Griffin Prize Giveaway! Win Two Tickets to this Year's Readings, and a Poetry Prize Pack!

The Griffin Prize awards ceremony is right around the corner, and lucky poetry fans can hear all of the shortlisted authors at the upcoming Griffin Prize Poetry Readings right before the announcement of the winning book, all of which will take place on June 4th at Koerner Hall in Toronto!

In anticipation of the award of this fabled prize, our friends at the Griffin Trust our giving away (2) TWO TICKETS to attend the readings, along with a poetry prize pack that includes all of the shortlisted titles!

The finalists this year, as announced late last month, are as follows:

The Great Zoo by Aaron Coleman
Translated from the Spanish written by Nicolás Guillén
The University of Chicago Press

Kiss the Eyes of Peace by Brian Henry
Translated from the Slovenian written by Tomaž Šalamun
Milkweed Editions

Psyche Running by Karen Leeder
Translated from the German written by Durs Grünbein
Seagull Books

Scattered Snows, to the North by Carl Phillips
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss
Graywolf Press

To enter, simply send us an email at contests@open-book.ca and tell us which poet you're most looking forward to hearing from at the ceremony. Please include a mailing address and the subject line "Open Book Griffin Readings Contest." All entries must be received by 11:59p.m. EST on Sunday, May 25th, 2025 to be considered.

The Griffin Prize shortlist readings will be hosted at Koerner Hall, a beautiful concert venue located at 273 Bloor Street West, on June 4th, 2025, beginning at 7:30pm. A winner must be able to attend the ceremony in person in order to claim their prize.

One winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Tickets will also be delivered digitally, with books shipped to the appropriate address. One entry per person. This contest is open to Canadian residents only. Chance of winning depends on number of entries received.

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Founded in 2000 by Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Scott Griffin, the Griffin Poetry Prize is the world's largest international prize for a single book of poetry written in, or translated into English. The winner will receive $130,000. The remaining shortlisted writers will each receive $10,000.

In the event a winning book is a translation into English, the Griffin Poetry Prize will allocate 60 per cent of the prize to the translator and 40 per cent to the original poet.

The shortlist was selected from 578 books of poetry by a jury including Canadian author and poet Anne Michaels, and international writers Nick Laird and Tomasz Różycki.

A $10,000 prize will also be awarded for a Canadian first book of poetry. The award is a six-week residency in Italy in partnership with the Civitella Ranieri Foundation to a Canadian citizen, or permanent resident, for a first book written in English. A $25,000 lifetime recognition award will also be awarded.