The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are two American prizes located at Claremont Graduate University. These awards are given to poets for their collections of poetry written in English by citizens or legal resident aliens of the United States.

The Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award is a $100,000 prize given to a poet who is in the middle of their career and has already written many poems. This award is known as one of the world's most valuable poetry prizes.

The other award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, is given to a poet who shows real promise in their first published book of poetry. This award comes with a prize of $10,000.

History

Kingsley Tufts worked in executive roles at Los Angeles shipyards and wrote poetry as a passion. His poems were published in well-known magazines such as The New Yorker, Esquire, and Harper's.

After Kingsley’s death in 1991, his wife, Kate, sold their home and most of their belongings to create a fund to support poets. In 1993, she established the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award at Claremont Graduate University in California.

The award began with a prize of $50,000 and later increased to $100,000 as the fund grew. It is given to poets who are not new to their craft but have not yet reached the top of their careers.

Kate had no prior connection to Claremont Graduate University. However, after meeting the university’s president and visiting the campus, she believed it was the best place for her poetry prize.

Unlike many literary awards that recognize accomplished careers, the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award honors poets and provides financial support to help them continue their work. Kate said she wanted the prize to allow poets “to focus on their craft for a while without worrying about paying bills.”

In 1994, Kate created the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, which started at $5,000 and later grew to $10,000.

Kate Tufts died in June 1997 at the age of 86. Although she did not live to see her awards become major prizes, she was proud of their creation.

Doug Anderson, a 1995 recipient of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, recalled meeting Kate. He described her as having a sharp wit, saying she once joked, “I’m glad this year’s awards went to a couple of really disreputable poets.”

Judging

Both awards are judged in two steps. First, a group of three judges reviews about 400 total applications received for both awards. These judges then select finalists to send to the final judges.

The final group of judges includes five respected individuals who represent different parts of the American poetry community.

The final judges for the 2025 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are:

The final judges for the 2020 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are:

The final judges for the 2019 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are:

The final judges for the 2017 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are:

The final judges for the 2012 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are:

The preliminary judges for the 2012 competition include:

Submission requirements/deadlines

Submissions must be sent once each year on July 1. To be eligible, the work must have been published during the year before the submission deadline, which is from July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of that same year. Manuscripts, CDs, and chapbooks are not accepted.

Awards ceremony

Award winners are announced in February, after the July deadline. The ceremony where the awards are given happens in April, during National Poetry Month. This event takes place on the Claremont Graduate University Campus, and winners must accept their awards in person. Notable speakers at the ceremony have included Kathy Bates in 2002, Leonard Nimoy in 2007, and Maxine Hong Kingston in 2012.

Restrictions

A single piece of work can be entered for only one award, but someone who wins the Kate Tufts Discovery Award may enter another piece for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award in a future year.

The person who wins the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award must stay for one week at Claremont Graduate University to give talks and read poems in Claremont and other areas of Los Angeles.

The poet must be a U.S. citizen or a legal resident of the United States.