2026 Poetry Chapbook Prize Semifinalists

We're pleased to announce the 20 semifinalists in the 2026 Wolfson Press Poetry Chapbook competition. Click on the links to learn more about these talented writers.

We're grateful to all of the poets who submitted manuscripts this year. We look forward to announcing the short list of finalists soon.

Prize Semifinalists 2026

John Peter Beck, Nashville Cab and Other Poems Behind the Wheel

Francesca Bell, Some Were Weary

Fleda Brown, Absolutely, Terribly Wrong

Geoff Collins, Blackflower

Judith Fox, A Wind-Carved Cave

Judith Fox, Little Garden All Around

Chris Gallagher, The Only Warm Thing in This City

Ockert Greeff, I Do to You

Jerry Harp, You Gentlemen Have a Good Evening

Marie Macri, Contraband Fire

Kaecey McCormick, The Physics of After

M.R. Mandell, Ingenues

Leslie Morris, Rub with Prayer: Field Notes

Mandy Prell, Portrait of an American Mother

Elisabeth Preston-Hsu, Geographies of Wait

Edward Sambrano III, Some Notes on Farewell

Varun Shetty, Obsessed with Endings

Erik Tschekunow, This Call

Arlo Voorhees, Where Were We When We Were Here

Don Zirilli, An Artificial History of Intelligence