Proof of Citizenship Not Required: Letras Latinas's Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize & Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize

On the heels of the Undocupoets recent efforts to end citizen-based discrimination, Letras Latinas announces that its two poetry prizes, the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize and the Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize, require zero proof of citizenship or legal residence: "It's about poetry./It's about art./It's about the art alone." The two judges this year are Edwin Torres (Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize) and Rigoberto González (Red Hen Poetry Prize).

About Letras Latinas/The Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize:

The Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, named after the late California native and author of the award-winning book, The Iceworker Sings, supports the work of emerging Latino/a poets. The Prize provides a space for artists who, while part of the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States, are also increasingly diverse in their modes of literary expression. The Prize, therefore, does not privilege any particular style, subject matter, or aesthetic. While not losing sight of the traditions and conditions that gave rise to that literary expression, the Prize has as its goal to nurture the various paths that Latino poetry is taking in the 21st Century. The Prize is awarded every other year. In the year it is not awarded, the Institute for Latino Studies, in collaboration with the previous year’s winner, will strive to foster and expand the audience for Latino poetry, both inside and outside our communities.

About The Red Hen Poetry Prize:

Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, in partnership with Red Hen Press in Pasadena, CA, is pleased to support the publication of a second or third full-length collection of poems by a Latino or Latina poet.

The winning poet will receive $1000, a contract from Red Hen Press and, upon publication of the winning book, an invitation to give a reading in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.

The Ragdale Foundationwill offer a two-week residency to the poet in the year the winning book appears. Letras Latinas will also set aside a modest fund to help defray travel costs associated with further promotion of the winning book. The Letras Latinas / Red Hen Poetry Prize is awarded every other year. There is no entry fee.

January 15, 2016 is the deadline for both contests. Don't wait! Learn more at Letras Latinas.