Contest

WINNER AND FINALISTS for 2023 Contest

Winner:  

Ian Thomas for Green Islands – Poems from the Great Bear Rainforest

Second Place: 

Robin Susanto for Of Rain and Kisses

Third Place: 

Peter Anderson for Mutter and Other Prose Poems

Honourable Mention List:

Atma Frans for Season of Silence

Marlene Grand Maître for Wild Kin

Andreas Lohstraeter for Field Notes

Pamela Porter for Finding What He Can Of His Own Way Home: Elegy for Patrick Lane

Neil Surkan for Empties

Cynthia Woodman Kerkham for Fork Lake

Read the judges’ citations and meet the shortlisted poets
Congratulations to the poets!

2023 Poetry Chapbook Contest

NOW CLOSED

Raven Chapbooks announces the 2023 Poetry Chapbook Contest. Eligible poets must reside on Vancouver Island, the islands in the Salish Sea, the Sunshine Coast including the islands in Howe Sound, and the Lower Mainland* which includes communities in the Fraser Valley. The 2023 contest is open to all emerging and established poets.

*NOTE: The Lower Mainland extends to Langley and Maple Ridge in the east, the North Shore watersheds and Lions Bay in the north, the U.S. border, and the Strait of Georgia in the south and west. It includes all the above plus all the Fraser Valley.

THE WINNING MANUSCRIPT WILL BE PUBLISHED IN JUNE 2023

Deadline For Submissions is November 30th, 2022

Manuscripts will be blind judged

Judges for this year’s contest are two award-winning B.C. poets, Brian Day and Daniela Elza.

Brian Day has published four books of poetry with Guernica Editions: The Daring of Paradise, Conjuring Jesus, Azure, and Love is not Native to my Blood. His poems have appeared in The Malahat Review, Grain, FreeFall, Prairie Fire, Arc, and various other journals. He was awarded the E.J. Pratt Medal for Poetry. Brian Day lives on Salt Spring Island, where in addition to writing, he does storytelling in schools, hosts the monthly Poetry Open Mic at the Salt Spring Island Public Library, swims, gardens, and walks by the sea.

Daniela Elza’s poetry collections are the broken boat (2020), the weight of dew (2012), milk tooth bane bone (2013), the book of it (2011), and slow erosions—a chapbook written in collaboration with poet Arlene Ang (2020). Daniela’s poetry and essays have been published internationally, have won numerous contests, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Anthology multiple times. Most recently she was the second place winner in the 2022 Ken Belford Poetry Prize for Social Justice. She is a creative writing instructor and mentor to writers of all ages and loves to edit poetry manuscripts.
 http://strangeplaces.livingcode.org/

Click Here to download Chapbook Contest GUIDELINES PDF

Click Here to view Guidelines

Guidelines for the 2023 RAVEN CHAPBOOK Poetry Contest

The winning manuscript will be published in June 2023

  1. The 2023 contest is open to all emerging and established poets who reside on Vancouver Island, the islands in the Salish Sea, the Sunshine Coast including the islands in Howe Sound, and the Lower Mainland* which includes communities in the Fraser Valley.
  2. A $30 entry fee must be submitted with the manuscript by cheque or e-transfer, payable to Diana Hayes (Raven Chapbooks Publisher) 138 McAllister Road, Salt Spring Island BC V8K 1M4; e-transfers to dehayes@islandnet.com
  3. Contest entry fees are non-refundable, and manuscripts cannot be edited after submission. Please be sure to submit only your final version of the poems.
  4. Manuscripts must be postmarked no later than November 30, 2022.
  5. Manuscripts must comprise 15–25 pages of poems (not including title page and table of contents). Manuscripts may contain some poems previously published in journals if the poet retains copyright and the selection as a whole has not been previously published. Please note journal acknowledgements in your covering letter.
  6. Manuscripts must be formatted in 12 pt. font, single spaced, and pages must be numbered. A title page and table of contents should be included. Do not include any identifying information within the manuscript itself. Manuscripts will be blind judged. Please include a SEPARATE one-page cover letter identifying the title of your submission and include a short biographical paragraph along with contact information, including email and phone number.
  7. Manuscripts may be submitted in hard copy to: Diana Hayes, Raven Chapbooks, 138 McAllister Road, Salt Spring Island BC V8K 1M4, or electronically as separate PDF files: one file for the manuscript which should include title page, table of contests, and page numbers but no identifying information, and a separate PDF file which includes cover letter, manuscript title, and short bio. Email digital files to: publisher@ravenchapbooks.ca (Include your name and Raven Contest 2023 in the subject line.) For mailed copies, include an SASE if you wish to receive your manuscript back after the contest.
  8. The shortlist will be announced by February 15, 2023 and the winning manuscript will be announced on March 1st, 2023. The winner will be contacted by phone and the announcement will be posted on the website: www.ravenchapbooks.ca/contest/
  9. The winning manuscript will be published in June 2023 in an edition of 135 copies. Design and production details will be negotiated with the poet. A publishing contract will be provided. The poet may purchase copies at the author’s discount – 50% of retail cost.

*NOTE: The Lower Mainland extends to Langley and Maple Ridge in the east, the North Shore watersheds and Lions Bay in the north, the U.S. border, and the Strait of Georgia in the south and west. It includes all the above plus all the Fraser Valley.