YellowJacket Press
Established in 2005, YellowJacket Press (YJP) is an independent small poetry press and currently the only publisher of poetry chapbook manuscripts in Florida. YJP sponsors the annual YellowJacket Press Chapbook Contest for Florida Poets. Renowned across the state, the annual contest identifies the state’s most vital and vibrant poets and brings their exhilarating, well-crafted poems to the public eye.
Jesse Milner,
My Grandfather Singing
Kate Sweeney,
Better Accidents
Susan Lilley,
Night Windows
Gregory Byrd,
Florida Straits
Mary Jane Ryals,
Music in Arabic
Michael Hettich,
Many Loves
Michael Trammel,
Our Keen Blue House
Laura Sobbott Ross,
A TIny Hunger
YellowJacket Press wishes to thank the J. Crayton Pruitt Foundation for its generous donation of $250. Such donations help ensure that YJP will continue to support the very best in Florida poetry.
Winner of the 8th Annual YellowJacket Press Chapbook Contest for Florida Poets
Girls Turned Like Dials by Liz Robbins of St. Augustine (2011) was selected from dozens of submissions from across the state. These poems are both sharp-edged and tender, full of spunk and sensitivity. The collection celebrates what it means to be female. We are proud to add Liz’s work to our catalog.
These runners-up also received publication as Special Editions:
The Upside Down House by Paul David Adkins, a longtime Florida resident currently stationed out of state, and A Little Book of Light History: from Delft to Ocean Park by Christopher Tozier of Eustis.
In addition, we’ve added one other Special Edition chapbook to our catalog: Museum of Chairs by Tampa native, poetry scene frequenter and surrealist poet Mary Elizabeth Perez. This is her first published collection.
Winner of the 2012 Peter Meinke Prize for Poetry
YellowJacket Press is pleased to announce that the winning poetry chapbook for the 2012 Peter Meinke Prize is Night Errands by JD Scott (Tampa). The book will be published this fall.
Finalists were:
The Ride Home by Peter Schmitt (Miami)
Ostraka by Gregory Byrd (Clearwater)
The Song that Floats the Girl Across the Room by Gloria Munoz (St. Petersburg)
The Nonsense of Desire by Robley Wilson (Orlando)
Loose Change & Mint by Yasbel Acuna-Borrero (Miami)
All manuscripts were judged anonymously by members of the YJP board. Thanks to all who submitted to this year's contest. Best of luck with your writing endeavors.
Yours in Poetry,
Gianna Russo and the Board of YellowJacket Press
Long considered a Florida treasure, Peter Meinke was the director of the Writing Workshop at Eckerd College for over 20 years and is the author of over a dozen poetry, fiction and nonfiction books, including The Contracted World: New and Selected Poems (University of Pittsburgh Press) and The Shape of Poetry (The Writer, Inc.). In 2009, Meinke was appointed the first ever Poet Laureate of St. Petersburg. Currently, he teaches for the MFA program at The University of Tampa. For more information about Peter Meinke, see his website at http://petermeinke.com
YellowJacket Press, Florida’s premier publisher of poetry chapbook manuscripts, and a non-profit organization, established the Peter Meinke Prize in 2011.
Jordan Scott, Tampa
(Peter Meinke Prize)
Night Errands, 2012
Mary Elizabeth Perez, Tampa
Museum of Chairs, 2012
Liz Robbins, St. Augustine
(YJP Contest Winner)
Girls Turned Like Dials, 2012
Paul David Adkins
The Upside Down House, 2012
Christopher Tozier, Eustis
A Little Book of Light History:
From Delft to Ocean Park, 2012
James Tokley, Sr., Tampa
The Epic of the Sandwiche Cubano, 2011
Peter Meinke, St. Petersburg
Lassing Park, 2011
Laura Sobbott Ross, Sorento
(YJP Contest Winner)
A Tiny Hunger, 2011
Melissa Carrol, Tampa
The Karma Machine, 2011
Jesse Milner, Ft. Myers
(YJP Contest Winner)
My Grandfather Singing, 2010
Cole Bellamy, Tampa
The Mermaid Postcard, 2010
Kirsten Holt, Tampa
Overwintered, 2010
Barbra Nightingale, Hollywood
Two Voices, One Past, 2010
Kate Sweeney, Tampa
Better Accidents, 2009
Richard Downing, Hudson
Four Steps Off the Path, 2009
Pamela, Epps, Temple Terrace
A Last Glance, 2009
Michael Trammell, Tallahassee
(YJP Contest WInner)
Our Keen Blue House, 2008
Robert S. Carr, Orlando
Mystery of the Root, 2008
Michael Hettich, Miami Shores
Many Loves, 2007
Sharon Scholl, Atlantic Beach
Message on a Branch, 2007
Susan Lilley, Orlando
(YJP Contest Co-Winner)
Night Windows, 2006
Mary Jane Ryals, Tallahassee
(YJP Contest Co-Winner)
Music in Arabic, 2006
Gregory Byrd, Clearwater
(YJP Contest Co-Winner)
Florida Straits, 2005
