2026 Chapbook Poetry Contest
Submissions open January 2, 2026!
This year The Poets Corner will again team up with Toad Hall Editions and the Camden Festival of Poetry to offer our 2026 Chapbook Contest.
Submissions open on January 2, 2026 and close on February 28, 2026—unless the Submission Cap of 250 is reached before that date. The submission process is through Submittable—the link will be live on January 2, 2026!
“The word poet means to make… You don’t have to necessarily make with words, you can make a pie, you can make a sketch. I feel like if you are actually intentional about making things in your life… you’re making a little bit more beauty in the world.”
This year’s contest judge will be NYT best-selling nature writer, poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Aimee is the author of four books of poetry, most recently Oceanic, winner of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in poetry. Other awards for her writing include fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Mississippi Arts Commission, and MacDowell. Nezhukumatathil is poetry editor of Orion and her writing has appeared in Poetry, The New York Times Magazine, ESPN, and Tin House.
Some Important Things to Know:
This contest is open to all submissions of a chapbook no more than 28 pages in length.
Submission cost is $35. Scholarships are available based on financial need, you can request one here.
Poems may have previously been published in journals but not as a collection. Submissions will be reviewed anonymously.
The winner will receive a $1,000 prize.
Two additional chapbooks will be awarded an Honorable Mention and a prize of $250.
The winning chapbook will be designed, printed and published by Toad Hall Editions and the author will receive 20 copies of the printed edition.
A reading with the contest winner is planned for The Poets Corner on Sunday, June 14th, with an introduction by Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
The winner will be announced at the Camden Festival of Poetry on May 16, 2026, and all poets who have submitted will be notified after that announcement.
Honorable Mentions and the remaining finalists will be invited to read live on The Poets Corner on Zoom on July 12, 2026.
There will be the opportunity for feedback on your chapbook from one of our established reading poet/editors after the contest selections have been made for an additional fee of $75.00. If interested, you may contact thepoetscornermaine@gmail.com.
Read the guidelines and directions on Submittable carefully once the submissions are open. Questions? Send us an email.
2024 Winner
Previous Chapbook Contest Winners
2022 Winner
