GBOMA 2012 was another full roster of talented poets and an enthusiastic voting audience packing the house at the Chopin Theatre.
Fan Club Winner: Nicole Bond
Semi-finalist round winners: Amaris Howard, Diana Pando, Kelly Reuter & Stephanie Rose-Perez
2012 Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Award winner:
Stephanie Rose-Perez!
Congratulations to everyone!
We’re excited to announce that submissions are now open for the 2025 Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards (GBOMA)! This annual poetry competition celebrates the legacy of Illinois’ former Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks, by uplifting emerging poets and giving them a platform to share their work. Interested poets can find full submission guidelines and apply here:👉…
We are honored to share that the Guild Literary Complex has been selected as one of 12 organizations nationwide to receive a Sustainable Futures Grant from the Poetry Foundation. This multi-year general operating support grant will provide $225,000 over three years, helping us continue and expand our work in amplifying underrepresented voices and building inclusive…
Newcity Lit has named our upcoming event, Power Lines Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration, the top literary event in Chicago for May 2025! Presented in partnership with the Poetry Foundation and the Poetry Center, this special evening marks 25 years since the release of Power Lines, the groundbreaking 1999 anthology that captured a decade of vibrant poetry…
We are proud to announce that our very own Board President, Faylita Hicks, has been named one of the 2025 Writing Freedom Fellows by Haymarket Books and the Mellon Foundation. This prestigious fellowship recognizes and elevates the voices of writers impacted by the carceral system. The Writing Freedom Fellowship offers its recipients opportunities for professional development and…
CHICAGO, February 5, 2025—The Poetry Foundation announces its roster of free public events for the spring 2025 season under the theme “Power Lines,” inspired by the landmark anthology of the same name released by the Guild Literary Complex 25 years ago. The electrifying event season highlights new work by Chicago and Midwest presses, partner organizations, and…
In partnership with Guild Literary Complex and with the support of Healing Illinois, NON:op announces a call for proposals for commissioned responses to SAY THEIR NAMES. The commission is for two to three poet/composer teams to create new work that responds to individual cases, groups of cases, the map, or the entire project. The application opens on January…