OUR MISSION & PURPOSE

Floating Bridge Press is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to affirm and promote quality poetry as a written and spoken art, enhancing the lives of poet and audience in the immediate and broader communities. Our yearly goals are to:

PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

ANNUAL CHAPBOOK COMPETITION

Now in its thirteenth year of successful operations, Floating Bridge Press conducts a chapbook competition open to Washington State poets. A chapbook is often an important precursor to the publication of a poet’s full-length book and a serious step in a poet’s career.  Our chapbooks are offset printed, perfect-bound publications of 25 to 35 pages. The cover of each chapbook is an original, letterpress printed design created by one of our many collaborators. (Past cover artists have included Jules Faye of Grey Spider Press, Reba Blissell of Rolling Bones Press, and Seattle woodcut artist Carl Montford.)  We print 500 copies on archival-quality paper; award a $500 prize and 15 copies of the chapbook to the winner; and produce an advertised, public reading (held this year at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle). We also award a $50 reading honorarium to each of four finalists.

All artistic decisions are made by the seven members of the Editorial Committee of the Floating Bridge Board of Directors, all of whom volunteer their time and expertise to the press.  Through our widespread “Call for Manuscripts,” the Press receives entries from all corners of the state, with the majority from the greater Seattle area. We usually receive 125 to 150 manuscripts from November through February 15. Participating poets represent all skill levels, styles, ethnicities, and experiences.  Entries are judged on the basis of merit alone; the Editorial Committee members receive no information about the identity of the poets or about previous publication credits of the entries.  Decisions are based on the following criteria: a) does the poet use clear and original images, employ engaging artistic language with a rich texture of sound patterns to communicate a human experience; b) is the emotional undertone reflected in the language; c) are there multiple levels of meaning; d) is the presentation professional, consistently attaining a high quality throughout the manuscript; e) is there a theme and a smooth transition from poem to poem. Twelve to fifteen semifinalists are chosen. Editors then reread each semifinalist manuscript and independently choose one to two finalists. The finalist manuscripts are then discussed in depth by the committee, and a winning manuscript is chosen by consensus.

After the winner and finalists are chosen, work begins on editing, book design, layout, and printing.  We send press releases to the local media and national poetry journals. A reading is scheduled in June, featuring the winner and the finalists. Further promotional readings are set up for the winner.

PONTOON:  AN ANTHOLOGY OF WASHINGTON STATE POETS

In addition to the chapbook publication, Floating Bridge Press annually publishes Pontoon: An Anthology of Washington State Poets, featuring “the best of the rest” individual poems culled from the entries to our chapbook competition.  Then ninth edition of Pontoon was released in 2006.  Once the chapbook award is finalized, the manuscripts are reviewed again by the members of the Editorial Committee, who each choose individual poems for publication in the anthology (again with no knowledge of the poets’ names).

Approximately 80 poems representing the artistic work of 55 to 65 Washington State poets are included in the anthology.  750 copies of Pontoon are printed on archival-quality paper in August, with a full-color glossy cover featuring the work of a Washington State artist.  We award $20 per poem to the poets as well as one copy of the anthology.  We produce an advertised reading series featuring up to 24 poets reading in bookstores across the state.  Once Pontoon has been published, readings are scheduled throughout the following year. The reading series is promoted with press releases to all major and local neighborhood newspapers, and notices on the Floating Bridge Press website and its partner organization’s websites.

These projects create beautiful, lasting, archival-quality publications for Seattle and the world; they recognize, reward, and encourage our local poets and distribute their art to a wide audience; they help validate poetry as a valued and vital art form; and they help make the art of poetry accessible and understandable to the general public. These projects are also a labor of love. The Editorial Committee spends hundreds of volunteer hours each year producing the award, chapbooks, and readings, as well as maintaining a website, handling all marketing, and taking on special projects when deemed appropriate. We do all this because we believe strongly in the necessity of poetry. 

