Read the 2024 Winning Poem by Iyanuoluwa Adenle selected by Othuke Umukoro

2025 Submission Guidelines: 


1. The Prize is open to writers anywhere in the world. ONE unpublished poem per submission. Please, no multiple submissions by the same writer. 
2. Please do not submit any poem that has previously appeared in a chapbook, an anthology, a full-length collection, social media, or any literary magazine. 
3. The submitted poem should not exceed 50 lines. Epigraphs and the poem's title are not part of the line count. 
4. Submissions must not include identifying information; please do not include your name or biographical information in your submission document. Include the following ONLY in the body of the email: Name, Phone number, Email, and Country of Residence. Please send your submission as a PDF or Word doc attachment to: kofiawoonorpoetryprize@gmail.com, and with the subject: Kofi Awoonor Poetry Prize 2025
5. Any submission that does not follow these guidelines or is received after the deadline will be discarded unread. 
6. Close friends, family members, and recent students of the judge are not eligible for this prize.
7. No entry fee is required. 
8. The administrators of Pepper Coast Mag will collate the submissions and forward them to the judge, who will read ALL submissions anonymously. 
9. The judge’s decision is final. 
10. The winner will receive $150 plus publication in Pepper Coast Mag.
11. The finalists will be announced in October, and the winner will be announced in November 2025.

If you have any questions, please email us. Thank you. Good luck, and we can’t wait to receive your submission.   

The KOFI AWOONOR POETRY PRIZE - 2025   

Submissions will open between JULY 1 to AUGUST 8, 2025, 11:59 PM (your local time).

The 2025 Judge will be announced soon. 


Othuke Umukoro was the inaugural judge for the prize.