Contact the series editor at

Best New Poets
c/o Meridian
P.O. Box 400145
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4145

Best New Poets is an annual anthology of 50 poems from emerging writers. Each year, a guest editor selects 50 poems from nominations made by literary magazines and writing programs, as well as an Open Internet Competition.

Each February, we contact writing programs and literary magazines and send them instructions on how to nominate their writers. Programs and magazines will have until April 15, 2011, to make nominations; after that date, we contact their nominated poets and ask those writers to upload work during our April 5 to May 20 submission window. So, if you've just had a poem published in a magazine or are enrolled in a creative writing program, you might consider asking them to nominate you.

If you don't receive a program or magazine nomination, there's also the Open Internet Competition, which is open to all writers who have not published a book-length collection of poetry. Unlike the free magazine and program nominations, the Open Competition requires a reading fee of $3.50. All poems are submitted online through ManuscriptHub.com. Click here for details.

Recent Best New Poets 2010 Readings:

December 3, 2010, 7 p.m.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Ken Sanders Rare Books, 801-521-3819
Poets: Lisa Fay Coutley, dawn lonsinger, Luke Johnson, and Matthew Kelsey

December 10, 2010
Madison, Wisconsin
Poets: Kara van de Graaf and Kai Carlson-Wee

March 17, 2011
North Little Rock, Arkansas
Pulaski Technical College
Poets: Mary Angelino and Angie Macri

March 19, 2011
Virginia Festival of the Book
Charlottesville, VA 22904
Featuring 2010 Guest Editor Claudia Emerson
Poets: Jeff Baker, Luke Johnson, and Eleanor Smith Tipton

April 9, 2011
Little Rock, Arkansas
Arkansas Literary Festival
Poets: Mary Angelino and Angie Macri