Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Program
Applications for the 2025-2026 YPL Program are now open!
Are you a poet between the ages of 13-18? Are you a future leader who champions community advocacy and aspires to make a social impact that promotes the quality of life in Long Beach? If so, we want to hear your voice!
What is YPL?
The Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) is a title held by a young person who demonstrates skill in the arts, particularly poetry and/or spoken word. They use their voice to inspire change and demonstrate strong leadership within their community. Amplify your voice and apply to become Long Beach’s next Youth Poet Laureate!
The person named Youth Poet Laureate will receive a $1,500 scholarship along with access to mentorship and resources while engaging Long Beach youth in literary arts programming from May 2025–April 2026. Four (4) Youth Poet Ambassador runners-up will each receive a $500 scholarship and will be part of the year-long program along with the laureate.
The Youth Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Ambassadors will be announced during the program's commencement ceremony in May 2025 and will serve as the city's third YPL cohort, representing literacy, the arts, and advocacy in our community.
All Long Beach youth are welcome to attend Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) public events and submit their application for the opportunity to represent Long Beach through their activism and art. Our goal is to amplify voices of underrepresented communities, and so we strongly encourage youth poets of all backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, socioeconomic status, gender and sexual identities, disabilities, or diverse lived experiences to apply.
The YPL program is designed to support and uplift youth poets in their development as writers, while providing resources and opportunities for growth and public service. The program components include:
- Mentorship from a local poet in the community.
- Monthly feedback workshops for them to share and comment on each other’s work, facilitated by an experienced poet-teacher.
- Monthly craft lessons taught by professionals in the fields of the literary arts, writing, publishing, public speaking, etc.
- Weekly email prompts.
- Professional development opportunities, such as support with headshots and professional bios, sending work out for publication, and applying for grants.
- Opportunities to read or showcase their work at local community events.
- Option to receive written feedback and guidance on their work by their mentor.
- Collaboration with local nonprofits or other community organizations to design, develop, and implement a service project of their choice.
- Publication in a Long Beach Public Library digital anthology at the end of the service year.
- A featured culmination reading sponsored by the Library at the end of the service year.
- Other opportunities as they arise throughout the year!
While many of the opportunities that arise throughout the year may be optional, the Youth Poet Laureate cohort is required to complete the following as part of their service contract:
- Attend a majority of the regularly scheduled monthly (craft and feedback) workshops.
- Complete a service project, including submitting a proposal and final report.
- Submit work for publication in the LBPL YPL anthology.
- Participate in the final culmination reading at the end of the service year.
In addition, the Youth Poet Laureate is required to:
- Participate in the National Youth Poet Laureate program, including attending all required meetings.
- Be available for opportunities that specifically request the laureate’s involvement, such as special City- or Library-sponsored events.
Participants in this program can expect to build strong and meaningful relationships with each other as a part of their literary community, as well as relationships with other organizations throughout the broader literary and activist communities.
- Writing shows promise and may engage with literary techniques and complex subject matter.
- A well-rounded individual involved in their community and school.
- Someone who is interested in uplifting their community with a desire to make an impact/change.
- Demonstrates leadership and willingness to be an active supporter of others.
- Someone who is able to be an active participant in the program workshops, conversations, and events throughout the year.
- Someone who is eager to share their perspective in the world and community around them through poetry.
- Someone with a passion for writing, poetry, and the literary arts.
- Someone open to learning and growing as a writer in the program, including being mentored by a poet in the community.
- Able to dedicate time outside of program activities to write, revise, and practice.
- Willingness to do public speaking in front of audiences.
- Someone excited to design a service project to benefit their community.
- Clear and responsive communicator who is attentive to program coordinators and requests.
Applications open: December 15, 2024
Applications close: February 15, 2025
Eligibility
- Applicants must be between the ages of 13-18 at the time of applying.
- Applicants must live in the City of Long Beach.
- Applicants must be able to commit to fulfilling the requirements of the program.
Application Materials
- Completed YPL Application. Please title all your documents with your Last Name, First Name, and name of the application document (Ex: DoeJane - CV).
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) no longer than four pages, highlighting literary and civic accomplishments and activities. Please use a standard font like Times New Roman in size 12-point font with 1-inch margins.
- Third-person biographical statement no longer than 100 words.
- Portfolio of five of your best poems, totaling no more than ten pages. Please start each poem on a new page and number your pages. Please use a standard font like Times New Roman in size 12-point font with 1-inch margins. Format with single spacing and a break between stanzas unless your formatting requires otherwise. If selected as a finalist, you will be asked to read two of your submitted poems in the finals ceremony.
