Gunpowder Press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization located in Santa Barbara, California, founded in 2013 by David Starkey. Our name is a nod to our city's namesake, Saint Barbara, the patron saint of gunpowder.
As a member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, Gunpowder Press believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing.
We value the community we find in poetry. Gunpowder Press is honored to have published many poets we know, especially within the Shoreline Voices Project anthologies or in Anacapa Review. The most meaningful support for poetry comes from poets. We want everyone to feel welcome here.
All submissions to Gunpowder Press are considered by the editors (David Starkey and Chryss Yost). For some book contests, there may be additional readers or a final guest judge. For any contest with a cash award, we request that poets who are close friends or students (current or former) of the editors, readers, and/or the final judge refrain from entering. Each person choosing to enter a Gunpowder Press book contest can be confident that their manuscript is given fair consideration.
Read more about the history of Gunpowder Press on our website. We look forward to reading your work.
Anacapa Review considers poems in any style. You may submit up to 3 poems per submission. When selecting which poems to submit, please keep in mind that Anacapa Review is an online publication, and viewers may be reading your poems on a range of devices; concrete poems or poems with very long line may display differently for some readers.
Accepted poems will appear one month after the deadline for a given issue. Accepted submissions made through November 30 will appear in issue 4.1. Please keep in mind that these poems are being considered for the January/February issue.
We make decisions on all submissions each month--no poems are held back for future issues. In short, you will hear from us promptly, and if your work is accepted, it will be published soon afterwards.
In submitting your work you agree that the poems submitted have not been previously published online or in print. We consider simultaneous submissions with the understanding that if your poems are accepted elsewhere you will promptly notify Anacapa Review by either withdrawing your entire submission in Submittable, or, if not all of the poems have been accepted elsewhere, by indicating in Submittable Messages which poems are still available.
Anacapa Review also hopes to publish poetry-related prose, such as book reviews, interviews, and reflections. If you have an idea for something you think might be a good fit for Anacapa Review, we invite you to email us at editors@anacapareview.com.
Previously published in Anacapa Review? Thank you! Your poems are what make Anacapa Review successful. Please wait one year before submitting again—diversity of voices is important to us.
Need to withdrawn one of your poems? Congratulations on having your work published elsewhere! Please use the Submittable messaging feature to let us know which poem(s) you'd like to withdraw, and we will keep the others in our consideration.
The third annual John Ridland Poetry Prize will be awarded for an unpublished book-length manuscript of 48-100 pages. This prize is open to poets 55 years and older.
The Ridland Prize honors poet, professor, and translator John Ridland, who continued to create meaningful and elegantly-crafted work throughout his life.
Submissions are accepted until December 31. The prize includes $500 and publication by Gunpowder Press with 10 author copies.
Previous winners include:
- Joshua McKinney for Sad Animal (published in 2024 by Gunpowder Press)
- Andrea Carter for Figeater (forthcoming in 2025 from Gunpowder Press)
How to Submit: Entry fee is $30 includes entry and copy of the winning book ($18 cover price). $25 option without a copy of the book. Word .doc or .docx format preferred. Please include a table of contents and a page which acknowledges previous publication of individual poems. We ask that close friends or students of the editors refrain from submitting work for this award. Due to our desire to respect international copyright, submissions are accepted from poets within the United States only.
About Gunpowder Press: Founded in 2013 by David Starkey and co-edited by David Starkey and Chryss Yost, Gunpowder Press is part of Gunpowder Poetry, a literary 501(c)(3) located in Santa Barbara, California. Our name honors our city's namesake, Saint Barbara, patron saint of gunpowder. For more information about the press, visit https://gunpowderpress.com.