The 2025 Adrift Chapbook Contest
Results
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We are excited to announce that Elizabeth J. Coleman's Mega-Galaxies has been chosen by Matthew Olzmann as this year's winner of the Adrift Chapbook Contest! Please keep an eye out for publication in 2026!​​
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We also want to give a huge thank you to our finalists. Their work wowed us, and it was an honor to read their poems.
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Laure and other Ekphrastic Poems, Ellen June Wright
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this dream broke you, D. Keali‘i MacKenzie
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incision, Malik Thompson
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This Call, Erik Tschekunow
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Better Home, Better Garden, Abbie Kiefer
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Phantom Limb, Ravi Shankar (not confirmed but not withdrawn)
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Witness Protection, Romana Iorga
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The Smallest Possible Shape, C. E. Janecek
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Am I Not Of The Same Cut Stone, Dujie Tahat
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Finally, we thank everyone who submitted to this contest. We love being able to share chapbooks with our readers, and it is an honor to receive so much amazing work.
Timeline
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Submissions are open from March 1st 2025 until July 31st 2025.
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Finalists and winner will be announced by Driftwood editors in November 2025.
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The winning chapbook(s) will be published in 2026.
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Guidelines
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Original poetry only. Prose poetry, experimental poetry, and poetry with a visual component (color images accepted) are all welcome. We do not accept written or visual works that are AI generated or plagiarized.
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15-40 pages of poetry (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.
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A standard, 12-point font is preferred.
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Poems may have been published individually, but not as a part or whole of a collection. Please include an acknowledgements page listing all previously published poems.
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Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know immediately if the collection has been accepted elsewhere.
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Submit works written in English only, no translations.
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Please submit your manuscript in a .doc, .docx, or PDF format.
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We read submissions blind, so please do not include your name, email, or any identifying characteristics on the manuscript itself.
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Submission fee is $25.00 USD. Each submitter will receive a free copy of a Driftwood Press poetry chapbook of their choosing in the mail.
Awards
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The winner will receive $750 dollars and 20 copies of their chapbook.
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A print run of the winning chapbook will be sold on our website, through affiliate bookstores, and will be nationally and internationally distributed by Ingram & Asterism.
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The winner will also have the opportunity to be interviewed about their work; the interview will be published in the chapbook following the poems.
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The managing poetry editor may offer a runner-up full publication. If a runner-up is chosen, they will be awarded $350, 20 contributor copies, and the same level of marketing and distribution.
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Past Contest Winners
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​Guest Judge
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Matthew Olzmann is the author of three poetry publications. In 2012, Olzmann edited Another & Another: An Anthology from the Grind Daily Writing Series along with Ross White.[3] His debut collection, Mezzanines, was published by Alice James Books in 2013, which won the Kundiman Prize. In November 2016, Olzmann published his second collection, Contradictions in the Design, also from Alice James Books. In January 2022, his third book of poems, Constellation Route, was published by Alice James Books.
