The Asian Group of Literature is pleased to announce the launch of The Aisan Prize for Poetry’s inaugural edition. The Asian Prize for Poetry is a non-monitory award that aims to create a global platform of appreciation for the outstanding work of poetry by writers around the world. If the submitted work complies with the rules and standards of the prize, it will be evaluated by a panel of judges who represent the diversity of the world we live in today. Chair of the 2025 edition is the Ukranian poet Iryna Vikyrchak.

The Asian Prizes

Launched in 2022, the Asian Prizes is a non-profit literary program run by the Asian Group of Literature. Under The Asian Prizes umbrella, four literary prizes (The Asian Prize for Literature, The Asian Prize for Fiction, The Asian Prize for Short Story, and The Aisan Prize for Poetry) are hosted by The Asian Review, (A literary Review magazine based in Brussels, Colombo, and Montreal), and two prizes for natural sciences and social sciences, hosted by The Asian Journal (Scientific Journal under The Asian Group).

Each of the two prize clusters uses a unique judging and administration system: 

The Asian Prize for Literature/Asian Prize for Social Sciences/The Asian Prize for Natural Science — a non-competitive award recognizing individual contributions to each field. Awarded annually, The Asian Prize for Fiction celebrates traditionally published works of fiction, with judging conducted by a global network of accredited book clubs. The Asian Prize for Short Story/The Asian Prize for Poetry — judged by a panel of judges appointed by The Asian Group. The jury includes authors, readers, publishers, literary agents, and reviewers. 

Submissions

Theme: The Earth

The submissions should align with the theme of the current edition “THE EARTH”.

Here are the guidelines and the rules.

We are currently accepting the entries; the submissions will be closed on the 15th of March. The long list will be announced on August 15, 2025, followed by the shortlist on November 15. The winner will be announced on December 15, 2025.

General rules: 

• The applicants can submit only one poem per edition. Do NOT submit collections. 
• Authors writing under pen names are required to provide a written declaration confirming their names, along with a copy of a valid ID for verification.
• The submitted work can not be published anywhere else within 18 months of submission.
• The Asian Group of Literature will have the right to publish the longlisted work and the work to which the prize is awarded in printed, audio and online media. 
• The shortlisted writers agree to contribute to 3 free writing masterclass sessions with The Asian Prizes within 2 calendar years.

Technical guidelines:

• Submissions should be in English. 
• There is no word limit for the poems
• Translations of published work are accepted, as long as the translation is in English, the author of the original work will be awarded the prize (if won) and the translator will be recognised for the work of translation. The work must be submitted by the author of the original work — along with the work in its original language. 
• The font should be Times New Roman, 12, with 1.4 spacing — no other format is accepted. 
• No pictures are accepted in the submissions.
• A submission can not contain local words greater than 5%.
• A glossary is mandatory if words from local languages are present in the poems. 
• The applicants should get an application form by contacting The Prize administration via (admin@theasianprizes.org)
• The submissions should be sent to (submissions@theasianprizes.org), with the email title ‘The Asian Prize for Poetry/ 2025/Name of the applicant/Title.
• A properly filled submission form is mandatory. 

Dhanuka Dickwella