Trans Poetics Archive
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2026 Anthology Contest
2026 Anthology Contest
Trans Poetics Archive invites transgender poets affiliated with Maine to submit up to three poems for publication in Maine’s Second Annual Transgender Poetry Anthology.
A FREE submission period is from October 31st – December 31st.
This years suggested theme: That which haunts us.
Submission Guidelines:
Entrants must identify as transgender or non-binary.
Entrants must be current or former residents of Maine.
Entrants must be 13+. If under 18, please note, “Youth” in the subject of your submission.
BIPOC poets highly encouraged to submit.
All forms of poetry are welcome. Each poem must be 40 lines or fewer.
Submitting to our contest constitutes an agreement to be considered for publication in our anthology.
This statewide contest runs from October 31st through December 31st. We will not consider work submitted outside of this deadline.
PRIZES:
Grand prize: $250
Each accepted submission will be published in the anthology and winners will be honored at the 2026 Maine Trans Poetics Anthology Release Party – May 2026.
TO ENTER:
Click on here and fill out our submission form.
JUDGES:
Leigh Ellis, Jae Casella, Littlefawnn Ketchum, Dija, t love smith and Monster Beauties Grand Prize Winner, Jude Marx.
Seeking BIPOC Fellows
Trans Poetics Archive is seeking BIPOC Fellows!
On a monthly basis from January 2026 to May 2026, Trans Poetics Archive BIPOC Fellows will engage in writing together about their lived experiences as trans people of the global majority, engage in exchanging writing/publishing resources, have at least two collaborations with the Trans Poetics Archive Youth Fellows, and prepare a showcase sharing the work developed in the four months they have written together. Fellows may also have the opportunity to plug into other Trans Poetics Archives committees and events.
Fellows will receive a stipend of $300 for their time in the fellowship.
To apply:
Please send the following listed below to mayawilliams16@gmail.com by Monday, December 15th, 2025. Acceptances and rejections will be sent by Monday, December 22nd, 2025.
A resume, CV, or 250 word (or less) bio
8-10 pages of what you define as “your best” poetry
A 50-150 word statement about why you want to become a fellow
A general list or description of availability between January 2026-May 2026
Please don’t let rejection discourage you, there are many more ways to be involved with TPA, and be sure to apply again next round taking place at a future date.
We will be accepting 3-5 fellows depending on the amount of responses we receive.
Have any more questions? Suggestions? Desires? Email mayawilliams16@gmail.com
Seeking Youth Fellows
Trans Poetics Archive is seeking Youth Fellows!
On a monthly basis from January 2026 to May 2026, Trans Poetics Archive Youth Fellowship program connects trans writers between the ages of 13 and 19 to develop their creative voices, share writing and publishing resources, and put on live poetry events. Youth Fellows have at least two collaborations with the Trans Poetics Archive BIPOC Fellows to prepare a showcase sharing the work they develop in the four months they have written together. Fellows may also have the opportunity to plug into other Trans Poetics Archives committees and events.
Fellows will receive a stipend of $250 for their time in the fellowship.
To apply for the TPA YOUTH Fellowship, please send the following listed below to acamillehoward@gmail.com by Monday, December 15th, 2025. Acceptances and rejections will be sent by Monday, December 22nd, 2025.
5-8 poems that you’ve written in the last two years (totaling 12 pages)
A 100-200 word statement about why you want to become a fellow
A general list or description of availability between January 2026-May 2026
Please don’t let rejection discourage you, there are many more ways to be involved with TPA, and be sure to apply again next round taking place at a future date.
We will be accepting 3-5 fellows depending on the amount of responses we receive.
Have any more questions? Suggestions? Desires? Email acamillehoward@gmail.com
Order Monster Beauties
Monster Beauties is Maine’s first transgender poetry anthology. It is an intergenerational transgender poetic kaleidoscope looking into a prism of trans narratives.
2025
May 20 - Monster Beauties Book Launch
Monster Beauties is Maine’s first transgender poetry anthology. It is an intergenerational transgender poetic kaleidoscope looking into a prism of trans narratives. Join us for the launch of this anthology, featuring performances by grand slam winner Jude Marx, with harpist Tristen Evan Hellewell. Hosted by Maya Williams. Keynote speaker is Ian-Khara Ellasante.
