Rattle Chapbook Prize
Deadline: January 15, 2021
The annual Rattle Chapbook Prize gives poets something truly special. Every year, three winners will receive: $5,000 cash, 500 contributor copies, and distribution to Rattle's ~8,000 subscribers. In a world where a successful full-length poetry book might sell 1,000 copies, the winning book will reach an audience eight times as large on its release day alone—an audience that includes many other literary magazines, presses, and well-known poets. This will be a chapbook to launch a career.
And maybe the best part is this: The $25 entry fee is just a standard subscription to Rattle, which includes four issues of the magazine and the winning chapbook, even if it isn't yours. Rattle is one of the most-read literary journals in the world—find out why just by entering! For more information, visit our website.
We congratulate our three winners from our 2020 contest:
- Kathleen McClung, A Juror Must Fold in on Herself (September 2020)
- Tom C. Hunley, Adjusting to the Lights (December 2020)
- Jessy Bertron, A Plumber's Guide to the Light (March 2021)
Please enjoy this poem from Ms. McClung's winning entry:
The Public Defender First Approaches the BoxMy client's just like you, except he's not
got gum or ibuprofen in a purse.
His silence is his right. I'll talk a lotabout the night in question, which was caught
on video. Your call: a blessing or a curse.
My client's just like you, except he's notinclined to ruminate, to dwell on thoughts
of Trump and Pence; he's clear which one is worse.
His silence is his right. I'll talk a lotabout police departments, how they're fraught
with graft, with hotheads prone to pull triggers.
My client's just like you, except he's notreceived a fair shake from these guys. You ought
to walk inside his shoes, then write some verse.
His silence is his choice. I'll talk a lot.Some sentences may leave you cold—some, hot.
My job: to sow a field of doubts through words.
My client's just like you. Except he's not.
He's silent. So are you. But me, I talk a lot.
