Floating Bridge Press’s Poetry Chapbook Competition began in 1995 with the publication of Joannie Kervran’s A Steady Longing for Flight. Our annual competition is an open competition for Washington State poets in which manuscripts are judged anonymously. In 2022, we named the competition after longtime, and all-around kindest editor John Pierce.
The winning poet receives a minimum of $500, 15 copies of a perfect-bound, archival-quality chapbook, local promotion, distribution of the chapbook, and a featured reading in the Seattle area (or online). A minimum of one finalist will receive publication, a $50 award, and 15 copies of their perfect-bound, archival-quality chapbook as well.
All entrants are considered for inclusion in Pontoon Poetry and receive a copy of the winning chapbook. All poems chosen for Pontoon Poetry are considered for the Paula Jones Gardiner Memorial Award.
We look forward to reading your work!
General Guidelines
Floating Bridge Press reads manuscripts for our John Pierce Chapbook Competition from January 1st to March 31st each year. Here are a few guidelines to make your job (and let’s be honest, our job) a little easier:
-We read and judge all submissions completely anonymously, so please make sure not to include your name or any identifying information in your manuscript. We also don’t need a bio or acknowledgements of publication with your submission, so save yourself some time and leave them off this submission.
-We accept manuscripts from Washington State (USA) residents only.
-Simultaneous submissions are cool with us, but please withdraw your manuscript should it find a home elsewhere (we will celebrate with you)! Individual poems may have been previously published.
-We accept chapbook manuscripts of 20-30 pages of poetry. Don’t worry if your chapbook is a few pages over/under.
-Please include a title page (make sure to leave your name off of this) and a paginated table of contents. The editors prefer 12 point font, if you are interested in making us smile.
-File formats we accept are: text files (.txt), Microsoft Word files (.doc or .docx), and Adobe PDF files (.pdf). Name your file with the first few words of your manuscript’s title.
-Our reading fees are available on a sliding scale: $15, $10, or $5. We understand that everyone has different circumstances and we don’t want anyone to feel they can’t submit because of inequitable financial barriers. We trust you to use your judgement, life circumstances, and conscience to best determine at what level you can submit. Each level includes a copy of the winning chapbook. If a $5 fee is prohibitive, please email us at editor@floatingbridgepress.org; we will ensure you are able to submit.
We look forward to reading your work! Every poem will be considered for inclusion in our sister publication Pontoon Poetry and for the Paula Jones Gardiner Memorial Award.
Thanks for trusting us with your work!
-The Editors