Submissions for the annual YellowJacket Press (YJP) CHAPBOOK CONTEST for Florida Poets opens November 1, 2018. The winner(s) will receive $100, 30 copies of the book and will be invited to read with YJP in 2019. 

YellowJacket Press, Florida’s premier chapbook manuscript publisher, is looking for well-crafted, meaningful, relevant, moving poetry collections that may or may not reflect the experiences of living in Florida. We judge submissions anonymously, and while we strive to represent all demographics, we do not base our decisions on personal information of any kind. We just want good poems that make us wish we had written them ourselves. 

GUIDELINES: Poetry manuscripts should be no longer than 24 pages total, including 18-20 pages of poetry, title page, table of contents and acknowledgments. Your name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. All entrants must be permanent adult residents of Florida. 

All entrants may request a copy of the winning book. All submissions are through Submittable. Mailed and emailed submission will not be considered. 

 Submission deadline is midnight December 10, 2018. The winner(s) will be announced in February, 2019. 

Previous winners of the contest include: Things I See in the Fire by Lenny DellaRocca of Delray Beach (2017); Looking for Water by Wendy Buffington of Port Richey (2015); Dive by Heather Sellers of Tampa (2013); The Magician’s Daughter by Meryl Stratford of Hallandale Beach (2012); Girls Turned Like Dials by Liz Robbins of St. Augustine (2011); A Tiny Hunger, by Laura Sobbott Ross of Sorrento (2010); My Grandfather Singing by Jesse Millner of Fort Myers (2009); Better Accidents, by Kate Sweeney of Tampa (2008); Our Keen Blue House, by Michael Trammell of Tallahassee (2007); Many Loves, by Michael Hettich of Miami (2006); Message on a Branch, by Sharon Scholl of Jacksonville (2006); Night Windows, by Susan Lilley of Orlando (2005); Music in Arabic, by Mary Jane Ryals of Tallahassee (2005); Florida Straits, by Gregory Byrd of Clearwater (2004). To purchase one of the above, see the website.