Writing Competitions: The Lost Kite Chapbook Prize

LOST KITE CHAPBOOK PRIZE

The Lost Kite Editions Chapbook Prize is awarded annually to a chapbook of any genre (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, etc.). Collaborative, hybrid, and multi-genre submissions are also welcome. The winning author will receive a $1,500 award and 20 contributor copies. The winning chapbook will be published in spring, 2027.

The contest will be open until May 15th, 2026. We accept submissions from all writers, but make a concerted effort to welcome submissions from incarcerated writers. To that end, incarcerated writers will be welcome to submit until August 31st, 2026.

The winning manuscript will be selected by Hanif Abdurraqib.​

Guidelines

We accept submissions through Submittable.

Please do not include your name anywhere within the manuscript itself. Along with your manuscript, please submit a cover letter with a brief biographical note and, if desired, a statement or description that contextualizes your submitted work. While we may consider publishing work under a pseudonym, please include your legal name in your cover letter.

Chapbooks should be between 20 and 50 pages in length (this does not include title, section break, or acknowledgement pages). We won't turn you away if you are a few pages over or under, but please stay close to that limit.

Manuscripts containing individual stories, essays, poems, or excerpts that have been previously published online or in print are eligible; please simply note previously published work in your cover letter. If your manuscript has been previously published as a whole (including publication with a press, self-publication, online/digital publication, and publication in a small, limited-edition print run), however, then the manuscript is not eligible.

The submission fee is $5.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your manuscript(s) from consideration immediately if you plan to publish it elsewhere.

You are welcome to submit multiple manuscripts. The $5 submission fee will apply to each manuscript submitted.

We do not accept work generated with artificial intelligence.

Accommodations for incarcerated writers

• Incarcerated writers and those submitting on their behalf are welcome to submit by postal mail to:

 P.O. Box 6037

Minneapolis, MN 55406

or by email (submissions@lostkite.org)

• Typed submissions are preferred, but we will accept handwritten submissions from incarcerated writers.

• The $5 submission fee is waived for incarcerated writers and those submitting on their behalf.

• Incarcerated writers are welcome to submit until August 31st, 2026.