Gunpowder Press, in partnership with Letras Latinas, invites all Latinx poets who are current residents of the United States (age 18+) to submit to the Alta California Chapbook Prize contest. This contest is open to poets of all levels, published or unpublished, who self-identify as Latinx.
The winning poet will receive $1000.00, publication in a bilingual edition, 10 copies of the chapbook, and a reading in Santa Barbara, California. Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies, will fund the winner’s travel and lodging for an in-person reading in Santa Barbara, CA upon publication of the chapbook. Enter via Submittable.
- Poems may be submitted in English or Spanish (Spanglish is welcome!)
- The selected manuscript will be published in both English and Spanish.
How to submit: Entry fee is $20 and includes a copy of the winning chapbook ($15 option for entry only). Submit 8-12 pages of poetry (no more than one poem per page) in Word .doc or .docx or .pdf format. Entries must be sent through Submittable. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, and please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Please include a table of contents and a page which acknowledges previous publication of individual poems. Gunpowder Press will provide translation for the manuscripts selected for publication. This contest is open to US residents only.
About this year’s judge: Raina León, PhD, is Black, Afro-Boricua, and from Philadelphia (Lenni Lenape ancestral lands). She is a mother, daughter, sister, madrina, comadre, partner, poet, writer, and teacher educator. She believes in collective action and community work, the profound power of holding space for the telling of our stories, and the liberatory practice of humanizing education. She is a member of the Carolina African American Writers Collective, Cave Canem, CantoMundo, and Macondo, and is the author of black god mother this body; Canticle of Idols; Boogeyman Dawn; sombra : (dis)locate;and the chapbooksprofeta without refuge and Areyto to Atabey: Essays on the Mother(ing) Self. She has received fellowships and residencies with The Watering Hole, the Obsidian Foundation, Community of Writers, Montana Artists Refuge, Macdowell, Vermont Studio Center, the Tyrone Guthrie Center in Annamaghkerrig, Ireland, and Ragdale, among others. She is a founding editor of The Acentos Review, an online quarterly, international journal devoted to the promotion and publication of Latinx arts. She retired early as a full professor of education at Saint Mary’s College of California, only the third Black person, the first Afro-Latina, and first Boricua to achieve that rank and is now professor emerita there. She supports poets and writers at the Stonecoast MFA at the University of Southern Maine. León is an enrolled member of Higuayagua Taino of the Caribbean.
About the series editor: Emma Trelles is a Cuban-American writer, editor, and educator. She is the 9th poet laureate of Santa Barbara and the author of Tropicalia (University of Notre Dame Press), winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. She is the recipient of an Established Artist Fellowship from the California Arts Council and a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. A current CantoMundo fellow, her poems and translations have recently appeared in Poetry International, New England Review, the Academy’s Poem-A-Day series, and Poetry magazine.
About the series translator: Alexandra Lytton Regalado is a Salvadoran-American author, editor, and translator. She is the author of Relinquenda, winner of the National Poetry Series (Beacon Press, 2022), and Matria (Black Lawrence Press, 2017). Alexandra is the translator of Family or Oblivion by Elena Salamanca and co-translator of Efímero by heidi restrepo rhodes. Her poetry translations have been published in New England Review, Poetry International, FENCE, and Tupelo Quarterly.
About the Spanish style editor: Josue Andrés Moz is a poet, storyteller, screenwriter, editor, cultural critic, and translator from El Salvador. He is the author of El libro del carnero (Sión Editorial, 2024), Crac[K] (Casa de Poesía, 2023), Revólver (Sión Editorial, 2023), Babel (Ediciones MALPASO, 2020), Pesebre (La Chifurnia, 2018), and Carcoma (La Chifurnia, 2017). Moz’s poetry has been translated into English, Italian, Arabic, and French. He is currently the co-editor of Revista Ars Poética 1970.
Letras Latinas strives to enhance the visibility, appreciation, and study of Latinx literature both on and off the campus of the University of Notre Dame with an emphasis on programs that support newer voices, foster a sense of community among writers, and place Latinx writers in community spaces. Letras Latinas is under the direction of Francisco Aragón, who established the initiative in 2004.
