The Poetry Project is thrilled to share that out of nearly 600 submissions, judge Laura Henriksen has selected Robert Frost as the winner of the 2025 Lisa Brannan Prize.

Robert Frost’s writing communicates a life on the furthermost edge of American society—and shows that it’s a lot closer than one might think. A debut collection, Robert Frost, edited by Stacy Skolnik, will be released in 2026 by Book Works.

Regarding Robert's work, Laura had the following to share:

"Every time I read these poems I love them more. They give me that dizzy lurch feeling that happens when I sit on a stalled train and see another train moves past, when movement and stillness collapse in my stomach. Their form propulsive and arresting, their emotion deep and righteous, their energy atomic. I’m so glad I got to read them, glad you get to read them, and I can’t wait for Robert Frost’s book. All love and praise to mosquitoes with broken noses, pharmacists who’ll sell syringes without prescriptions, and poets who testify to place, people, and experience in gentleness and rage."

In addition to selecting Robert as this year's winner, Laura identified the following poets as finalists for this year's prize: Samira Abed, Isaiah Back-Gaal, Yuma Carpenter-New, Nica Horvitz, and Ayling Zulema Dominguez.

Thank you to everyone who submitted to the prize this year. Look out for Robert's work in an upcoming issue of the Poetry Project Newsletter!

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The Lisa Brannan Prize is a $1,000 prize for emerging poets in honor of Lisa Brannan, a former Poetry Project intern and poet. In addition to the financial prize, the winning poet will have one poem published in the Poetry Project Newsletter. The generosity and dedication of our interns and volunteers — often emerging poets themselves — is invaluable to The Poetry Project, and we are so honored to offer this prize in the memory of our former intern.

Lisa Brannan was a Poetry Project intern in New York City during the mid-1990’s. She was born in Utah, grew up in South Carolina, and moved to New York to study engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. While a student, Lisa began to develop an interest in the local literary and cultural scene of Lower Manhattan. She joined The Poetry Project as an intern in 1995 and helped the Project with event promotion and archiving. Lisa's time with the Project was one of the most joyous times in her life. She developed her writing by immersing herself in the world of the subjects and themes that interested her. Lisa passed away in 1997, at the age of 22 in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Submission Guidelines:

There is no fee for poets interested in submitting to the prize. Poets interested in having their work considered should observe the guidelines below:

• Submit up to 3 previously unpublished poems in a single .pdf attachment, not to exceed 6 pages.
• Only one entry of up to 3 poems per poet.
• We cannot accept international submissions at this time.
• Personal identification should not appear in the submission document in any form. The judge for The Brannan Prize will review all submissions without any identifying information.
• Emerging, in this case, will not be defined by age but by publication record. The criteria for submission is that the poet may not have published a full-length book at the time the prize is given, although chapbook publication is fine.
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Due to the volume of work we receive, if your submission does not follow the above guidelines you will not be eligible for consideration.

(Submissions for The 2025 Lisa Brannan Prize are now closed)

Read the work of previous winners below