To make sense of paradoxes that define human experience, people have erected pathways towards understanding that transcend time. In moments of deep confusion, some may rely on the thrill and expedience of superstition; on the steadfastness of religion; in moments of deep curiosity, others will use the scientific method to gain knowledge. However, it's mythology and fables that remain the artist's tool for making sense of the world. As Joseph Campbell states: “I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of [artists], the inspirers of [poets].” 

In that vein, Frontier Poetry is excited to announce the 2026 Myths & Fables Prize. We’re seeking poems that address myths or fables with creativity and innovation. We invite classic retellings, holistic reimaginings, and personal mythologizing. Be subversive, challenge audience expectation, and venture to demonstrate the potentialities of language when paired with the power of myth. 

Frontier Poetry warmly encourages submissions from poets of all identities, cultural backgrounds, and traditions. We are especially interested in work that explores underrepresented mythologies and stories not often given space in the Western literary canon.

Guest Judge Matthew Olzmann will select the winners.The first-place winner will receive $3,000 and publication. Second- and third-place winners will receive $300 and $200, respectively, along with publication. All finalists will be considered for paid publication in New Voices.

This contest opens July 13th, 2026 and closes September 13th, 2026.

Further reading for inspiration can be found here: 

• “Circe's Power” by Louise Gluck 
• “The Uncursing of the Medusa” by Ola Faleti
• “Asian Cowgirl Is Doomed From the Start " by Kimberly Ramos 
• "God is Narcoleptic Too," by Cheyenne Mann 
• "When My Preschoolers Ask Me Why I Don't Have Kids" by Allison Norwood

About the Guest Judge: 

Matthew Olzmann is the author of Constellation Route as well as two previous collections of poetry. His next book An Oral History of the Flat Earth is forthcoming from Alice James Books in 2027. A recipient of fellowships from Kundiman, MacDowell, and the National Endowment for the Arts, Olzmann’s poems have appeared in the New York Times, Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prizes, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. He is an assistant professor at Dartmouth College and also teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

What Olzmann Is Looking For:

"I tend to like poems that seek to create an experience for the reader rather than trying to simply report an experience to the reader. That experience might come in any number of forms, but the ones that live with me the longest are usually those that surprise me in some manner, give me a new way of seeing or feeling, or they pull me out of my life for a brief moment, then bring me back somehow altered."  

Guidelines

• Submissions are open to new and emerging writers (for this contest, we define this as poets with no more than one full-length work of poetry published or forthcoming at the time of submission).
• Send up to three poems per submission, for a total of no more than five pages.
• For this contest, we have no aesthetic or formal requirements and will consider all styles of poetry.
• Please submit unpublished poems only. Previously published work will be automatically disqualified.
• You may submit multiple times, but each submission requires a separate $20 fee.
• We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• As part of our dedication to the pursuit of a more inclusive publishing world, we offer a free submission window for poets from historically marginalized groups at the beginning of the contest. Please note the portal will close when we hit our cap of fifty submissions; there will be no additional waivers granted.
• Submissions are open internationally, to any poet writing in English. Inclusion of other languages is welcome, as long as the poem is primarily written in English. Some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• Please include a brief cover letter that includes a short, third-person bio with your publication history, if applicable. To safeguard our staff, please include any necessary content warnings as well.
• Do not include any identifying information in the body of your document.
• Work generated by AI will be automatically disqualified.
• Please do not submit work if you have a close relationship with Frontier’s editors or the guest judge.
• Winners and finalists will be announced in the fall of 2026.

If you have any questions, please visit our FAQ page. If you don’t find the answer to your question, you can send an email to contact (at ) frontierpoetry (dot) com.

Additional Feedback Options

The single–letter editorial feedback costs $59 and will provide you with two pages of detailed and actionable feedback by one of our editors on a single poem of your choice from your packet, including suggestions for future submissions. The $149 option will provide you with three letters from three different editors. Our guest editors are paid a significant portion of the fee and all are astute and professional poets. Please allow eight to twelve weeks from the close of the contest to receive your editorial feedback.