If the entry fee at Submittable presents a financial hardship, please email us at gunpowderpoetry@gmail.com.
Gunpowder Press, en colaboración con Letras Latinas, invita a los poetas Latinx que residen en los E.E. U.U. (mayores de 18 años de edad) a participar en el premio Alta California Plaquette de Poesía.
- Los poemas pueden estar escritos en inglés o español.
- Los manuscritos seleccionados se publicarán en formato bilingüe: en inglés y en español.
Este concurso está abierto a poetas de todos niveles, publicados o no publicados, que se autoindetifiquen como Latinx.
Se seleccionará un manuscrito para publicación en una edición bilingüe. El poeta ganador recibirá $1,000 y 10 ejemplares del plaquette. Letras Latinas, la iniciativa literaria del Instituto de Estudios Latinos de Notre Dame, financiará el viaje y el alojamiento del ganador para una lectura en persona en Santa Bárbara, California, después de la publicación del plaquette.
Sobre el jurado: Raina León, PhD, es negra, afroboricua y originaria de Filadelfia (territorio ancestral de los Lenni Lenape). Es madre, hija, hermana, madrina, comadre, pareja, poeta, escritora y formadora de docentes. Cree en la acción colectiva y el trabajo comunitario, en el profundo poder de crear espacios para contar nuestras historias y en la práctica liberadora de humanizar la educación. Es miembro del Carolina African American Writers Collective, Cave Canem, CantoMundo y Macondo, y autora de Black God Mother This Body; Canticle of Idols; Boogeyman Dawn; Sombra: (dis)locate; y los plaquettes Profeta Without Refugee y Areyto to Atabey: Essays on the Mother(ing) Self. Ha recibido becas y residencias con The Watering Hole, The Obsidian Foundation, Community of Writers, Montana Artists Refuge, Macdowell, Vermont Studio Center, el Tyrone Guthrie Center en Annamaghkerrig, Irlanda, y Ragdale, entre otros. Es editora fundadora de The Acentos Review, una revista internacional trimestral en línea dedicada a la promoción y publicación de las artes latinas. Se jubiló anticipadamente como profesora titular en Saint Mary’s College de California, siendo la tercera persona negra, la primera afrolatina y la primera boricua en alcanzar ese rango, y actualmente es profesora emérita en dicha institución. Apoya a poetas y escritores en el Stonecoast MFA de la Universidad del Sur de Maine. León es miembro inscrito de Higuayagua Taino del Caribe.
Sobre la editora de la serie: Emma Trelles es una escritora, editora y educadora cubanoamericana. Es la novena poeta laureada de Santa Bárbara y autora de Tropicalia (University of Notre Dame Press), ganadora del Premio de Poesía Andrés Montoya. Recibió una Beca de Artista Establecido del Consejo de las Artes de California y una Beca de Poeta Laureada de la Academia de Poetas Estadounidenses. Actualmente es becaria de CantoMundo; sus poemas y traducciones han aparecido recientemente en Poetry International, New England Review, la serie Poema del Día de la Academia y la revista Poetry.
Sobre la traductora de la serie: Alexandra Lytton Regalado es una autora, editora y traductora salvadoreña-estadounidense. Es autora de Relinquenda, ganadora del National Poetry Series (Beacon Press, 2022) y Matria (Black Lawrence Press, 2017). Alexandra es la traductora de Familia o Olvido de Elena Salamanca y co-traductora de Efímero de heidi restrepo rhodes. Sus traducciones de poesía han sido publicadas en New England Review, Poetry International, FENCE y Tupelo Quarterly.
Sobre la serie Editor de estilo español: Josué Andrés Moz es poeta, narrador, guionista, editor, crítico cultural y traductor salvadoreño. Es autor de El Libro del Carnero (Sión Editorial, 2024), Crac[K] (Casa de Poesía, 2023), Revólver (Sión Editorial, 2023), Babel (Ediciones MALPASO, 2020), Pesebre (La Chifurnia, 2018) y Carcoma (La Chifurnia, 2017). Su poesía ha sido traducida al inglés, italiano, árabe y francés. Actualmente es coeditor de la Revista Ars Poética 1970.
