PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection

The PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection, established by a bequest from Hunce Voelcker, is given annually to a poet whose distinguished collection expands the scope of American poetry and represents a notable and accomplished literary presence. 

The annual award recognizes the importance of the poetry collection as an art form, with no restrictions on the career status of the poet. The award is for poets of any age and writing in any poetic style, and carries a cash prize of $5,000.

All winners, finalists, and longlisted books are eligible to receive PEN America’s official emblems. If you are a publisher interested in obtaining a PEN America award emblem for use on a book cover, please write to [email protected].

For more information about PEN America’s Literary Awards, please visit our FAQ.

2026 Winner

To a poet whose distinguished collection of poetry represents a notable and accomplished literary presence.

Winner: Green of All Heads, Aracelis Girmay (BOA Editions)

Judges: Dorianne Laux, Tracie Morris, dg nanouk okpik, Craig Teicher, Paisley Rekdal

From the judges’ citation: “Girmay’s unique, tender, at times dreamlike poems give voice to both loss and life: the loss of a father and the birth of a child, moving from grief to joy,  and through the wilds of motherhood itself. But while the book elegizes the writer’s father, it also celebrates the Eritrean community her father comes to represent, as well as the African diaspora, the book itself moving from private to communal memory. In a year of many exceptional submissions, Girmay’s collection stands out for its open-hearted intelligence, offering readers a bracing, yet hopeful, look at our current moment.”

Eligibility

• A candidate’s work must be a collection of poetry published by a U.S. trade publisher between January 1 and December 31 of the applicable calendar year.
• The book must be a series of individual poems published by a single living author. Anthologies with multiple authors are ineligible.
• Individual poems may have been previously published elsewhere; however, if the submitted book includes work previously published in a collection by the author, the submitted book should include significant new work.
• The author must be a permanent U.S. resident, citizen, or a person who has made the U.S. their long-term primary home.
• Books submitted for this award may not be submitted for any additional PEN America Literary Awards, with the exception of the PEN Open Book Award. Please note that the PEN/Faulkner and PEN/Hemingway Awards are not considered PEN America Literary Awards.

Submission Guidelines

• All submitted books must be published by a trade or academic publisher between January 1 and December 31 of the current year. Self-published books are ineligible for the PEN America Literary Awards.
• Books with more than one original author are ineligible for the PEN America Literary Awards.
• PEN America will only accept submissions from publishers or literary agents. Authors may not submit their own books.
• Please be sure to select the award you are submitting to on the submission form.
• Submitting a book for multiple awards is allowed only in the case of the PEN Open Book Award. Please complete a separate submission for this award if applicable.
• Please submit verified email addresses on the submission form. Your order cannot be processed without an email address. Multiple addresses are essential so that we can get in touch directly if an author or translator is selected as a longlister, finalist, or winner.
• Upload a PDF file of the galley or final manuscript to the book submission form. Book award submissions will be read as PDF files. Please upload the file saved as BOOKTITLE_AUTHORNAME. For the judges’ ease of reading, please upload a book file WITHOUT watermarks. Each book file will remain confidential and is accessible only to the Literary Awards team and the awards judges. Please note that if a book is longlisted, PEN America may request physical copies for the judging panel.
• Upload a high-resolution image of the book cover. This will be used if the book is a longlister, finalist, or winner.
• Each submission is $85. Submission fees are not refundable. Please note that all payments must be made via the submission form.
• Submission fees may be waived for publishers whose annual net sales are less than $2 million. You may request an exemption here; a letter on company letterhead stating that the press’s annual net sales are less than $2 million is required. Do not submit your title before requesting your fee exemption, as the Literary Awards Team will provide you with an alternative submission method.
• Once a submitted book is received and reviewed for eligibility by PEN America, it will be passed along to the judges. Please add [email protected] to your address book, as it will be the main point of contact from PEN America.