- Signed Participation Agreement. If selected, the Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors must be available to serve for the program year, May 2025–April 2026.
Application Instructions
Please submit all application materials as PDFs. Failure to follow application instructions may result in a request to resubmit materials or potential disqualification.
Step 1
Download and fill out the YPL Application (PDF).
Step 2
Review the provided documents and use them as a model to create your own.
Step 3
Download, print, and sign the Youth Poet Laureate Participant Agreement (PDF). A parent or guardian signature is required for applicants under the age of 18.
Step 4
Email your YPL Application, CV, Bio, Participant Agreement, and Portfolio as five (5) separate PDF files to ls-ypl@longbeach.gov with the subject line "YPL Application 2025-2026 – LastName FirstName".
Step 5
Wait for notification. Finalists will be notified by email once preliminary judging is complete.
We are here to help and support you in this process.
Watch the recording of our virtual Youth Poet Laureate informational session. It provides an overview of the program, a step-by-step guide on how to apply, and detailed information about the required application materials.
Good luck!
Am I eligible to apply?
All applicants must be Long Beach residents between the ages of 13 and 18 as of February 15, 2025. Participants must be able to reside in the greater Long Beach area for the entire service year, which runs from May 2025 to April 2026. Therefore, if you are applying in your senior year of high school and are planning to relocate outside of Long Beach for college, you may not be eligible. If you attend a school in Long Beach but reside in another city you are not eligible.
When can I apply?
Submissions open December 15, 2024 and close February 15, 2025.
Can LBPL help me prepare my application?
We will host a free virtual informational session to answer questions (please stay tuned for that announcement) and the recording will be made available. We are also available to help answer questions by appointment. To schedule an appointment, please email ls-ypl@longbeach.gov.
Library staff can help applicants with technical assistance, such as formatting a CV, but cannot offer feedback on the poetry portfolio.
How do I write a bio?
Please refer to these Literary Bio Instructions for guidance in writing a third-person literary bio or reach out to ls-ypl@longbeach.gov.
What if my bio is longer than 100 words?
Please make sure to submit a bio that does not exceed 100 words for the purposes of this application. This is to ensure fairness and equity among all participants, and to ensure there is space to print the bios of the finalists in the ceremony program if chosen. Bios longer than 100 words may disqualify your application.
What if my CV is longer than 4 pages?
Please do not submit more than 4 pages for your CV. If you have additional accomplishments, we think that is great, but for the purposes of this application, please pick and choose the most relevant activities to highlight for the YPL program. This may include: literary activities, publications, writing awards, literary clubs or memberships, writing recognition of any sort, social impact or civic leadership, community leadership, school roles such as club president, or anything else you think the judges would want to know about your experience with writing and community involvement.
What if I have more than 5 poems I want to submit, or I’m not sure which poems I should submit?
Please only submit 5 poems totaling no more than 10 pages. If you are unsure which poems to submit, we recommend asking for feedback from a trusted parent, adult, or teacher to help you choose your strongest work. Please note, library staff are unable to help applicants prepare their poetry portfolio.
How do you choose who wins?
Application materials will be assessed by 3 judges from the literary community for literary strength and community engagement. They will use a scoring system guided by the National Youth Poet Laureate rubric to evaluate written materials. Then, final scores will be tallied at the end of the performance at the finals ceremony.
When do we find out who won?
Finalists will be notified via email once final judging is completed. The Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate and four Poet Ambassadors will be announced at the Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate commencement ceremony, which will take place in mid-May. Date and time are TBD.
Current Cohort
Congratulations to Helena Donato-Sapp, Long Beach's 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate!
2024-2025 Youth Poet Ambassadors: Ajala Sen, Sammantha Martinez, Jorany Chim, Ezequiel Correa, and Liam Balmeo.
Past Cohorts
Congratulations to Claire Beeli, Long Beach's inaugural 2023-2024 Youth Poet Laureate!
2023-2024 Youth Poet Ambassadors: Matilda Iem, Helena Donato-Sapp, Kieran Lundy, and Sofia Uribe.
Read the 2023-2024 YPL cohort’s poetry published by the Long Beach Public Library in Verses on the Horizon: 2023 Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Cohort Anthology.
Contact
The Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) Program is administered through a collaboration between the Long Beach Public Library and the Arts Council for Long Beach, with support from Urban Word. Funding for this citywide program is provided by the City of Long Beach.
