Gold Line Press Poetry Chapbook Competition 2026: Win $750 and Publication

Gold Line Press is accepting submissions for its 2026 Poetry Chapbook Competition, offering poets an opportunity to win $750, publication of their chapbook, and 50 contributor copies.

The competition is open from August 15 through September 30, 2026, and seeks cohesive, self-contained poetry manuscripts that make purposeful use of the chapbook format.

Gold Line Press is affiliated with the Literature and Creative Writing Department at the University of Southern California.

About the Gold Line Press Poetry Competition

Gold Line Press welcomes a wide range of poetic styles and approaches, including innovative and genre-crossing work as well as more traditionally structured writing.

While the press has a particular interest in emerging writers, submissions are welcome from writers at any stage of their careers.

For poetry entries, Gold Line encourages manuscripts that are cohesive and self-contained at chapbook length. The competition also accepts fiction and nonfiction chapbooks, with separate judges for each category.

The 2026 judges are:

• George Abraham — Poetry
• K-Ming Chang — Fiction
• Michelle Gurule — Nonfiction

 

Poetry Chapbook Requirements

Poetry manuscripts must be 20–30 pages long, excluding the title page and table of contents.

Submissions should:

• Be written in English.
• Be the submitter’s original work.
• Be unpublished as a complete manuscript.
• Be typed in a font such as Times New Roman or Arial.
• Be paginated.
• Include a table of contents unless the form of the manuscript does not warrant one.

Individual poems may have appeared previously, but the manuscript as a whole must be original and unpublished.

Gold Line Press does not accept AI-generated submissions.

Translations are not eligible.

 

Prizes

The winning poet will receive:

• $750.
• Publication of the winning manuscript as a perfect-bound chapbook with an ISBN.
• 50 contributor copies.
• Distribution of 30 copies to reviewers.
• Cataloguing of the winning chapbook in the Library of Congress.
• The opportunity to purchase additional copies at cost.

The winning author will also work with Gold Line Press’s editorial staff on revisions before publication.

 

Entry Fee and Waivers

The standard submission fee for U.S. entries is $15 USD.

Gold Line Press waives the submission fee for:

• Writers of color.
• Indigenous writers.
• Writers experiencing financial hardship.

Multiple submissions are permitted, but each manuscript must be submitted separately with a separate entry fee where applicable.

Simultaneous submissions are also allowed. Writers should withdraw their submission through Submittable if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

 

Eligibility Requirements for the Gold Line Press Poetry Competition

The competition excludes:

• Colleagues and current or former students of the 2026 judges.
• Current students of English or Creative Writing at the University of Southern California.
• Recent USC alumni who graduated from 2018 to the present.

 

How to Submit to the Gold Line Press Poetry Competition

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through Submittable.

Applicants must provide:

• The title of the manuscript.
• A cover letter containing a short biographical statement.
• The manuscript as a PDF, DOC or DOCX file.

Prose manuscripts must be double-spaced, although this requirement applies to fiction and nonfiction rather than the poetry category.

 

Deadline

The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Finalists and winners will be notified by the end of February 2027, with the results also announced on Gold Line Press’s website and social media accounts.

Poets can also explore 6 Nigerian Poets on Editing, Rejections and Books for perspectives on the writing, editing and publishing process.