Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships

The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the US, the $27,000 prize is intended to support exceptional US poets between 21 and 31 years of age.

The fellowships were established in 1989 by the Indianapolis philanthropist Ruth Lilly and expanded in 2013 with a gift from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund.

Eligibility

• Applicants need to be between the ages of 21 and 31 in 2026. If you are turning 21 or are 31 at any time in 2026 you are eligible to apply.
• Applicants must be US citizens or currently reside in the US.
• Applicants should be able to demonstrate a clear commitment to poetry.
• One of the Poetry Foundation’s priorities when selecting the 2026 Fellows is to support poets who have not had substantial institutional support in their careers thus far.

How to Apply

• All applicants will need to register and apply through the Poetry Foundation’s Grants and Awards Online Portal. To access the portal, applicants must submit an initial registration form. Registrations will be approved within 3-5 business days.
• If you registered for an account anytime after 2022, please do not register again. Your username is your email address and you can request a new password.
• After your registration is approved, applicants will be required to upload 10 pages of poetry as a single PDF and answer questions regarding their creative practices.
• The Poetry Foundation offers alternative application formats (e.g., audio format, video format, and interview with transcription). Please contact Grants@PoetryFoundation.org or call 312-799-8072 by February 14, 2025 to arrange a method of submitting the application that best meets your accessibility needs.

Application Timeline

Please note: Registration requests will not be reviewed or approved from December 19, 2025 January 5, 2026 due to the holiday break.

• January 15 - Applications open
• February 11, 12:00-1:00PM (CT) - Virtual information session (see details below)
• February 20  Deadline to request alternative application formats
• February 27  Cut off to submit application portal registration for first-time applicants
• March 2, 5:00PM (CT)  Deadline to submit application
• All applicants will be notified by late-July 2026

Information Session

Register for our virtual information session on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 from 12:00-1:00PM (CT), where we will discuss the application process and answer any questions you may have about the fellowship.

• ASL interpretation and CART captioning will be provided.
• The Zoom link will be emailed the day before the information session (February 10).
• A recording of the webinar will be available on the grants webpage the week of February 16.
• If you have any questions or accessibility needs, please contact grants@poetryfoundation.org.