The University of Nebraska Press is happy to announce that Huascar Medina, the current Poet Laureate of Kansas, will be the judge for the 2021 Backwaters Press Prize in Poetry competition.

Submissions will be accepted April 1 through May 1. The winner will receive $2,000 and publication of their book. For more information, click here.

The 2020 winner is Nathaniel Perry for Long Rules: An Essay in Verse, which will be published this fall. The honorable mention is Amy Haddad for An Otherwise Healthy Women. Both were selected by Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason.

Founded in 1997, the Backwaters Press has published award-winning books by some of America’s finest writers. The University of Nebraska Press acquired the Backwaters Press in 2018, with its impressive backlist in poetry and prose that contributes to the cultural landscape of our state and region. As a general interest imprint of UNP, the Backwaters Press continues to plant its roots firmly in the Great Plains, delighting readers with literature of enduring value and consequence. Nebraska is proud to announce that titles under the Backwaters Press imprint will be available as ebooks as well.

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