Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships

The Poetry Foundation's Ruth Lilly Fellowships began in 1989 (the Rosenberg name was added when a second bequest merged in 2014) and now award five $27,000 fellowships each year to U.S. poets between 21 and 31 — the largest prize pool in American poetry aimed squarely at the young. Winners have included Ocean Vuong, Danez Smith, and Kaveh Akbar before their defining books.

Applications are free, open each winter (recent cycles: mid-January to early March), and require only a small portfolio. For an eligible poet there is no better ratio of application effort to potential career impact.