2025 Saturday 'Visiter' Awards

The Saturday Visiter Awards are presented by Poe Baltimore to recognize a new generation of artists continuing Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy in the arts and literature around the world.  The prizes celebrate media, art, performance and writing that adapts or is inspired by Poe’s life and works. 

Though he was not wealthy in his lifetime, Edgar Allan Poe was the first American writer to support himself entirely by his pen. The Saturday Visiter was the name—and spelling—of a local periodical that held a contest for poetry and short stories. Poe won the award for his short story “MS Found in a Bottle” (which he wrote at Poe House.) The Saturday Visiter Awards are named after the prize a young Edgar Allan Poe won while he lived in Baltimore which helped to launch the famed writer’s career. 

Saturday Visiter Awards are presented in two categories: works that adapt Poe’s life or writing (including biography, or true adaptations of his poetry or prose), and original works that are inspired by Poe’s life or writing. In addition, important "Poe Places", including The Poe Museum (Richmond, VA) ,  The Poe Cottage (the Bronx NYC) and Poe House (Baltimore , MD) will highlight exceptional entries specific to their region. The awards are presented every October at the annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Poe Baltimore is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created to fund, maintain and interpret The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, and to celebrate the legacy of one of Baltimore’s most famous residents. The organization is dedicated to maintaining the museum as a vibrant experience for the thousands of visitors who come from around the world each year, and as part of a broader mission of city-wide events and educational opportunities celebrating Poe’s legacy in Baltimore and beyond.  

Click here to read the Saturday Visiter Awards Guidelines for Entry or download the PDF below. Call for entries will open January 19, 2026.

NEW for Maryland High School Students only:   The Young Saturday Visiter Awards, sponsored by the Baltimore National Heritage Area. Click here to read more about this category, open to Maryland High School Students (Grades 9-12 or equivalent during the 2025-26 School Year.)