CantoMundo recognized with top national writing award

CantoMundo, housed within the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University, won the Association of Writers and Writing Programs’ 2026 Writing Organization Award this past March at AWP’s conference in Baltimore. 

Formed in 1967, the AWP champions excellence in writing by amplifying writers as well as academic programs and organizations that support them.

“It was really nice to get the award when we did, because it was a nice combination of a lot of time, effort and change — rough times and good times. I had the privilege of accepting it, but it's not for me; it's for the organization. I'm standing on a lot of shoulders,” said Belinda Acosta, the senior project manager of literary programs at the Piper Center. 

CantoMundo brought its organization to Arizona State University’s Tempe campus in 2023 for a three-year collaboration. Originally founded in 2009, the national poetry organization was established to cultivate a community of Latino poets through a series of workshops, symposia, public readings and publications. 

“Poets are a completely different breed. They get to work in a very intensive environment where they get to leave the world behind and be in company with other writers at various stages of their career, and work with luminaries among LatinxLatinx is a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to the Spanish-gendered terms "Latino" or "Latina," used to describe people of Latin American descent or origin. poets,” said Acosta. “You get to spend some time thinking and creating and dreaming, collaborating and talking to other people about their work.”

The organization has continuously held annual retreats, regional readings and workshops that focus on a variety of topics to bring poetry to new communities and amplify new voices in American poetry. 

“For many poets, CantoMundo has been a first door that opened — and then remained open. What happens inside that space is not only the making of poems, but the making of a shared literary life. This award recognizes that enduring gift,” said Alberto Ríos, Regents Professor and director of the Piper Center. 

Since its establishment at ASU, Acosta has worked to establish the CantoMundo brand on campus with students, faculty and staff. Alongside their summer retreats, CantoMundo has hosted book fairs — such as the one hosted during the Piper Center's Desert Nights Rising Stars conference — and invited former fellows of different disciplines to return to the center and teach online.

“We have people from here, Tucson, the East Coast — really from all over the country. They can tap in and experience some of our more advanced CantoMundo fellows,” said Acosta.

Acosta hopes to continue their work in creating a community through CantoMundo at ASU, including reaching out to more local nonprofits and organizations. 

To celebrate National Poetry Month this April, CantoMundo also recently welcomed its next cohort of eight fellows from across the U.S. They will travel to Tempe in June to work with distinguished poets and educators for mentorship, feedback and inspiration.

“We want as many people to see our poets as possible, so doing an Instagram or Facebook Live event seemed like a logical choice,” Acosta said in a recent press release. “The Piper Center will be open to anyone who cares to come in person, but I’m personally delighted at the idea that audiences from anywhere in the world can find us and enjoy the work of our poets, faculty and keynote.”