Alfred G. Bailey Prize

Poetry Manuscript

      • 48 to 96 pages
      • Individual poems can be previously published, but the manuscript
        must be unpublished
      • First Prize $350, Second Prize $200, Third Prize 1 year WFNB membership

      2025 Judge: Kathy Mac 

        Kathy Mac has authored three books of poetry (Roseway Publishing), two books on the craft of writing (Wording Around Press), and, as Kathleen McConnell, a book of essays (Wolsak and Wynn Publishers). She lives near Halifax (Kjipuktuk) in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq, Malliseet and Passamaquoddy peoples.





        2024 Judge: Susan Gillis

        Winners


        First Place: Wolf Peach- Author: Grace Taylor, Fredericton, NB

        Second Place: Unfinished Lines – Author: Ed Lemond, New Richmond, Quebec

        Third Place: The Reign – Author: Shane Neilson, Cambridge, Ontario

        Honourable Mention: wings of a moth, Author: Jane Tims, Rusagonis


        2022 - 2023 Judge: Alice Burdick

        Winners


        First Prize: Agata Antonow (Florenceville-Bristol, NB ), Her Strange Position

        Second Prize: John McNeil (NB), Bigfoot at the Lord Nelson

        Third Prize: Ian LeTourneau (Fredericton, NB), Metadata from a Changing Climate


        2021 - 2022 Judge: Trevor Corkum

        Winners


        First Prize: Amy Murphy, Cliffs and Piles

        Second Prize: Phillip Crymble, The Rowan Berries of Winter

        Third Prize:  Jane Tims, persist, perish, escape

        Honourable Mention: Bryn Harris, The Anthem of the White-Throated Sparrow 


        About Alfred G. Bailey

        Prize Sponsors

        I won First Place in the Bailey Prize category in 2016, Third Place in 2020 and 2022. I am so proud to be able to report this in the author and cover descriptions for my various books, knowing that people unfamiliar with my work will recognize the honour and confidence expressed through the winning of these awards.

        --Jane Tims

        Winning the Alfred G. Bailey prize for best poetry manuscript has encouraged me to continue to improve my manuscript, to create new works, and even to explore writing new genres.  I am motivated to regularly submit to contests, and I have become both more open and more discerning in how I consume all art forms, with a heightened appreciation for process. --Amy Murphy, First Prize, 2022

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