This seminal contest for English-language senryu was established in 2016 by Steve Hodge and Michael Rehling and sponsored by the journals of which the two were then editors, Prune Juice and Failed Haiku respectively. Now sponsored by Failed Haiku only, the annual contest was named in honor of New Jersey naturalist and prominent haiku and senryu poet H. Gene Murtha. The competition typically attracts several hundred entries from poets around the world.

Made possible by a grant from past Haiku Society of America president Virginia Brady Young, the Gerald M. Brady Award for best unpublished senryu was inaugurated in 1988 in hopes of stimulating interest in this genre. The annual contest is open to to all poets, who may submit up to five senryu at a time. Judges selected by the HSA Contest Coordinator award cash prizes for three top-ranked senryu and designate a number of honorable mentions.