The American Poetry Review recently announced the winner of the APR/Honickman First Book Prize, Itiola Jones for her manuscript Bloodmercy. Her book was chosen amongst many by esteemed poet Nicole Sealey.
Itiola Jones is an American / Nigerian poet and editor. She is a senior editor for Poetry Northwest where she runs her column, The Legacy Suite, a three-part interview documenting the journey of writers publishing their debut poetry collections. She is a Graduate Fellow with The Watering Hole and holds fellowships from Hedgebrook Callaloo, BOAAT Writer’s Retreat, Brooklyn Poets, and Bread Loaf where she was the 2023 Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in poetry.
Bloodmercy will be distributed by Copper Canyon Press through Consortium. Itiola will receive a standard book publishing contract, with royalties paid in addition to the $3,000 prize.
Publication is set for September, 2025.
Congratulations Itiola on this amazing achievement!
Read more on Itiola here.
Bongiwe T. Maphosa
Bongiwe Maphosa is a budding author with a passion for storytelling. With her thought-provoking narratives, she takes her readers on a literary adventure. Bongiwe's works on the human condition from a fresh perspective have earned her recognition and publications in the Avbob Poetry Anthology of 2019, The Writer's Club of South Africa 2021, and JAY Lit in 2021. She hopes to cement her place in the literary community.
