The Ouroborealis Poetry Prize
The Ouroborealis Poetry Prize is an annual poetry contest from The Columbus Review, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit experimental literary magazine and publisher in Columbus, Ohio (EIN 41-5362911). This is the magazine’s first poetry prize. It is a paid contest listing, not the magazine’s free reading period.
What it is
The Ouroborealis Poetry Prize takes its name from ouroboros and aurora borealis: a cycle of light in chaotic transition. The Columbus Review publishes experimental, hybrid, and formal-misfit work (poetry, prose, scripts, satire) in the lineage of Dada, surrealism, and early cinema. The prize looks for the same range: inversions of form, prototypes, grotesque humor, uncanny lyric, work that does not sit easily in a traditional journal.
Theme
The 2026–2027 theme is Metamorphic Outliers. Treat the theme as a creative lens, not a literal subject. Poems do not need to be “about” metamorphosis. They should feel like outliers: shifted, hybrid, or formally unstable.
Who can enter
Open to writers residing in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico). Previously unpublished poems only (not printed in a journal, book, or anthology). Simultaneous submissions are welcome; notify The Columbus Review if the piece is accepted elsewhere. Multiple entries are allowed. Staff and household of The Columbus Review should not enter.
How to enter
Entry fee is $10 per poem. One poem per file per fee. Additional poems require another $10 entry. Poems should be 5 to 40 lines (beyond a haiku; one page). Upload the file and pay on the next screen. Do not send contest entries to the magazine’s free submissions address.
Enter only here: https://www.thecolumbusreview.com/contests
Prize pool
The Columbus Review seeded the live prize pool at $50. Every finished $10 entry is added to the pot. The live total is posted on the contest page. Split: 60% grand prize, 20% honorable mention, 20% to The Columbus Review for administration, Stripe processing, and print. One grand prize and one honorable mention. Both awarded poems appear in the next issue of The Columbus Review. No additional payment beyond the stated pool.
Dates
Closes January 1, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern (EST). Winners notified in February 2027. Public results March 1, 2027.
Rights
The Columbus Review acquires First North American Serial Rights for awarded contest work. All rights revert to the author on publication.
About the organizer
The Columbus Review (TCR) is based in Columbus, Ohio. It is a registered 501(c)(3). The magazine’s first issue is in progress. The Ouroborealis Poetry Prize is a separate door from free magazine submissions. Contest traffic belongs on /contests only.