Floating Bridge Press

01/01/2023

Starting in 2023, Floating Bridge Press will be moving away from social media platforms and focusing solely on our newsletter (https://tinyletter.com/floatingbridgepress), live events, word of mouth, and website (http://floatingbridgepress.org) to keep readers and poets up to date with our activities.

If you appreciate what we do, please help spread the word and direct readers and poets to our website and letter! Thank you all so much! You keep us floating!

12/31/2022

We're excited to announce the official results of the 2022 John Pierce Chapbook Competition (formerly the FBP Chapbook Competition)! After much deliberation, we chose this year's winner, Purge, by Rainah Sunshine of Seattle, and finalists, Blue, a Waltz, by Linda Cooper of Ronald, and The Frontier of the Classroom, by Jeremy Voigt of Bellingham for publication! All three chapbooks will be available in the spring/summer of 2023. Below is a complete list of finalists and semi-finalists:

Finalists:

Purge, by Rainah Sunshine

Blue, a Waltz by Linda Cooper

The Frontier of the Classroom by Jeremy Voigt

Our Lady of the Clear Cut by Jennifer Bullis

Woodbridge by John Glowney

Semi-Finalists:

Guide to Paraspace: Everything You Need to Know About Divorce, S*x, and the Multiverse by Rachel Kessler

The Unexplained Pattern of Falling Birds by John Glowney

Controlled Flight into Terrain by Larisa Harriger

The Tongue of Narcissus by Jennifer Bullis

Near Miss by Bill Hollands

Congratulations!!

As a reminder: starting in 2023, we will be stepping away from social media so to keep up to date on FBP news, authors, and events, please sign up for our newsletter at tinyletter.com/floatingbridgepress or check in frequently on our website at www.floatingbridgepress.org. And if you happen to be going to AWP in Seattle in March, we'll not only have a table at the bookfair but will also be hosting an offsite reading on Saturday, March 11th! Sign up for our newsletter for more details!

Thank you again for submitting and trusting us with your words. You keep us floating.

11/18/2022

Starting in 2023, Floating Bridge Press will be moving away from social media platforms and focusing solely on our newsletter (https://tinyletter.com/floatingbridgepress), live events, word of mouth, and website (http://floatingbridgepress.org) to keep readers and poets up to date with our activities.

05/11/2022

Join Floating Bridge Press as we host this free event with Claudia Castro Luna and special guest WA State Poet Laureate Rena Priest (and other special guests!) as they read and celebrate Claudia's new book "Cipota Under the Moon!"

Poetry, a brief Q+A, and some FBP goodies and books will be available!

Please RSVP at [email protected] as this is VERY LIMITED SEATING. Once we're out of seats, we're out!

05/03/2022

FBP Editor-in-Chief Michael Schmeltzer will be hosting these in-person readings over at the Jack Straw Cultural Center. A mix of amazing poetry and prose writers will be featured so RSVP or stream online this Friday at 7pm!

https://www.jackstraw.org/event/jack-straw-may-reading-series-night-1/

Program Curator Michael Schmeltzer hosts the first of three in-person and live-streamed readings with the 2022 Jack Straw Writers. This reading features Ally Ang, Katharine Strange, Jory Mickelson, and Danielle Hayden. Email [email protected] to attend in person, or stream via Jack Straw Cultural Ce...

04/20/2022

This weekend we are headed to Spokane for Get Lit! and we cannot wait to sit at our table, sell you some books, and talk poetry! COME VISIT US SATURDAY!

04/18/2022

Happy National Poetry Month! Get 50% off your entire purchase at www.floatingbridgepress.org/shop for the entire month of April.
Use code "poetrymonth" at checkout for this fantastic deal. Happy reading!

(And since we'll be at Get Lit! in Spokane this weekend you can pick up some books in person too! Hurray!)

04/01/2022

Happy National Poetry Month! Get 50% off your entire purchase at www.floatingbridgepress.org/shop for the entire month of April.

Use code "poetrymonth" at checkout for this fantastic deal. Happy reading!

03/31/2022

! You only have until 11:59pm TONIGHT to submit your chapbooks! http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/submit/fbp-chapbook-competition

All entrants receive a copy of the winning chapbook and finalist and a lucky winner will receive:

$500, 15 author copies, a featured reading, and all our adoration. Don't miss out! And don't take our word for it, read what some of our authors have to say about us!

03/29/2022

Washington State poets! You only have until March 31st, 11:59pm, to submit your chapbooks! http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/submit/fbp-chapbook-competition

All entrants receive a copy of the winning chapbook and finalist and a lucky winner will receive:

$500, 15 author copies, a featured reading, and all our adoration. Don't miss out! And don't take our word for it, read what some of our authors have to say about us!

03/18/2022

Check out what our authors have to say about publishing with FBP!

Are you a Washington State poet with a chapbook? Do you want the chance to publish with us? Our chapbook competition is open NOW until the end of March!

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/submit/fbp-chapbook-competition/

03/02/2022

We got good news and bad news. First, the bad news.

