I’m Jake and I’m honored to share the writers and storytellers selected for this year’s Saad Prize, selected by the 2026 Saad Prize judges Sherwin Bitsui and Esther Belin. This year’s theme, Verbs: Land / Language / Futures, asked writers to explore how poetry can illuminate the ongoing work of belonging, cultural continuity, and sovereignty.

This year, I wanted to gather poets who are in the mid to late stages of developing a poetry manuscript. For me, building a poetry collection has always been shaped by exchange, through peer feedback, mentor texts, and ongoing conversations with other poets, artists, and writers.

These writing prompts are designed for Diné high school students who are interested in writing poems for the Saad Prize Youth Incubator Awards. They are also designed to help students think through the 2026 Prize Cycle theme.

Hootso and Navajo Technical University invite Diné poets and storytellers to submit work for the 2026 Saad Prize, a literary award and incubator recognizing poetry and storytelling that engage the relationship between language, land, and Diné life.