We lost Laura Boss, a celebrated New Jersey poet, in 2021. In addition to her seven books and her founding and editing of Lips magazine for 40 years, she spent an enormous amount of time mentoring and inspiring other poets. As a tribute to Laura and in an effort to continue her mission of supporting poets and poetry, the Laura Boss Poetry Foundation will sponsor:
The Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award - The winning manuscript will be awarded a cash prize of $5000 and book publication by NYQ Books. The submission period is January-March.
Lips poetry magazine - an annual publication. submissions are accepted September through November each year.
The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) corporation and all contributions to support its work are tax-deductible.
Lips was founded in 1981 by Laura Boss. Now entering its fifth decade, it has published poems by Robert Bly, Allen Ginsberg, Ruth Stone, David Ignatow, Marge Piercy, Michael Benedikt, Nicholas Christopher, Anne Waldman, Ishmael Reed, Gregory Corso, Lyn Lifshin, Ted Berrigan, Paul Hoover, Jana Harris, Toi Derricotte, Joseph Bruchac, Alice Notley, Warren Woessner, Robert Phillips, Hal Sirowitz, Theodore Weiss, Alicia Ostriker, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Stanley H. Barkan, Michael Weaver, Molly Peacock and Richard Kostelanetz.
We recommend that contributors review a copy of the magazine before submitting poems. You might obtain a copy at your library, or by purchasing a copy of the latest issue or a back issue here.