In 1997, Alice James Books, with the support of the Jane Kenyon Memorial Fund, established the Jane Kenyon Chapbook Award Series in memory of poet and cooperative member Jane Kenyon.

Jane Kenyon, poet and translator, joined the Alice James Poetry Cooperative and published her first book of poetry, From Room To Room, in 1978. Fellow poet and friend, Joyce Peseroff, writes, "in that first volume was the power that would mark her subsequent work: the precise images; the simple eloquent style cats and dogs could understand; the restorative power of the natural world and kinship with communities she knew as neighbor, daughter, and wife; her journal of the soul's life within the body."

This biannual award series selected three titles:

   1997: Celia Gilbert, An Ark of Sorts

   1999: Alice Jones, Isthmus

   2001: Xue Di, An Ordinary Day

We are grateful for the support from the Jane Kenyon Memorial Fund which enabled us to honor Jane's memory, and now will focus on publishing more full-length poetry collections through our national book contest, The Beatrice Hawley Award, and our New England/New York Award.

Regretfully, we are no longer accepting chapbook submissions.