Winners of the 2026 James Hearst Poetry Prize
We are pleased to announce that Danez Smith has selected a winner, runners-up and four honorable mentions from a slate of finalists. See the full list below. All entrants will receive a copy of the Spring 2026 issue of North American Review. A big thank you to everyone who submitted poems for the prize. We had 501 entries, and it was a pleasure to read such an abundance of fine poetry. Congratulations to you all!
Winner
Jarrett Moseley, “Micropsia”
Runners-up
Bridget Huh, “Like a Man”
Krystal Vazquez, “Viviana (Este)”
Honorable Mentions
Hayden Park, “There Is Another Name for the Animal I Am Becoming”
Jessica Barksdale, “What the Crow Said”
Ajla Dizdarević, “You Will Dream of Eating Corpses”
Caroline New, “The Museum of Natural History”
Finalists
Michelle Alexander, “Eurydice”
Jessica Barksdale, “Strike”
Elizabeth Brown, “Her Name Means Peace”
Sam Busa, “Eulogy For an Embryo”
Delicia Daniels, “Chronology of Eighteenth-Century Antebellum Ink”
Todd Davis, “The Teachings of Crotalus horridus, or Love as a Charm of Protection in Appalachia”
Shaheen Dil, “Asha”
Boli Du, “Meat Love”
Sharon Hashimoto, “Dressing Up His Niece for Winter”
Melissa McKinstry, “Missing My Father in Late Summer as I Plant Zinnias for My Daughter's Backyard Wedding”
Lauren Moseley, “Self-Portrait as Giant Short-Faced Bear”
Cat Wei, “Pleasure”
Danez Smith is the author of four poetry collections: [insert] boy, Don’t Call Us Dead, Homie, and, most recently, Bluff. They are also the curator of Blues In Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes. For their work, Danez was won the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and have been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the National Book Award, as well as an array of grants, fellowships, and residencies including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the Princeton Arts Fellowship. Danez lives in the Twin Cities with their people and teaches at the Randolph College MFA program and the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul, MN.
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