Website
Type Of Publisher
Chapbook
Year Established
1993
Address
McMinnville, OR
Name
Deborah Broocks
Title
Paper Gardens Coordinator
Mission Statement / Editorial Focus
Paper Gardens is an annual creative writing contest and book publication sponsored by the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County, Oregon. Paper Gardens was launched in 1993 with local poet Rachel Burchard’s vision to encourage and recognize excellence in Yamhill County writers. Writers are invited to submit original poetry or prose. Prose categories are fiction or creative non-fiction. Poetry categories are traditional, free verse, haiku and poetry of place-Oregon. 2022 will be Paper Garden's 29th annual publication.
Judges select the top submissions in each category and these are published in an anthology that is awarded to all of our local winning authors. Additional anthologies are available for purchase at the annual Paper Gardens Celebration and Book Release event. Copies are also sold in Yamhill County bookstores. Past judges include William Stafford, the first Paper Garden judge in 1993, Ursula Le Guinn and Brian Doyle. Many past judges have been creative writing professors, Oregon Book Award finalists and Oregon Poet Laureate.
Paper Gardens' sponsoring cultural organization, the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County (AAYC) provides oversight, publicity and information and manages our budget. In addition, Paper Gardens partners with the Chehalem Cultural Center (CCC) (https://www.chehalemculturalcenter.org). In 2017 the Cultural Center became the site for book release celebrations and provides public relations support.
Local volunteers and community supporters make Paper Gardens possible. Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, library groups, local businesses and individuals, the Yamhill County Cultural Coalition, and the Oregon Cultural Trust have provided funding over the years. In 2020, with pandemic restrictions, Paper Gardens published and honored selected writers in a virtual celebration coordinated by the Chehalem Cultural Center.
Accepts Unsolicited Submissions
Yes
Submission Guidelines URL
Reading Period
Year round
Response Time
weeks
Chapbook
