The Wisconsin Poetry Series

The Brittingham and Felix Pollak Prizes in Poetry

The Brittingham and Felix Pollak Prizes in Poetry are awarded annually to two book-length poetry manuscripts submitted in a national competition, selected by an outside judge, who will be announced via Submittable no later than July 15. Each prize offers $1,500 plus publication by the University of Wisconsin Press, and three or four additional finalists will also be offered publishing contracts, as part of the Wisconsin Poetry Series. Submissions may be made via Submittable at wicw.submittable.com between July 15 and September 15. For detailed guidelines, please see our submissions page. For additional information about the series and its publisher, visit the University of Wisconsin Press home page. Questions not answered elsewhere on this site, or in the FAQ at creativewriting.wisc.edu/submit, may be directed to Series Editor Sean Bishop and Associate Editor for Translation, Jesse Lee Kercheval.

The Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation

The Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation was founded in 2022 to cater to the readers, poets, and editors who want to read poetry written across the world. It aims to be one small part of breaking down the language barriers that divide us and help make work written in other languages visible to a wider public.

Current & Past Winners

Below, we’ve listed recent judges and winners of the Brittingham and Felix Pollak Prizes, and the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation. However, we select and publish up to four additional titles each year. For a complete list of titles in the Wisconsin Poetry Series, including all our winners and titles dating back to 1985, please visit uwpress.wisc.edu/Series/W/Wisconsin-Poetry-Series.

2024—Selected by Ronald Wallace & Idra Novey

• Lindsay Stuart Hill: World of Dew, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• David O’Connell: At Some Point, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry
• Azra Abbas (trans. Daisy Rockwell): Sleep Journeys, the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation

2023—Selected by Amaud Jamaul Johnson & Geoffrey Brock

• Caitlin Roach: Surveille, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Eduardo Martínez-Leyva: Cowboy Park, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry
• Dario Bellezza (trans. Peter Covino): What Sex Is Death?, the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation

2022—Selected by Eduardo C. Corral & Forrest Gander

• Tacey M. Atsitty: (At) Wrist, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Michael Dhyne: Afterlife, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry
• Juan Calzadilla (trans. Katherine M. Hedeen & Olivia Lott): The Roof of the Whale Poems, the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation

2021—Selected by Carmen Giménez Smith

• Daniel Khalastchi: American Parables, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Joshua Nguyen: Come Clean, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2020—Selected by Natasha Trethewey

• Diane Kerr: Perigee, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Carlos Andrés Gómez: Fractures, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2019—Selected by Carl Phillips

• Molly Spencer: If the House, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Sarah Kortemeier: Ganbatte, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2018—Selected by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

• D. M. Aderibigbe: How the End First Showed, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Michelle Brittan Rosado: Why Can’t It Be Tenderness, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2017—Selected by Robert Wrigley

• Max Garland: The Word We Used for It, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Lynn Powell: Season of the Second Thought, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2016—Selected by Susan Mitchell

• Nick Lantz: You, Beast, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Charles Hood: Partially Excited States, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2015—Selected by Denise Duhamel

• Jennifer Whitaker: The Blue Hour, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Rita Mae Reese: The Book of Hulga, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2014—Selected by Lucia Perillo

• Christina Stoddard: Hive, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Matthew Siegel: Blood Work, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2013—Selected by Naomi Shihab Nye

• Joanne Diaz: My Favorite Tyrants, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Angela Sorby: The Sleeve Waves, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2012—Selected by Terrance Hayes

• Greg Wrenn: Centaur, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Craig Blais: About Crows, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2011—Selected by Jean Valentine

• Jazzy Danziger: Darkroom, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Mark Wagenaar: Voodoo Inverso, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2010—Selected by Cornelius Eady

• Alison Stine: Wait, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Jacqueline Jones LaMon: Last Seen, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2009—Selected by Robert Pinsky

• Jennifer Boyden: The Mouths of Grazing Things, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Nick Lantz: The Lightning that Strikes the Neighbors’ House,
  
  the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2008—Selected by Marilyn Nelson

• Angela Sorby: Bird Skin Coat, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Mark Kraushaar: Falling Brick Kills Local Man, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2007—Selected by David St. John

• Philip Pardi: Meditations on Rising and Falling, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Barbara Goldberg: The Royal Baker’s Daughter, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2006—Selected by Linda Gregerson

• Betsy Andrews: New Jersey, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Fleda Brown: Reunion, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2005—Selected by Billy Collins

• Susanna Childress: Jagged with Love, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Jennifer Michael Hecht: Funny, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2004—Selected by Carl Dennis

• John Brehm: Sea of Faith, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Alan Feldman: A Sail to Great Island, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2003—Selected by Kelly Cherry

• Brian Teare: The Room Where I Was Born, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Bruce Snider: The Year We Studied Women, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2002—Selected by Edward Hirsch

• Anna George Meek: Acts of Contortion, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Roy Jacobstein: Ripe, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2001—Selected by Mark Doty

• Robin Behn: Horizon Note, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Cathy Colman: Borrowed Dress, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

2000—Selected by Alicia Ostriker

• Greg Rappleye: A Path Between Houses, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Derick Burleson: Ejo, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

1999—Selected by Robert Bly

• Frank X. Gaspar: A Field Guide to the Heavens, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Charles Harper Webb: Liver, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

1998—Selected by Donald Hall

• Suzanne Paola: Bardo, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Chana Bloch: Mrs. Dumpty, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

1997—Selected by Rita Dove

• Olena Kalytiak Davis: And Her Soul Out of Nothing, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Betsy Sholl: Don’t Explain, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

1996—Selected by Philip Levine

• Juanita Brunk: Brief Landing on the Earth’s Surface, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Dennis Trudell: Fragments in Us, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

1995—Selected by Carolyn Kizer

• Lynn Powell: Old and New Testaments, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• Bob Hicok: The Legend of Light, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

1994—Selected by Henry Taylor

• Lisa Lewis: The Unbeliever, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
• David Clewell: Now We’re Getting Somewhere, the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry

1993—Selected by Lisel Mueller

• Stephanie Strickland: The Red Virgin, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1992—Selected by Donald Justice

• Tony Hoagland: Sweet Ruin, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1991—Selected by Donald Finkel

• Renée Ashley: Salt, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1990—Selected by Mary Oliver

• Judith Vollmer: Level Green, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1989—Selected by Gerald Stern

• Stefanie Marlis: Slow Joy, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1988—Selected by Charles Wright

• Lisa Zeidner: Pocket Sundial, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1987—Selected by Mona Van Duyn

• David Kirby: Saving the Young Men of Vienna, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1986—Selected by Maxine Kumin

• Patricia Dobler: Talking to Strangers, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry

1985—Selected by C. K. Williams

• Jim Daniels: Places/Everyone, the Brittingham Prize in Poetry