Founded in 2013 by David Starkey, Gunpowder Press is located in Santa Barbara, California. Our name is a nod to our city's namesake, Saint Barbara, the patron saint of gunpowder. Gunpowder Poetry is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization.
The press hosts several annual prizes including the annual Barry Spacks Poetry Prize for a full-length manuscript of original poetry. The Alta California Chapbook Prize, edited by Emma Trelles, publishes winning chapbooks by latinx poets in bilingual editions. The Dryden-Vreeland Prize is a book prize for poets working in K-12 education. Poets published by Gunpowder Press include Fred Arroyo, Kellam Ayers, Aaron Baker, Christopher Blackman, Todd Copeland, Meghan Dunn, Michelle Bonczek Evory, David Allen Case, Nan Cohen, Meghan Dunn, Glenn Freeman, Lee Herrick, Catherine Abbey Hodges, Gabriel Ibarra, Susan Kelly-DeWitt, Joshua McKinney, Sandra McPherson, Florencia Milito, Kurt Olsson, Jim Peterson, Catherine Esposito Prescott, Peg Quinn, Nicolas Reiner, Amelia Rodriguez, Crystal AC Salas, Dennis Schmitz, Gary Soto, Barry Spacks, and Chryss Yost.
The press also publishes thematic anthologies of poems by central California coast poets in the Shoreline Voices Project series which have featured dozens of established and emerging poets. Two Shoreline Voices anthologies are available online: While You Wait, edited by Laure-Anne Bosselaar; and Big Enough for Words, edited by David Starkey, Chryss Yost, and George Yatchisin.
Gunpowder Press also publishes a bimonthly online poetry journal, Anacapa Review.
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 3.1 the January/February 2025 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 second 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.
How to Submit: Entry fee is $25 includes entry and copy of the winning book ($15 cover price). $20 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.
Gunpowder Press is accepting poems (including brief prose poems or micro-essays) from women living in California, aged 60 and older, for a forthcoming anthology on women in the Golden State. Our experiences are as unique as our state's landscapes. California is a state filled with muses, native or newcomer, named after a mythical queen. In an environment that is rapidly changing, how have our relationships and perspectives helped shape and been shaped by California? How do we use our voices to rise above challenges, deal with signs of aging, cope with loss, mentor our daughters, and guide younger generations?
Submissions are accepted until December 31, 2024. Contributors selected for publication will receive two copies of the published anthology and a contributor's discount on additional copies.
How to Submit: Send up to 1-3 poems or micro-essays (up to 300 words each), each as its own document (you will be uploading 1-3 documents). Word .doc or .docx format preferred. Previously unpublished work is strongly preferred. If previously published, contributor is responsible for securing permission to reprint. Please include a brief bio of 100 words or less. Contributors must be current California residents who will be 60 or older as of December 31, 2024. There is no fee to submit; please submit only once.
About the Editors:
Diana Raab, Ph.D., is an award-winning author of 13 books, and her articles and poems have been published and anthologized worldwide. She’s the editor of two previous anthologies, Writers on the Edge: 22 Writers Speak About Addiction and Dependency, and Writers and Their Notebooks.
Chryss Yost is the co-editor of Gunpowder Press, which publishes the Shoreline Voices series.
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.