Cómo enviar: El costo para participar es de $20 e incluye una copia del plaquette ganador y hay otra opción de $15 que incluye solo la participación en el concurso. Por favor, enviar 8-12 páginas de poesía (no más de un poema por página) en formato Word .doc o .docx o .pdf. El manuscrito debe enviarse a través de Submittable. Se permite participación simultánea en otras convocatorias, pero si su manuscrito es aceptado, por favor contáctenos inmediatamente para retirar su manuscrito. Por favor incluya un índice y una página que indique la publicación previa de poemas individuales. Los poemas pueden estar escritos en inglés o en español. Gunpowder Press traducirá el manuscrito ganador. Este concurso está abierto únicamente a los residentes de los EE. UU. Si el costo para participar presenta una dificultad financiera, por favor envíenos un correo electrónico a gunpowderpoetry@gmail.com
Acerca de Gunpowder Press: Fundada en 2013 por David Starkey y con la codirección de editores David Starkey y Chryss Yost, Gunpowder Press es una pequeña editorial independiente de poesía situada en Santa Bárbara, California, y es parte de Gunpowder Poetry, una organización literaria 501(c)(3). El nombre de la editorial hace honor a Santa Bárbara, patrona de la pólvora. Para obtener más información, visite https://gunpowderpress.com.
Letras Latinas se esfuerza por mejorar la visibilidad, la apreciación y el estudio de la literatura latina, tanto dentro como fuera del campus de la Universidad de Notre Dame, con énfasis en programas que apoyan nuevas voces, fomentan un sentido de comunidad entre escritores y ubican a los escritores latinos en espacios comunitarios. Letras Latinas está bajo la dirección de Francisco Aragón, quien fundó la iniciativa en 2004.
Si la cuota de inscripción en Submittable representa una dificultad económica, por favor, envíenos un correo electrónico a gunpowderpoetry@gmail.com
Past Alta California Chapbook Contests
Michelle Moncayo won the 2024 Alta California Chapbook Prize for Here on this 76L, now available from Gunpowder Press. From our distinguished final judge Richard Blanco:
“Michelle Moncayo’s poems burn strong with authentic feeling and personal icons swirling with wings, food as a form of prayer, and the poignant music of heritage. There is a radiating center to this collection, one that speaks to the power of where we come from and how we carry our origin stories with us in painful and beautiful ways. This is a voice that spoke to me with intimacy and truth.”
Honorable Mention and Finalists: The judges also selected Memorias de un país en peligro de extinción by Leonora Simonovis for Honorable Mention.
Nine manuscripts were distinguished as Finalists:
- Eneida P. Alcalde for Cariño
- Erika Ayón for Create Birds
- Michaela Chairez for Zest!
- Brenda Delfino for Oraciones
- Matthew Gonzales for Human Non-Portraiture
- José Enrique Medina for Haunt Me
- Elizabeth Pérez for Refugee Lotteries
- Melinda Palacio for Camino
- Luis Torres for Brief Encounter
Winner Michelle Moncayo is a Dominican/Ecuadorian poet in New Jersey. Her work explores diaspora, queer identity, and mental/physical illness. She graduated with her MFA from Randolph College in 2024. She received a 2020 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She has received fellowships from SPACE at Ryder Farm, Vermont Studio Center, Sundress Academy for the Arts, CantoMundo, and VONA. Her poetry has appeared in Até Mais: An Anthology of Latinx Futurisms, Broadsided Press, No Tender Fences: An Anthology of Immigrant & First-Generation American Poetry, Palette Poetry, & Ninth Letter. You can find her at michellemoncayoart.net and @mmon1392.
Thanks to poet Richard Blanco for his generous service as judge for the prize.
About the judge: Richard Blanco was selected by President Obama as the fifth Presidential Inaugural Poet in U.S. history—the youngest, first Latinx, immigrant, and gay person to serve in that role. In 2023, Blanco was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is the author of many collections of poetry, including his most recent, Homeland of My Body: New & Selected Poems (Penguin Random House, 2023). He has also authored the memoirs For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey and The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood. He has received numerous awards, including the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize, the PEN American Beyond Margins Award, the Paterson Prize, and a Lambda Prize for memoir. He serves as Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets and is an Associate Professor at Florida International University. In April 2022, Blanco was appointed the first-ever Poet Laureate of Miami-Dade County.