"Sublime Subliminal" by Washington State poet laureate Rena Priest is basically 5 copies away from being sold out. :(

The good news? We're going into a third printing! You can expect us to be fully stocked in about a month! Hurray! Congrats Rena!

02/18/2022

You know what the benefits of cleaning the office after a long period of working from home are? Finding some random copies of "This City" by Claudia Castro Luna (one of our "sold-out" chapbooks.)

We've a limited number left so we thought we'd package some as a special "Laureate Duet"! Get "This City" and "Sublime Subliminal" by Rena Priest for $15 now while supplies last!


https://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/poet-laureates/

02/02/2022

Did you know Floating Bridge Press has more modes of communication than just Facebook?

TinyLetter: floatingbridgepress (our monthly-ish newsletter highlighting FBP news and opportunities as well as news about our authors!)

Instagram: (A place for lovely pictures and quotes from our books! Great place to get introduced to our work)

PontoonPoetry.com: Our sibling-site highlighting individual poems selected from submissions to our chapbook competition! Want to know what poems we like? Read Pontoon!

(And we do have Twitter but to be honest we won't be utilizing this nearly as often but we keep it around....just in case.)

01/24/2022

Floating Bridge Press is happy to announce guest judge Anastacia-Renee has chosen "Festival of Choirs" by Linda Cooper as the winner of the 2021 Allied Arts Foundation Poetry Award! To read this award-winning poem visit Pontoon Poetry. Congratulations Linda, and thank you to our guest judge and our partners over at the Allied Arts Foundation! To learn more about this award and other opportunities, please visit www.floatingbridgepress.org!

https://pontoonpoetry.com/2022/01/21/1709/

01/21/2022

Happy Flash Friday! Get the 2021 chapbook competition winner "Oscar the Misanthropist" by Judith Skillman for $5 (that includes shipping!) with code "FFOscar" over at our shop! Code is good today only so get on it!

https://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/oscar-the-misanthropist/

01/20/2022

Some men are beautifully
dysfunctional when you first
know them; the loss
of youth, integrity

--from "Octopus" by Nancy Pagh

Grab this fantastic collection written "after" poets such as T.S. Eliot, Sharon Olds, C.P. Cavafy, and more! On sale now for $5 over at https://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/after/

01/20/2022

O bitten tongue taste yourself!
You howler of vowels, you dropper of consonants,
you deliverer of lies.

-- River Elizabeth Hall, from "Ode to Mouths" over at Pontoon Poetry

https://pontoonpoetry.com/2022/01/19/ode-to-mouths-a-poem-for-roadkill/

Ode to Mouths River Elizabeth Hall O dwelling of tongue and taste, you hot-wet house full of teeth— little bones borne from bone plugged into bone. O pliable hole, you slack into horror or smile on…

01/19/2022

We are so very ready to read your chapbooks, Washington State poets! Got a collection looking for a home? We are open for submissions now!

www.floatingbridgepress.org/submit

01/18/2022

Who actually believes the world
is how to experience blood and bone?

-- from "I Never Want to Leave" by Amanda Hartzell, featured over at Pontoon Poetry, our sibling site of selected poems from our Chapbook Competition submissions!

https://pontoonpoetry.com/2022/01/17/i-never-want-to-leave/

I Never Want to Leave Amanda Hartzell i. Not everything is human. Not everything is a healing sea or temple, sworn by new ghosts to be. I never want to leave this season. Who actually believes bloo…

01/16/2022

We want to hit the ground running on our chapbook competition this year so if you are 1) a Washington State poet with 2) an unpublished chapbook of poems and are 3) seeking a fine home for your work, we'd be honored if you'd consider us.

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/submit/fbp-chapbook-competition/

Floating Bridge Press’s Poetry Chapbook Competition began in 1995 with the publication of Joannie Kervran’s A Steady Longing for Flight. Our annual competition is an open competition for Washington State poets in which manuscripts are judged anonymously. The winning poet receives a minimum of $5...

01/16/2022

Want to get a sneak peek of some of our books, past and present? A great place to check out a few poems from our authors (as well as so many other Washington State poets) is over at Pontoon Poetry!

We have a set of poems from Margot Kahn, author of "A Quiet Day with the West on Fire" featured so head on over!

https://pontoonpoetry.com/2021/12/20/accidental-hosts-if-someone-says-catalina-winter/

If you like what you read, consider supporting FBP and Margot by ordering a copy for you or a poetry-loving friend!

https://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/a-quiet-day-with-the-west-on-fire/

Accidental Hosts Margot Kahn We f**k several times a week until it gets tiresome and then we watch TV or go to the movies. If the days don’t add up, we forget about it for the month and drink with …

01/15/2022

Did you know we feature poems selected from our annual chapbook competition to feature over at Pontoon Poetry? Check out work from some of the finest poets in Washington State! These two are from our 2021 Chapbook Competition winner Judith Skillman!

https://pontoonpoetry.com/2021/12/17/apology-cold-spring/

Like what you read? Then swing by our shop to purchase "Oscar the Misanthropist" today!

