Poet Resource List

Resources for Poets in Solano County and surrounding areas.

A useful link if you time your sets: www.grun1.com/utils/timeCalc.html

Open mics

Below are ongoing Solano County open mics for poets and spoken word artists. Be aware that some may not meet on major holidays, so it’s best to google their individual pages.

Poetry by The Bay: Poetry by the Bay is currently on hiatus. For more information visit www.facebook.com/PoetryByTheBay

Benicia First Tuesday Poets: 7-9 PM, meeting via zoom First Tuesdays, [open mic\read-around with occasional mystery feature] Hosted by Mary Susan Gast. For more information go to benicialibrary.org/poet/events 

Visit a listing of global online poetry open mics here: www.drdan.solutions/The_Global_Open_Mic2.htm

Hear Poetry on the Radio

OZCAT radio 89.5 FM: The Art Beat Show on Thursdays. OZCAT re-airs Nina Serrano’s Literary Dialogues on the 2nd Thursday of the month. We have a open mic style live show ART BEAT Poetry Hour hosted by DJ LALA on the 4th Thursday of the month. Participants must be vaxxed and masked. Arrive at 1026 Georgia Street by 10:15 AM on the 4th Thursday. Schedule may change during winter holiday months. Email skipperwicky@gmail.com AND mullet.laura@gmail.com for more information.

KPFA radio 94.1: Cover to Cover hosted by Jack Foley and Nina Serrano airs on the first and second Tuesdays at 2 PM.

Publications

If you have an annual contest, or regular publication opportunity open to poets in Solano County please comment below with brief details.

The Benicia First Tuesday Poets host an annual Love Poetry Contest. Submission details appear in the fall. Ceremony in February. Winners receive a cash prize, their name on a trophy, and are published in the Benicia Herald as well as in a chapbook. For more information go to benicialibrary.org/poet/events 

Benicia Poet Laureate Mary Susan Gast has a column in the Benicia Herald called Going the Distance/Yearning to Breathe Free. marysusangast.com/going-the-distance/

Lake County Poet Laureate Georgina Marie has a column for the Lake County Bloom that publishes poetry submissions and gives a small royalty payment. www.georginamariepoet.com/publishwiththebloom 

www.lakecountybloom.com/category/artandlit/literature/poetry/

Poetry Centers

The Marin Poetry Center is open for membership to poets that reside outside of Marin County. They also have summer performances, an annual anthology publication, and learning opportunities. www.marinpoetrycenter.org/

The Sacramento Poetry Center membership is $30. They have two publications: Tule Review and Poetry Now. www.sacramentopoetrycenter.com/publications/

The San Jose Poetry Center has a publication called Cæsura. www.pcsj.org/membership.html

Visit Vallejo Poetry Society for events in Vallejo: www.vallejopoetrysociety.org

County Fairs

If your county fair has poetry opportunities open to residents of Solano County, California please comment below. Please try to match the format of previous listings. If you’re thinking of entering, check each website in early spring for deadlines, as some fairs start early. Ribbons and cash premiums are available to win at each fair listed below.

The California State Fair does not currently have a poetry competition.

Solano County Fair in Vallejo accepts poetry submissions from outside of the county, multiple categories, offers complimentary fair tickets. See website for specific submission details: www.scfair.com/

Marin County Fair in San Rafael accepts poetry submissions from all over the United States, multiple categories. See website for specific submission details: www.marinfair.org/

Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton accepts poetry submissions from outside of the county, offers performance opportunity, complimentary book of all exhibited poetry, complimentary fair tickets for Poetry Day. See website for specific submission details: alamedacountyfair.com

San Mateo County Fair in San Mateo has a long running literary arts program with performance opportunities at the fair, anthology publication, website publication. Generous monetary prizes. See website for specific submission details: www.sanmateocountyfair.com/literary-arts

Resources for Youth and Young Poets

Fairfield Poet Laureate Suzanne Bruce has a column called Poetry Connection in the Daily Republic that publishes student poetry all the way through college level. Student poems are also displayed at the Coffee Bar in downtown Fairfield at 740 Texas Street. www.dailyrepublic.com/?s=poetry+connection&submit=Search

Solano County has a Poetry Out Loud program where high school students can memorize a famous poem from a previously provided collection, and compete in city, county, state, and ultimately national competitions. www.poetryoutloud.org/
www.facebook.com/solanocountypoetryoutloud/

California Poets in the Schools offers the services of poets in the classroom: www.californiapoets.org/

The Solano County Library runs an annual writing contest in the fall and winners are published in the library’s Write On! magazine.

Poetry Resource Websites

View even more resources on our self-publishing links page.