Cider Press Review, a journal of contemporary poetry, seeks to discover and publish the best of new poetry written in English. CPR actively seeks new original work and translations into English from both established and emerging poets. Our only criterion is excellence.
Below are some of the recent winners from the CPR Book Award and the CPR Editors’ Prize:
Results from the 2025 CPR Editors’ Prize Book Award.
Karen Holmberg of Corvallis, Oregon has won the 2025 Cider Press Review Editors’ Prize Book Award with the manuscript, Reckless Shelter. The editors all remarked on the sonic quality of this manuscript. Susan Azar Porterfield said, “This is very language conscious, very musical. For example:
On my wrist where it grazed
the oxeye daisy
a smear of foam—
lace curtain in which
a pale green wizard squirms.”
John Bradley commented, “I really like the voice, as well as the language, which can be seen in the very first poem, making a ride on a Ferris wheel seem something new and strange. There are so many lines that show a keen ear and eye: ‘I draw on her elbow-length gloves / like skin, my hands / at last inside her hands again.'”
Runner-up was The Opposite Wall, by Megan Merchant. Additional finalists (in alphabetical order) include deep is the skin of the world by Mermer Blakeslee, Doctrine of the Kite by Melody Wilson, I Am Trying to Love the Whole World by Shuly Cawood, and Ice Flowers by Caroline Wellman.
Holmberg will receive a standard publishing contract, 25 author copies of the book, and a $1000 honorarium. Reckless Shelter is scheduled to be published in August, 2026.
Results from the 2024 Cider Press Review Book Award.
Melissa McEver Huckabay of Cypress, Texas won the 2024 Cider Press Review Book Award for Girl Filling the Sky. She received $1,500, publication of her book by Cider Press Review, and 25 author copies. Adela Najarro judged. Najarro notes: “In Girl Filling the Sky, each poem evokes images from the heart that unearth what lies hidden: “They tore up the floor of our house:// found the thick scent of grief and survival,/ underneath us the whole time.” This is a book to read with a steaming cup of tea in the solitude of a cozy room and contemplate the intricacies of desire, family, and love. ”
Runners-Up were Glint & Swerve, by Veronica Patterson and Requiem in Wide-Open Minor, by Justin Hunt.
Girl Filling the Sky will be released in February, 2026.
Other Recent Winners
CPR Book Award Winners
2023 Prayer to a Small Stone, by Jo Brachman
2022 Inheritance with a High Error Rate, by Jen Karetnick
2021 In the Hall of North American Mammals, by Lee Peterson
2020 Scale Model of a Country at Dawn, by John Sibley WIlliams
2019 Passiflora, by Kathy Davis
CPR Editors’ Prize Book Award Winners
2024 A Pound of Cure, by Edward Wilson
2023 Resurrected Body, by Elizabeth C. Garcia
2022 The Acrobatic Company of the Invisible, by George Looney
2021 Swan Wife, by Sara Moore Wagner
2020 The Body He Left Behind, by Reese Conner
2019 Nothing Like the Doll You Learned On, by Jan Wallace
Book Awards
CPR offers two (2) book awards each calendar year, the Editors’ Prize in spring and the Cider Press Review Book Award in fall. Both contests judge manuscripts blindly. Authors are requested to remove all contact information from their manuscript submissions. Any author failing to remove contact information from their manuscripts forfeits their anonymity but is otherwise judged identically to any other entrant. Learn more on our Book Award page.
We subscribe to the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) Contest Code of Ethics:
“CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.”