Waar is het lam? by Mustafa Stitou wins the Johan Polak Poetry Prize 2025

The board of the Johan Polak Poetry Prize Foundation announces that, by recommendation of the jury, it will award the prize for the year 2025 to the collection Waar is het lam? by Mustafa Stitou. The prize includes a cash prize of 50,000 euros. The jury consisted of Bertram Mourits (chairman), Carl De Strycker, Radna Fabias, Anne Vegter and Nadia de Vries.

Award Ceremony - Johan Polak Poetry Prize 2025 during the Poetry International Festival

This year, the prestigious Johan Polak Prize will be presented on Sunday June 15th 2025 during the Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam. The ceremony will take place from 2:30 to 3:15 PM in Auditorium 1 of LantarenVenster, followed by drinks in the foyer. A festival ticket gives you access to both the award ceremony and the full Poetry International Festival program. Don't miss it and come to LantarenVenster on June 15th for an inspiring afternoon full of poetry, networking and festive moments.

Submissions for the Johan Polak Poetry Prize 2026

Poetry International invites all poets and publishers to submit their poetry collections for the 2026 edition. Collections that were first published in 2023, 2024 or 2025 and that meet the set guidelines should be submitted in the form of six copies between December 6th 2025 and March 1st 2026.

The collections can be sent to the following address:
Poetry International
t.a.v. Fleur Jeras
Westersingel 16
3014 GN Rotterdam

Virgula by Sasja Janssen wins the first Johan Polak Poetry Prize

The board of the Johan Polak Poetry Prize Foundation announces that, by recommendation of the jury, it will award the prize for the year 2024 to the collection Virgula (2021) by Sasja Janssen. The prize includes a cash prize of 50,000 euros. The jury consisted of Janita Monna (chair), Bertram Mourits, Mathijs Sanders, Carl De Strycker and Anne Vegter. The Johan Polak Poetry Prize is awarded for the first time to the best Dutch-language collection that has been published in the past three years (2021-2023).

New poetry prize launched: the Johan Polak Poetry Prize

From 2024 onwards, the Johan Polak Poetry Prize will be awarded annually. It is a new poetry prize of no less than €50,000 for the best Dutch-language poetry collection, published in the three preceding years. Unlike with other prizes, a collection has a three-year-long chance of winning. The prize is an initiative of the Johan Polak Poetry Prize Foundation and is financed by the Johan Polak Foundation for the Preservation of Special Books, which guarantees its continued existence for at least 25 years.