Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize ($150)
Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize 2026: Submit Your Best Unpublished Poem for $150 and Publication
The Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize 2026, an annual poetry award from Pepper Coast Mag, is now open for submissions. Named in honor of celebrated Ghanaian poet and statesman Kofi Awoonor, the prize recognizes poetry marked by lived experience, insight, artistic excellence, and artistic rigor.
The 2026 prize offers poets worldwide an opportunity to have their work considered by an established literary judge, with the winning poet receiving $150 USD and publication in a future issue of Pepper Coast Mag.
Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize 2026
The 2026 edition will be judged by Loic Ekinga. There is no entry fee, making the competition accessible to poets regardless of financial circumstances.
- Reading period: July 6 – September 1, 2026
- Judge: Loic Ekinga
- Prize: $150 USD + publication
- Entry fee: None
- Eligibility: Open worldwide
- Deadline: September 1, 2026
Who Can Submit?
The competition is open to writers from anywhere in the world. However, each entrant may submit only one unpublished poem. Multiple submissions from the same writer are not permitted.
The poem must not have appeared previously in any form. This includes publication in chapbooks, anthologies, poetry collections, social media, blogs, newsletters, or literary magazines.
The submitted poem must also be no longer than 50 lines, excluding the title and any epigraph.
Submission Guidelines for the Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize
- Entries must be submitted anonymously. Your name or biographical information should not appear anywhere in the manuscript.
- Instead, include your name, phone number, email address, and country of residence in the body of the submission email.
- The poem should be attached as either a PDF or Word (.doc/.docx) file and sent to: kofiawoonorpoetryprize@gmail.
com - Use the subject line: Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize 2026
Poets should carefully follow all submission requirements because entries that fail to meet the guidelines, or arrive after the deadline, will be automatically disqualified and will not be read.
Close friends, relatives, and recent students of the judge are also ineligible to enter.
Anonymous Judging
Pepper Coast Mag administrators will collect the submissions and forward them to the judge. The judge will read the poems anonymously, and the judge’s decision is final.
Finalists are expected to be announced in October 2026, while the winner will be announced in December 2026.
Previous Winners of the Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize
The prize has previously recognized:
- Alaga Unwomanumu — 2025, judged by Maryhilde Obasiota Ibe. Onyekachi Iloh was the 2025 runner-up.
- Iyanuoluwa Adenle — 2024, judged by Othuke Umukoro
