 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Jared Harél, “You Want It Darker”
Second Place: Sarah Gordon, “The Last American Tour, 1953”
Third Place: Chelsea Woodard, “Wren’s Nest”
(Judge: Cornelius Eady)

Winners of the 2016 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Marilee Richards, “The Double Zero”
Second Place: Anne Valley-Fox, “To Love India”
Third Place: Catherine Carter, “First Witch”
(Judge: Joy Harjo)

Winners of the 2015 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Matthew Wimberley, “All the Great Territories”
Second Place: Patrick Swaney, “Late Fall, Late Afternoon”
Third Place: Debbie Benson, “Papanasam”
(Judge: Garrett Hongo)

Winners of the 2014 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Bruce Sager, “The Lot of Stars”
Second Place: T. J. Sandella, “Flight”
Third Place: Dave Seter, “What My Uncle is Trying to Say”
(Judge: Billy Collins)

Winners of the 2013 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Bart Rawlinson, “Jonah and Mr. Bones”
Second Place: Shelley Puhak, “On High School Reunions and Hurricane Agnes”
Third Place: David Brendan Hopes, “Spade”
(Judge: Patricia Smith)

Winners of the 2012 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Becky Gould Gibson, “Heading Home”
Second Place: Catherine Carter, “The Young”
Third Place: Angela Kelly, “time, and a little honey”
(Judge: David Wagoner)

Winners of the 2011 William Matthews Prize
First Place: Michael White, “The Milkmaid”
Second Place: Bruce Bond, “Jon Faddis and the High Note”
Third Place: Mary Makofske, “Museum of Torture, San Gimignano, Italy”
(Judge: Sebastian Matthews)