Welcome to the North Carolina Poetry Society. If you would like to become a member of the Society and receive the monthly e-newsletter, the thrice-yearly print newsletter, and many other benefits, visit the membership page of this website. Become part of a state-wide community of poets and poetry lovers.
Download our membership brochure or information for students here.
The North Carolina Poetry Society is an inclusive, welcoming community that does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, age, political preference, or any other category that has been used to divide human beings from each other and the natural world. We value diverse voices and varieties of expression.
Read the latest monthly issue of eMuse here.
NCPS News
New Gilbert-Chappell Mentees for 2025
The Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series is delighted to announce the following emerging poet mentees for 2025: In the Eastern Region, Amya Brown of Greenville, Hailey Long of Whiteville, Jude McDonald of Raleigh, and Kelsey Weimar of Greenville; in the Central Region, Akram Batikh of Raleigh; Jay Bryan of Chapel Hill, Zinnia Glee of Apex, and Vedika Zope of Lumberton; and in the Western Region, Lola Hays of Marion, Abi LeCureux of Sylva; Lauren Mills of Sherrills Ford, and Mark Spicknall of Pisgah Forest. Congratulations to these emerging poets, and good luck working with the Distinguished Poets in 2025.
Lena Shull Winner Announced
Alana Dagenhart is pleased to announce the 2024 winner of the Lena M. Shull Book Award, sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society: Smoke Memories by Doug Sutton-Ramspeck of Black Mountain. Honorable mention went to Maura High of Carrboro and Becky Nicole James of Fayetteville. for further information, click here.
Winners of the Jaki Shelton Green Performance Poetry Prize
The winners of the 2024 Jaki Shelton Green Performance Poetry Prize have been announced by judge Dasan Ahanu. Co-sponsored by the North Carolina Literary Review, this prize honors the best performance poem by a writer who fits the NCLR definition of a North Carolina writer: anyone who currently lives in North Carolina, has lived in North Carolina, or uses North Carolina as subject matter. To read the list of winners, click here.
New Distinguished Poet in the Eastern Region
We are delighted to welcome Gideon Young as the new Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet in the Eastern Region, appointed for the 2024-26 term by Regional Coordinator Kelly Jones. To read more on Gideon and his accomplishments, click here and scroll down to his picture and biography.
Brockman-Campbell Winner Announced
Ana Pugatch is pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 Brockman-Campbell Award for the best book of poems published by a North Carolina poet or publisher in the year preceding. This year’s winner is Michael Hettich for The Halo of Bees: New and Selected Poems 1990-2022 (Press 53, 2023). Honorable mention was awarded to Katherine Soniat for Starfish Wash-Up and Kenneth Chamlee for The Best Material for the Artist in the World. To read further, click here.
Discover the New NCPS Bookshelf
Take a look at the newly established North Carolina Poetry Society Bookshelf! This bookshelf features poetry books by our upcoming program speakers, North Carolina Poets Laureate, and NCPS members. We want to support North Carolina authors and independent booksellers. Explore here.
New In Memoriam Page
Thanks to the dedicated pioneering work by Debra Kaufman, drawing on the work of others, we now have a list of NC poets who have passed away on our In Memoriam page. Thanks so much, Debra, for helping us honor our literary ancestors!
