Announcing the Results of the 2025 Changes Book Prize
With gratitude to all who submitted, we are delighted to announce that the fourth annual Changes Book Prize has been awarded to Leslie McIntosh for his manuscript within-group variance, selected by Terrance Hayes and slated for publication in the fall of 2026.
within-group variance
by Leslie McIntosh
Leslie McIntosh (all pronouns respectfully used) chiefly explores and explodes morphologies and hermeneutics of AAVE, with an eye toward the pragmatic language of neurodiverse Black folk, among other things. Supported by grants and fellowships from arts organizations such as Breadloaf Writers Conference, Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop, Jersey City Arts Council, Millay Arts, The Watering Hole, and Zoeglossia, Leslie’s work has appeared in numerous publications, some of which include Adi Magazine, Fourteen Hills, Indiana Review, Obsidian, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. Currently a chapbook editor at Newfound: An Inquiry of Place, Leslie lives on the stolen land of the Munsee Lenape, presently known as Jersey City, NJ, USA.
We received nearly 1,200 submissions to this year’s contest and were amazed at the variety and caliber of the manuscripts we read. Among them were many more books deserving of recognition than we can name. We are grateful to have spent time with so many vibrant poems.
Please join us in congratulating this year’s prizewinner!