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 design and implement a service project of their choice.
• Support from our Social Impact Partner, Long Beach Forward.
• Publication in a Long Beach Public Library digital anthology at the end of the service year.
• A featured showcase reading sponsored by the Library near 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 LB 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.
• Submit work for publication in the LBPL YPL anthology.
• Participate in the final showcase 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: November 15, 2025
• Applications close: February 28, 2026
• Finalists notified: by April 2026
• Finals ceremony: May 16, 2026
• Program year: May 2026–April 2027

• Applicants must be between the ages of 13-18 as of February 28, 2026.
• Applicants must live in the city of Long Beach, and must reside in Long Beach during the program year (May 2026–April 2027).
• Applicants must be able to commit to fulfilling the requirements of the program, including attending a majority of meetings and performing in the showcase.

1. Completed YPL application, including responses to demographic information and five short-answer narrative questions (1,500 character limit for each).*
2. 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.
3. Third-person biographical statement no longer than 100 words.
4. 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 you submit more than 5 poems or 10 pages, additional pages will not be reviewed. If selected as a finalist, you will be asked to read a selection of your poems in the finals ceremony.

*If you need to submit an application in a physical paper format instead of online, you can download and submit using the PDF version of the Youth Poet Laureate Application.

To submit, use one of the following options:

1. Email the PDFs (application, bio, CV, portfolio) to LS-YPL@longbeach.gov
2. Hand deliver to the Billie Jean King Main Library Teen Services Center by February 28, 2026.
3. Mail to Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802 (ATTN: Xochi Salas, Teen Services). Must be postmarked by February 28, 2026.

Please review the provided documents as helpful models to create your own application materials.

• Curriculum Vitae (CV) Template (DOCX)
• 100-Word Bio Template (DOCX)
• Portfolio Template (DOCX)

We are here to help and support you in this process.
Stay tuned for a live, virtual information session where we will go over the application process and program, and you will have a chance to ask questions. The session will be open to students and guardians/teachers. It will be recorded and posted here afterwards if you miss it.

Contact LS-YPL@longbeach.gov.

All applicants must be Long Beach residents between the ages of 13 and 18 as of February 28, 2026. Participants must be able to reside in the greater Long Beach area for the entire service year, which runs from May 2026 to April 2027. 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.

Submissions open November 15, 2025 and close February 28, 2026. Late applications will not be accepted. We suggest you prepare your materials early and reach out to us if you have any questions or encounter any technical difficulties.

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.

Please refer to these Literary Bio Instructions (PDF) for guidance in writing a third-person literary bio or reach out to LS-YPL@longbeach.gov.

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.

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

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. If you submit more than 5 poems or 10 pages, they will not be reviewed.

We strongly recommend you submit the maximum allowable number of 5 poems. This allows for the judges to get a good sense of your writing. If you don’t have 5 poems, you won’t be disqualified, but applicants who have not yet written a full 5 poems may not be considered as strongly as those who have.

If, however, you happen to write longer poems and want to submit fewer than 5, you can use your best judgment on which poems to submit, just be sure not to exceed the 10-page limit. And for the purposes of the finals ceremony, each poet will have around the same time limit to perform, so a longer poem may need to be excerpted if it doesn’t fit within the time limit.

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.

Finalists will be notified via email once final judging is completed by April 2026. 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.

If you applied previously but were not selected as a laureate or ambassador, and you are still within the age limit—yes, we highly encourage you to apply again!

Even if you were a previous finalist, if you are still eligible, we would love for you to apply again. Each year, the applicant pool and judges change, and we are sure that you are continuing to evolve as a writer.

We encourage you to apply again if you are interested in taking on the role of laureate, which comes with some additional responsibilities than an ambassador.

If you have already served 1 year as a Youth Poet Ambassador, you can apply again for the chance to serve as the Youth Poet Laureate. However, you are not eligible to serve a second year as a Youth Poet Ambassador.

Even if you were in a previous program, you must submit an entire application. If selected as a finalist, you will be invited to perform at the finals ceremony for a chance to become the next Youth Poet Laureate.

2025-2026

• Youth Poet Laureate: Ezequiel Correa
• Youth Poet Ambassadors:
  • Eden Gonzalez
  • Maddox Harris
  • Macuilquiahuitl Ixeh
  • Adele Odette

2024-2025

• Youth Poet Laureate: Helena Donato-Sapp
• Youth Poet Ambassadors:
  • Liam Balmeo
  • Jorany Chim
  • Ezequiel Correa
  • Sammantha Martinez
  • Ajala Sen

2023-2024

• Youth Poet Laureate: Claire Beeli
• Youth Poet Ambassadors:
  • Helena Donato-Sapp
  • Matilda Iem
  • Kieran Lundy
  • Sofia Uribe
• Verses on the Horizon: 2023 Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Cohort Anthology