Judge Alexandra Lytton Regalado and series editor Emma Trelles have chosen the winners of the 3rd Gunpowder Press Alta California Chapbook Prize: Amelia Rodriguez‘s The First AmThe First Amelia: Poems by Amelia Rodriguezelia and Fred Arroyo‘s Alba and Other Songs. The winning chapbooks are available from Gunpowder Press.
Alexandra Lytton Regalado
JudgeAlexandra Lytton Regalado
JudgeThe judges recognized, as Honorable Mention, Against Surrealism by Luis Torres and nine finalists:
- J.P Dávila, Poemas Sueltas
- Diane de Anda, Reflections
- Chelsea Guevara, Somewhere Over the Border
- SG Huerta, Origen
- Karl Michael Igesias, From the Future
- Max Lemuz, SoCal Sinai
- Mia Leonin, Ofrenda
- Gerardo Pacheco Matus, Desert Cantos Poemas
- Marilyn Melissa Salguero, Blister
The winners of the second Alta California Prize, selected by Francisco Aragón from an incredibly rich collection of submissions, are Florencia Milito‘s Sor Juana and Gabriel Ibarra‘s On Display. Francisco also recognized Felipe De La Rosa‘s Summer Blooms in Paramount as an honorable mention. In addition to the winners and honorable mention, eight poets were distinguished as finalists including:
- Elaine Alarcon, Blood Echoes
- Li Yun Alvarado, Luz Like Love
- Kenneth Chacon, How the Cholo Became a Mystic & Other Dreamer Poems
- Tomas Moniz, Theory of Falling Bodies
- Melinda Palacio, Alamar
- Jorge Quintana, Dying in America
- Linda Ravenswood, A Poem Is a House
- Danny Romero, My Father’s Friends
Of Milito’s winning manuscript, Sor Juana, Francisco writes:
Sor Juana reveals an exquisite alchemy—the provocative life and death of the baroque master, but also the speaker’s own “inherited trauma” as “a child of [a] dictatorship,” which follows her into exile, prompting: “This is the heart of the wound.” The artistry here is replete with skill and grace. “History wedges itself / inside four syllables”—the thesis of this breathtaking book-length poem.
Of Ibarra’s winning manuscript, On Display, Francisco writes:
“Mira, tu Papa is on TV,” says a mother, coaxing her boy to imagine that Erik Estrada is his father. “Our time together—episodes / rerun is never real, only instances / of his dark, oily hair mirroring mine / as I peddle closer, reach out, / trace the round static of his face.” Wow. It’s a heartwrenching moment that broke me. On Display is moving art, the poet’s craft up to the task.
Of honorable mention, Felipe De La Rosa’s Summer Blooms in Paramont, Francisco writes:
“I listen for the elotero,” the single-line stanza that opens Summer Blooms in Paramount, hints at what will unfold across its twelve pieces, deploying white space as part of its score, shuttling seamlessly across linguistic borders. There’s a lovely melange of southern California landscapes here, where “ephemera kisses / [g]low like dandelions” or where the speaker invites you to “[f]ly inside water swiftly open your pond-eyes” to these gorgeous poems.
As the first Alta California Chapbooks, series editor Emma Trelles selected Nicholas Reiner‘s Levitations and Crystal AC Salas‘s Grief Logic, both published in 2022.
Of Levitations, by Nicholas Reiner, Emma Trelles writes:
“Equal parts lament, memoir, and lyric, this chapbook is written in a wholly original voice that is as accomplished as it is precise. Each poem reveals another sharply crafted layer of memory and observation—whether about family, chess, death, or how remembering is a way of keeping love intact.”
Of Grief Logic, by Crystal AC Salas, Emma Trelles says:
“These poems read and sometimes physically appear like a sprawling Latinx pillowbook, filled with the intimate and honest particulars of family and what it means to navigate language, landscape, and girl/woman/hood. This chap is all heart, image, and sound
—and then some.”