Central Avenue Poetry Prize 2024

Overview

Imagine if you could have the best debut poetry from the widest variety of up-and-coming poets in one, single place. A compilation of fresh faces from all walks of life, The Central Avenue Poetry Prize assembles a swathe of standout poetry and delivers it straight to your bookshelf. 

A collaborative effort between poets from all corners of the world and all walks of life, The Central Avenue Poetry Prize presents a collection of poetry like no other. Rife with heartache, longing, laughter, and life, this book captures the spark of creativity and the vastness that is the human soul within its pages. This collection contains stories that are funny, some that are sad, some that are beautiful—and all that are true. 

Diverse in content and rich in talent, this is a testament to the art of poetry, and a reminder that the act of writing comes from the act of living, and when we create, we allow ourselves to see and be seen.

Reviews

"The Central Avenue Poetry Prize is an astounding collection of poems. As you read each page and meet new poets from different countries and life experiences, you'll be reminded of the joy and pain that make us all human: the love we crave, the loss we endure, and the lives we live." — Shelby Leigh, author of Girl Made of Glass 

"The very first time I considered myself a poet for even a second was when Michelle Halket, the publisher, heart and soul of Central Avenue called to tell me that she’d managed to get my first book into the poetry section of Barnes & Noble. I hadn’t up until that point considered what I was doing poetry, which seems foolish in retrospect but I was trying to do something and I wasn’t quite sure what it was. To my eternal gratitude, Michelle and Central Avenue were the voice that said, “Here, this is what you’re doing.” That experience changed my life. This book is filled with poems that’ll change your life and if not your life, then perhaps at the very least, your morning or your coffee break because that’s what poetry does, which is something other kinds of writing can’t. It connects us in the small moments and binds us and lets us know we aren’t alone, or that there is something new to be felt, or that the world is brighter, or darker, or more different that we ever imagined. Every poet here clearly knows what they’re doing and I can’t help but feel that the team at Central Avenue had a significant part to play in that." — Iain S. Thomas, author of I Wrote This For You and The Truth of You

"This felt like a homecoming to the interconnectedness of the human experience. With so many different poets, so many different lived lives, it's a reminder that there is both immense beauty and pain in being human, and yet, we are never alone in it either." — Makenzie Campbell, author of 2am Thoughts

“The Central Avenue Poetry Prize makes its debut with an incredible array of diverse and talented poetic voices. This anthology is a stunning showcase of the contemporary poetry scene.” — Catarine Hancock, author of shades of lovers 

Author Biography

Working beside the sea in the Pacific Northwest, Beau has worn many different hats, but his fervent passion for literature led him to the publishing world—where he intends on staying. When he isn’t reading and writing emails, Beau is jogging, hiking with his dog, or binge-watching sitcoms on Netflix. Beau is the editor of the 2024 edition of the Central Avenue Poetry Prize.