Poetry Contest - Yakima Coffeehouse Poets

YAKIMA COFFEEHOUSE POETRY CONTEST
2025

What is an entry? One entry includes 3-5 poems, a $12 entry fee ($5 for students), and a separate cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, email address and a list of your poems’ titles. Poems longer than one (1) page should include the title and page number on each page, but NOT your name. Please include a short bio (under 100 words).
Where to submit? Poems and cover letters should be emailed to ycpcontest2025@gmail.com. Snail mail entries (typed, please), and ALL entry fees should be snail-mailed to Yakima Coffeehouse Poets, c/o Ed Stover, 3506 W Chestnut Ave., Yakima, WA 98902. Note: Emailed poems/cover letters are easier for us to process.
What is the Tom Pier Prize? For this prize, poets should demonstrate ability in the creation of at least three inter-related poems (theme, style, etc.).
What is the deadline? Entries must arrive or be postmarked no later than Monday, February 17, 2025.
Who is eligible? Poets residing in or hailing from Eastern Cascadia are eligible. That includes the north-central, central, and south-central regions of Washington State (including the Columbia Basin).
Please do not submit handwritten poems. Please do not decorate your entry with artwork.
Winning poems will appear in “Thirtieth,” the annual YCP contest chapbook, which is named for the number of years the contest has been held. That’s right—2025 is our 30th anniversary!
8: Judging: the process is blind, which means judges see only the poems, not any personal information identifying the poet.

Download 2025 Contest Info

For any 2025 Contest questions, please contact us at:
YCPoetrycontest2025@gmail.com

The event has a history, one that got its start in 1994 as the brainchild of Elizabeth Herres Miller, a former executive director of Allied Arts of Yakima who thought a literary event would complement the nonprofit’ s visual arts calendar. The contest quickly caught on. In 2006, a second event was later added: “Open Mic Night,” a monthly spoken-word forum for local poets to read their own poetry. Unfortunately, while the fortunes of these poetry events waxed, those of Allied Arts waned. The nonprofit closed its doors in December 2013.

The current year Yakima Coffeehouse Poet chapbook is available for a $10 donation (plus $2.50 for postage) payable to YCP or at Inklings Bookshop in Yakima. This year’s and earlier chapbooks are still available by contacting Ed Stover at 509-833-8577 or via Email.

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