Alice James Books, national poetry press and UMF affiliate, announces poet Kaveh Akbar’s prestigious awards

Alice James Books, leading national poetry press and proud affiliate of the University of Maine at Farmington, is pleased to announce that Kaveh Akbar’s “Calling a Wolf a Wolf​” has been named the recipient of both the 2018 Levis Reading Prize from Virginia Commonwealth University and the gold ​winner in the 20th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

Akbar was a featured poet in UMF’s popular Visiting Writers Series.

Akbar’s debut full-length collection is published by Alice James in the U.S. and Penguin in the UK. His poems appear in The New Yorker, Poetry, The New York Times, The Nation, Tin House, Best American Poetry 2018, Harvard Review, AGNI and more.

Founded in 1973, Alice James Books is a leading independent press of national reputation dedicated to discovering and publishing exceptional poetry. The press continues to grow its list and is seen as an innovator in the field. AJB is committed to publishing a range of voices, supporting writers’ careers, and publishing women and other writers whose work may otherwise be marginalized. AJB also focuses on collaborating with writers in the publishing process, namely design and production. As they urgently engage with numerous pressing, public issues, many AJB books reach far beyond the “standard audience” for poetry. Since 1994, AJB has been a proud affiliate of the University of Maine at Farmington.

For more information about Alice James Books and their partnership with the University of Maine at Farmington, please visit: www.alicejamesbooks.org.