Tuesday, May 20, doors at 5pm - SPACE Gallery in Portland
THIS EVENT IS ASL INTERPRETED
May 21 - Writing the Threshold: Poetry for Liminal Spaces and Times
Join us for a generative writing workshop with Professor Ian-Khara Ellasante, PhD followed by a Trans Poetics Showcase featuring Littlefawn Ketchum, Violet Ferlito and Calla Eris Orion and a special reading with the professor.
We drift in and out of liminality throughout our lives; many of us occupy liminal, or threshold, spaces for the entire duration of our lives. Gloria Anzaldúa refers to the threshold—this transformative “unstable, unpredictable, precarious” state—as nepantla, “a Nahuatl word meaning tierra entre medio.”
In this workshop, we will explore the ways that we are all, at various points or perpetually, in the threshold. While acknowledging the disorientation and alienation often present in the threshold and hybrid spaces we occupy, we will focus on the freedom, unique perspectives, and creative potential available there. Through writing, we’ll greet these aspects of our identities and experiences with generosity and affirmation—and give some serious side-eye to the socially-constructed binaries that make the threshold a precarious place.
Wednesday, May 21, 3pm - LA Arts in Lewiston
May 22 - Youth Poet Showcase Featuring Leigh Ellis at Novel.
Trans students of the Telling Room showcase their work!
Featuring Leigh Ellis with Len Harrison from The Telling Room
Thursday, May 22, 3pm - Novel in Portland
Join us for a generative writing workshop with erstwhile Portland Poet Laureate, Maya Williams.
It is difficult to talk about grief, and it can even be more difficult to write through grief. This workshop will explore Simonides' poetry for epitaphs in Ancient Greece as well as Anis Mojgani's poems of grief, both in response to a person who is no longer living and in response to a person who is still living. Participants will examine how grief is related to mental health, and how poems might be written and revised during hard times. Workshop materials provided at registration. Limited enrollment.
Friday, May 23, 11am - Silverfish, 47 Portland Street, Portland
May 23 - Where Does Your Grief Sit? Generative Workshop with Maya Williams
May 23 - Trans Poets and Scholars Panel
Trans Poets & Scholars Panel featuring Professor Ian-Khara Ellasante, Claudia Wilson, Yaffa, and hosted by Maya Williams.
Friday, May 23, 5-6:30pm - USM Portland McGoldrick Salon A & B
35 Bedford St, Portland, ME 04101
THIS EVENT IS ASL INTERPRETED
May 24 - Poets Breakfast
Celebrate trans poets and poetry over a delicious breakfast!
Saturday, May 24, 10am-12pm - Second Rodeo Coffee, South Portland
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
May 24 - Workshop, Reading & Book Signing with Yaffa
About the Workshop: Join Mx. Yaffa for a workshop about the world building capacity of poetry. The session will discuss the concept of world building, poetry to meet the moment, and how we can show up as poets. Together we'll explore how poems can shape new realms within ourselves, our communities, and beyond.
About the Book: Sage is a poetry collection that acknowledges all transphobia is systemic but the pain of everyday interpersonal violence is still felt in our bones. A collection that highlights challenges and joy within interpersonal relationships from the perspective of a queer and trans Palestinian living at the margins of displacement, disability, immigration & ongoing genocide. Sage is a beacon of light, shedding light to wounds that have festered and rotted, and finding the paths forward as fascism claims more of who we are.
Saturday May 24, 7:00-9:30pm - Print Bookstore, Portland
May 25 - Activating the Voice Workshop with Aquarius Funkk
POSTPONED!!!!!!! UNFORTUNATELY AQUARIUS HAS COVID!!!
PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR A RESCHEDULE OF
A somatic, body-based practice session for performing artists, poets, writers, & creatives. Utilizing movement, presence, and awareness exercises, participants will explore their relationship to their voice, to space and time, to self and other. This session encourages participants to connect to their inner language, to gain an understanding of how the energy of their voice can be activated through awareness of the body.
We will flow through 3 areas of practice - Sensing, Emoting, Reflecting. Within these areas, there will be a combination of individual exploration, collective activation, and inner reflection exercises, followed by an opportunity to share reflections with the group.
This practice session is an opportunity to engage in world-building practices that allow participants to build capacity for imagination and possibility.
Wear comfortable clothes, ideally all black or neutral colors, no prints.
To bring: Notebook, Water, A poetry book or two of your choice, any language
Sunday, May 25, 1:00pm-2:30pm - Portland Yoga Collective
98 Cross St N, Ste C, Portland, ME 04101