Apology Judith Skillman He sits across from her, again, and clears his throat. She knows this to be the start of what occurs every year, twice a year, sometimes more often, depending. He begins. “I…

01/12/2022

Who has two thumbs and forgot to update the website stock since the holidays so it appeared as if "Sublime Subliminal" by Rena Priest, our state poet laureate, was sold out?

This editor.

As an apology, please use code "oops" during check out to get $3 off your copy of "Sublime Subliminal." Code expires at the end of January so go snag a copy today!

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/shop/

01/11/2022

2021 chapbooks sent out today to poets who submitted to our previous competition? CHECK.

WA State Chapbook Competition opened for 2022? CHECK. (http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/submit/fbp-chapbook-competition/)

Reiterating the fact our WA State Chapbook Competition is OPEN and we'd love to read your work? CHECK AND CHECK.

Floating Bridge Press’s Poetry Chapbook Competition began in 1995 with the publication of Joannie Kervran’s A Steady Longing for Flight. Our annual competition is an open competition for Washington State poets in which manuscripts are judged anonymously. The winning poet receives a minimum of $5...

01/06/2022

After a lovely holiday break we are back and ready for 2022!

12/09/2021

A showcase of some of the best poetry coming out of Washington State, all in one place? Yes please. Pontoon Poetry is coming soon!

(And for those who don't know, Pontoon is a selection of poems from our chapbook competition, featuring some wonderful works and poets!)

12/07/2021

A great big thank you to all of those lovely readers who have been buying our books (www.floatingbridgepress.org/shop) and a special thank you to those who attended our release reading this past Sunday! We had such a lovely time with our authors, past and present, and had a great time celebrating our two latest releases!

We will be winding down the year and taking a brief holiday but starting in January we've got some great things planned so stay tuned, tell your friends, and keep floating!

12/04/2021

Believe us when we say you don't want to miss our chapbook release reading this Sunday at 4PM via Zoom.

Relax from home, listen to poetry, support the arts. I can't think of a better way to spend an hour!

12/02/2021

Remember this Sunday at 4PM is our online reading!

11/30/2021

It's so go give and do some good.

11/11/2021

Our Throwback Thursday feature is "Posthuman" by Risa Denenberg, a beautiful collection of eco-poetry that is a warning and a wonder. With a controlled voice and unflinching self-interrogation, Denenberg has written a book that is deeply personal, poignant, and utterly human.

Use code "tbt" to receive this book at a discounted price!

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/posthuman/

11/09/2021

Pre-order "Oscar the Misanthropist" now for a discounted price before the official release date and reading (12/5/21)!

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/oscar-the-misanthropist/

11/04/2021

A little treat from Jory Mickelson's fantastic full-length "Wilderness//Kingdom."

Use coupon code "TBT" to get $3 off this stunning debut!

https://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/wilderness-kingdom/

11/03/2021

Pre-order your copy of Margot Kahn's debut poetry book "A Quiet Day with the West on Fire" today!

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/a-quiet-day-with-the-west-on-fire/

11/02/2021

Pre-order the 2021 Chapbook Award Winner "Oscar the Misanthropist" by Judith Skillman now over at our shop! http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/oscar-the-misanthropist/

11/01/2021

It's not just a good morning, it's a great morning! Pre-orders are up for our 2021 chapbooks! First up is "Oscar the Misanthropist" by Judith Skillman! Order now for a discounted price! Books will be shipped out in December so you won't even have to wait that long!

:)

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/oscar-the-misanthropist/

Next up is Margot Kahn's "A Quiet Day with the West on Fire." You won't want to miss Margot's debut!

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/a-quiet-day-with-the-west-on-fire/

11/01/2021

It's not just a good morning, it's a great morning! Pre-orders are up for our 2021 chapbooks! First up is "Oscar the Misanthropist" by Judith Skillman! Order now for a discounted price! Books will be shipped out in December so you won't even have to wait that long!

:)

http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/product/oscar-the-misanthropist/

Author: Judith Skillman, Winner of the 2021 Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award Year: 2021 ISBN: 978-1-930446-11-3 Pages: 48

10/28/2021

Editor-in-Chief Michael Schmeltzer would love to read about your writing projects, get to know your work, and build community with you in 2022 through the Jack Straw Writers Program! Have you applied yet? He will curate, encourage, and advocate for twelve writers as you work, get vocal coaching, and participate in interviews and readings. APPLY! Deadline is coming up in mere days!! https://www.jackstraw.org/program/jack-straw-writers-program/

https://www.jackstraw.org/program/jack-straw-writers-program/

The Jack Straw Writers Program was created in 1997 to introduce local writers to the medium of recorded audio; to develop their presentation skills for both live and recorded readings; to encourage the creation of new literary work; to present the writers and their work in live readings, in an antho...

10/25/2021

It's an exciting Monday here at Floating Bridge Press! Know why? Because it's cover reveal day! Check out the covers for our two chapbooks forthcoming in December 2021!

Stay tuned for pre-order information as well as information about our release reading (Sunday, Dec. 5th, 4PM!)