Draft:Max Ritvo Poetry Prize

• Comment: Not yet notable per WP:NAWARDS. Safari Scribe^{Edits! Talk!} 08:06, 28 September 2024 (UTC)

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Max Ritvo Poetry Prize
Awarded for	Publication of a first book by an emerging poet
Country	United States
Presented by	Milkweed Editions
First awarded	2017
Website	milkweed.org/max-ritvo-poetry-prize

The Max Ritvo Poetry Prize is an annual pre-publication award given for a first book of poems, in honor of the poet Max Ritvo, who died of cancer in 2016. Established in 2017 and funded by the Alan B. Slifka Foundation, the prize offers $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions. Past judges include Henri Cole and Nobel Laureate Louise Glück. It is the most lucrative award given for a first collection of poetry in the United States.

The award is based on a competition of book-length poetry manuscripts, screened by independent readers and selected by a independent judge. The prize-winning poet is granted a standard royalty contract, publication of the collection in cloth and audiobook editions, national distribution, and a comprehensive marketing and publicity campaign.

Winning collections have received reviews in the Washington Post, The New York Times, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere, and have been finalists for the Minnesota Book Award and the Housatonic Book Award in Poetry.

Founding

The Max Ritvo Poetry Prize was founded following the death of Max Ritvo, who died from Ewing sarcoma in 2016, at the age of twenty-five. Ritvo was the author of two poetry collections, both published by Milkweed Editions: Four Reincarnations (2016) and The Final Voicemails (2018, published posthumously). He also authored a chapbook, Aeons (2015), which received the Poetry Society of America’s Chapbook Fellowship. With the playwright Sarah Ruhl, he also composed a play, Letters from Max (2018).

After Ritvo’s passing, the family sought to memorialize his contributions to the world of poetry by founding the prize in his honor, which makes possible the publication of one book annually by an emerging poet.

Rules and eligibility

Milkweed Editions strives to ensure an ethical and transparent contest process. The prize is available to all poets residing in the United States. All manuscripts must be the original work of the poet. Translations and collaborations are not accepted. All submissions are reviewed anonymously. Finalists are selected by a panel of named first readers. Poets who maintain a conflict of interest with the final judge should refrain from submitting, including poets who have studied with the judge in a full-time accredited course within the prior three years. Employees of Milkweed Editions and the Alan B. Slifka Foundation are not eligible to submit.

Current status

Following the death of then prize judge Louise Glück and the Slifka Foundation’s placement on boycott by Writers in Solidarity with Palestine, the prize was placed on hiatus. The press is currently reevaluating the initiative.

Recipients

Year	Poet	Book	Judge
2023	Weijia Pan	Motherlands	Louise Glück
2022	Jackson Holbert	Winter Stranger	Henri Cole
2021	Ryann Stevenson	Human Resources
2020	Michael Kleber-Diggs	Wordly Things
2019	Allison Adair	The Clearing
2018	John James	The Milk Hours
2017	Grady Chambers	North American Stadiums