Jennifer A. Lurie Memorial Poetry Prize

Our inaugural poetry prize honors and remembers Jennifer A. Lurie, a vibrant artist, mother, and vital community member who passed away in 2023.

Jennifer expressed her curiosity and love for the natural world through photography, sculpture, painting, drawing, poetry, and other mixed media. She lost a long battle with chronic illness and cancer, but her passion was inherited by her four kids, Daniel, Sasha, Ivy, and Dana. She loved the ocean, animals, music, and always found the best in people. Her laughter was infectious.

While we aren’t defining a theme for this prize, we’re looking for poetry that celebrates the natural world, creates pockets of joy, and brings us together through language.

Our submission fee is $15, and we’re open from 8/1 - 11/14. The winning poems will be published in Outskirts Issue 05, Spring 2027. All other submissions will be considered for publication.

Guest judged by Natalie Shapero

‍Natalie Shapero's most recent book is Stay Dead, longlisted for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award and shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. Her poems appear in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Granta, and elsewhere. She lives in Los Angeles and teaches writing at UC Irvine.

Please submit and review our guidelines on Submittable

Guidelines: Submit 1-5 poems (for a maximum of 10 pages) in a single Word Document. Your name shouldn’t appear in your manuscript or file title. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted for publication elsewhere via Submittable message. Don’t withdraw your entire submission unless all of your work has been accepted.

Multiple entries are allowed, but you will need to pay an additional $15 per submission. We cannot accept revisions for any poems while they’re under consideration. If your work is accepted, you’ll have an opportunity to revise as needed.

We only consider unpublished work, and we aren’t interested in anything generated, informed, or edited by artificial intelligence (AI).

We adhere to CLMP’s Code of Ethics

All initial submissions will be read and reviewed by at least two Outskirts editors. Close friends, family, and any former or current students who have taken a semester-long class with any of the editors or guest judge should refrain from submitting. Past Outskirts contributors can submit work.

The editors will pick ten anonymous finalists for the guest judge. Contributors will be notified through Submittable 8-12 weeks after the contest closes. The winners will be announced in February 2027.

Outskirts will publish all three finalists, along with the judge’s comments.

Payment for winning poems will be processed via PayPal upon publication in Spring 2027.