The Austin Public Library and the Library Foundation announced a collaboration to name Austin’s first youth poet laureate, joining the National Youth Poet Laureate Program. Forty other cities are already members of the national program, which annually selects a winner from each of four regions as national finalists, from whom the national youth poet laureate is chosen.

The new Austin Youth Poet Laureate program will begin accepting applications July 1. Austin-area teens ages thirteen to eighteen are encouraged to apply. There is no cost to apply.

According to Sightlines Magazine, Library Foundation Director Tim Staley said that it was Amanda Gorman, who read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, that inspired the foundation to join the National Youth Poet Laureate Program.

“We were so impressed by Amanda Gorman, who is a product of the National Youth Poet Laureate Program’s Los Angeles chapter,” said Staley. “We found that between the Library Foundation’s close relationship with the Austin Public Library and our Badgerdog creative writing program, the Youth Poet Laureate program would be a great fit for us.”

How to Apply

1. Fill out an application. (Applications will open on July 1, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. All applications must be submitted online by Sunday, August 15, 2021, at 11:59 p.m.)
2. Submit the following materials:

1. Five original poems (maximum total page count of twenty pages)
2. A resume, CV, or brag sheet detailing applicant’s accomplishments, community service, after-school-program participation, awards, or anything else applicant wishes to highlight about themselves
3. Optional multimedia supplement

In addition, several application workshops will be held in June and July. Go here for more information.

The winner will be showcased at a celebration this fall at the library and will have the opportunity to publish a chapbook through Host Publications, a local press.