Submissions for the 2019 Lauria/Frasca Poetry Prize are now open! The Lauria/Frasca Poetry Prize was conceived to promote the literature of the Italian diaspora and is open to poets of Italian descent writing poetry in English. The winning poet will be awarded $1000 and Bordighera Press will publish the manuscript, along with a standard royalty contract. Two runner-up manuscripts will receive standard royalty contracts.

Quality poetry in any style and on any theme is sought. For complete guidelines and more information, visit Bordighera Press on Submittable or email us at [email protected]. The deadline is May 31, 2019.

The 2018 winner was Talk by Matthew M. Cariello.

"What a pleasure it is to read these unadorned yet carefully observed poems by Matthew Cariello. Talk wages a lyrical conversation with the self, the everyday, and the natural world where hard-won realizations are in perfect balance with a nature that becomes primal because it is so effortlessly welcomed. There are no easy epiphanies, or grandiose posturing here, instead we gain insight from an integrated narrative impulse that subtly engages and delights. The birch tree, the fig trees, pigeons, and swallows, a walk to a delicatessen, trips to an old bookstore, and even an otherworldly shovel emerge as emblems without sacrificing their utility and order in the poet's refined imaginary."

-Peter Covino, Distinguished Judge