Poetry & Literature
Since 2013, in partnership with AAP, The Betsy Writer’s Room has awarded an annual residency to the winner of the The James Laughlin Award - given by the AAP to honor a second full-length print book of original poetry, in English, by a living poet, forthcoming in the next calendar year. Past award winners include Annelyse Gelman (2022), James Cagney (2021), Chet’la Sebree (2020, Aditi Machado (2019), Geffrey Davis (2018), sam sax (2017), Mary Hickman (2016), Kathryn Nuernberger (2015), Brian Blanchfield (2014), and Jillian Weise (2013). Poets.org
Since 2015, The Betsy has been the ‘home base’ for SWWIM - Supporting Women Writers in Miami - in partnership with Jen Karetnick, Catherine Esposito Prescott, Caridad Moro-Grlonlier and Alexandra Lytton Regalado. The Writers Room sponsors at least 7 annual residencies, readings and meet-the-artist events with SWWIM. Visiting poets are always paired with South Florida women poets for readings, with a mission to empower women writers and connect them to each other. Read more about SWWIM at the “Women Writers” link on this website and at swwim.org
Video: Zen and the Art of Poetry by Women
Since 2015, Cave Canem and The Betsy Writers Room have collaborated with O, Miami on the Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize which spotlights exceptional chapbook-length manuscripts by Black poets. The winner of the prize receives a $1000 award, publication of their manuscript by O, Miami Books, 10 copies of the chapbook, a residency in The Betsy Hotel Writers Room, and a featured reading at the O, Miami Poetry Festival. Black poets of African descent at any stage in their career are welcome to submit to a competitive program with an annual fall deadline at cavecanempoets.org
Since 2010, The Betsy Writers Room has hosted visiting artists for the Writers on the Bay Literary Series presented annually by Florida International University. Curated by members of the Creative Writing Department at FIU, the program culminates annually at a late spring event where the Lawrence A. Sanders Literature Award in Fiction is presented. Past award winners include: Scott Turow (2010), Pat Conroy (2011), Isabel Allende (2012), Richard Ford (2013), Amy Tan (2014) Michael Ondaatje (2015), and Tim O’Brien (2016).
O, Miami launched in 2010 and for more than a decade received principal support from The Betsy Hotel and The Betsy Writers Room. Between 2010 and 2020, The Betsy hosted wide ranging residencies, readings, and other experiential outreach programs as primary organizational partner and presenter. For detailed information on the O, Miami/Betsy collaboration, visit omiami.org.
VIDEO: Poet, Chen Hove host youth poetry
The Betsy Writer’s Room has engaged in many youth-oriented programs including 1) Poetry Slam nights with local youth poets, 2) The Betsy Book Club that created libraries in four ‘Teach for America’ public school classrooms, 3) the Shelfie Project that seeded libraries for 1st year teachers in partnership with Warehouse 4726, Book Tribe, and Little Sages Books, and 4) The Betsy Writer’s Room in Williams Park - a project with South Florida Cares Mentoring Movement and the Wege Foundation, that created a satellite Betsy Writers Room in an after school program.
Video: Betsy Writers Room in Williams Park
Narratives against Poverty in Africa Writing Program (2025)
Africa must always write its own story, her story of both the rich past, beautiful and dark present. A beautiful continent of great ancient tribes, anthropologies, histories, cultures, mountains, rivers and the most revered fauna, Africa is also gripped with great challenges. This African Writing initiative will discover the rich marrow of African writing talent and make us experience a journey of the best modern African storytelling. Fifty-two (52) submissions will be compiled into a book anthology and three (3) winners will receive official accolades. We all know Africa got a story to tell us. (Mbizo Chirasa, 2025)
Mbizo Chirasha (born 1978) is a Zimbabwean poet. In Diogen magazine, he is described as an "acclaimed wordsmith, performances poet, widely published poet and writer,” and according to the Stellenbosch Literary Project, he is "an internationally acclaimed Performance poet, Writer, Creative/Literary Projects Specialist, an Advocate of Girl Child Voices and Literacy Development." Mbizo Chirasha has been published in more than 60 journals, various anthologies, newspapers, blogs and poetry collections.
Submissions begin in March 2025 and are closed on the 31st of July 2025.
Judges /curators' expectations: find highly critical work that delves into issues of poverty, hunger, injustice, effects of climate change, corruption, pandemics, effects of war and violence in Africa.
Winners are announced in August 2025
Book Anthology is published in September 2025
Poet/Activist Mbizo Chirasa, Director - mbizotheblackpoet@gmail.com
