92NY Discovery Poetry Contest

ABOUT

The 92NY Discovery Poetry Contest is one of the oldest and most prestigious first-book prizes in American poetry, run by the Unterberg Poetry Center at the 92nd Street Y in New York. Founded in 1973 (originally as the Discovery/The Nation contest, later renamed and endowed by Joan L. and Dr. Julius H. Jacobson II), it targets poets who have not yet published a full-length collection, making it a rite of passage for emerging voices before their debut. Four winners are selected annually from a pool of semifinalists and are announced alongside a public reading at 92NY; past winners and semifinalists frequently go on to publish notable first books and appear in outlets like The Paris Review and Boston Review, which has historically featured winners' work.