Digging Press runs the Digging Press Chapbook Competition for an unpublished chapbook manuscript of poems or prose between 24-48 pages in length. The winner will receive book publication, a $350 cash award, ten copies of the book. Prizes are awarded on receipt of a signed publication agreement.
Digging Press is passionate about presenting a unique, perfect-bound chapbook designed in-house. Our series editor offers personalized editorial support throughout the publication process. Our chapbooks receive an ISBN and Library of Congress control number and are distributed exclusively on our website: DiggingPress.com. Each chapbook is printed in a limited edition of 100 copies, with the option of successive printings depending on book sales of up to 250 copies.
The Digging Press Chapbook Series Competition is open for submissions of prose and poetry. We seek innovative chapbooks that are inventively personal and richly imagined. We are inspired by the works of Clarice Lispector, Augusto Monterroso, Lynne Tillman, Óscar Esquivias, Giannina Braschi, Italo Calvino, Lydia Davis, Zakaria Tamer, Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa, Sonia Sanchez, Ocean Vuong, Sam Sax, Claudia Rankine, Eileen Myles…
PAST WINNERS:
Mandy-Suzanne Wong (1st Edition; April 2019 sold out. 2nd Edition; May 2022). View results.
Abigail Carl-Klassen (1st printing; August 2020 sold out. 2nd printing; Oct 2022). View results.
Dimitri Reyes (1st printing; July 2021 sold out. 2nd printing; Nov 2021). View results.
Marie Baléo (March 2023). View results.
Morgan Christie (February 2024). View results.
Rachelle Parker (forthcoming (Apr/May 2024). View results.
Heidi Kasa (forthcoming May 2025). View results.
SUBMISSION PERIOD
No present calls for submissions.
SUBMISSION FEE
The submission/reading fee is $20 per submission. Please note that fees offset the cost of publishing and promoting the winning chapbook. A small portion also helps cover our Submittable hosting fees. We also rely on donations and purchases to support our chapbook series. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation Donate Here.
ELIGIBILITY
The 2026 Digging Press Chapbook Award is open to any writer/poet writing in English.
CATEGORIES
Poetry: (All forms, though submitters should be mindful of the size of our chapbooks. Prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose, per your preference.
Prose: Fiction, creative non-fiction, lyric essay, and prose hybrid manuscripts.
Hybrid: Works that blend themes and elements from two or more genres; often referred to as cross-genre, multi-genre, or mixed genre. (E.g., William Blake’s Heaven and Hell, Giannina Braschi’s Yo-Yo Boing!, and Ousmane Sembène’s Xala.)
FINAL NOTIFICATION
Final notification of the contest winner, finalists, and semi-finalists will be provided by e-mail to all contest entrants by Summer 2026.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING CAN BE FOUND IN SUBMITTABLE
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Staff and volunteers currently affiliated with Digging Press and Digging Through The Fat are ineligible for consideration or publication. Additionally, students, former students, and colleagues of the judge(s) and series editor are not eligible to enter. We ask that previous winners wait three years after their winning entry is published before entering again. Guidelines for submitting to the competition can be found on Submittable.
If the final judge chooses no manuscript for publication, all contest fees will be returned.
With permission from our contributors, we may include accepted works in promotional material for Digging Through The Fat and Digging Press, LLC.
— Digging Press Team
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