NAMES AND QUALIFICATIONS OF PERSONNEL

All operations at Floating Bridge Press are managed and conducted entirely by the volunteer Editorial Committee of the Board of Directors.  Its six members are:

• Kathleen Flenniken, a poetry instructor and  WSAC Artist-in-Residence presenting poetry and lessons in Washington public schools.  Kathleen is currently working on her MFA in Poetry through Pacific Lutheran University.  Her work has appeared in numerous national literary journals, including The Iowa Review, The Southern Review, and Poetry. She is a recipient of an NEA Award, and the 2005 Prairie Schooner Prize in Poetry for her book Famous (Univ. of Nebraska Press).

• John Pierce, a freelance technical writer and former editor at Microsoft. He was business manager at Seattle-based book packager Marquand Books and has marketing and distribution experience with Small Changes, a Seattle literary distributor. His poetry has been published in Between the Lines.

• Ron Starr, a former technical writer at Microsoft.  Ron has published poems in Crab Creek Review, NW Concrete & Visual Poetry Exhibit, and King County Arts Commission’s Poetry on the Buses. He is the recipient of a 2003 Jack Straw Writers award.

• Devon Musgrave, an editor at Microsoft Press since 1997.  Devon received his MFA in poetry from Syracuse University, studying under Hayden Carruth. 

In addition to the Editorial Committee, the press has one volunteer staff member:

• Jeff Crandall, Executive Director:  A founding editor of the press, Mr. Crandall left the board in 2006 to work exclusively on the Floating Bridge Press Endowment Fund which will assure permanent financial independence for the press in perpetuity. Mr. Crandall is an independent artist and former Development Coordinator for Pilchuck Glass School.  He earned a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington.  His poetry has been published in Amelia, Beloit Poetry Journal, The Seattle Review, Cutbank, Cream City Review, Fine Madness, and Southern Poetry Review, among others. His manuscript “Clear Cut” was a finalist in the National Poetry Series.  His first book, The Grief Pool, won a 1999 King County Arts Commission Special Projects Award and is published by Firestorm Press. 

In addition to being business professionals, the committee members are all published and/or award-winning poets and writers volunteering their time, wisdom, and skills year-round to achieve the mission and goals of the Press. Their varying capacities include publishing, management, budgeting, accounting, marketing, grant writing, web design, teaching, copy editing, book design and event scheduling.  The editors share the duties of office management, content and copy editing, competition judging, and reading introductions.

The FBP Editorial Committee is very experienced in the publication of poetry anthologies, having published nine annual editions of Pontoon: An Anthology of Washington State Poets.  Each year the editors read over 2,400 poems submitted to the press's annual poetry chapbook award. Under the guidance and work of the Editorial Committee, Floating Bridge Press has met all of its yearly goals, expanded its mission and board, and proudly has never had an operating deficit in its 13-year history.  

The Editorial Committee has been responsible for the publication of nine Pontoon anthologies, twelve chapbooks, and two full length books of poetry, and most recently: Poetry on Wheels The Anthology of the King County Poetry on Buses Project.. The other titles are:

A Steady Longing for Flight by Joannie Kervran, 1996

The Measure of Heaven by Nance Van Winckel, 1997

A Woman Named Wife by Donna Waidtlow, 1998

Blue Willow by Molly Tenenbaum, 1999

Radiant Measures by James Gurley, 1999

Sonnets from the Mare Imbrium by Bart Baxter, 2000

The Man with St. Vitus’ Dance by Bart Baxter, 2001

X: a poem by Chris Forhan, 2001

The End of Forgiveness by Joseph Green, 2002

Divertimento: The Lost Works of Nelson Bentley, edited by Sean Bentley (full length book), 2002

Wheel of Days by Linda Greenmun (full length book), 2002

Geography by Kelli Russell Agodon, 2003

A Pisan Canto by Sam Hamill, 2004

The Former St. Christopher by Michael Bonacci, 2004

Toccata & Fugue by Timothy Kelly, 2005

In the Convent We Become Clouds by Annette Spaulding Convey, 2006

The press has also produced over 200 poetry readings across the state and has paid out nearly $20,000 in poet awards.

MEETING A COMMUNITY NEED

Floating Bridge Press plays a vital role in the Washington arts community. Since our founding, we’ve been able to provide local poets with a first-rate venue for the presentation of their art on a wide scale.  As you are well aware, poetry is an art form that has long gone unrecognized, often banished to the realm of the esoteric and incomprehensible.  Our experience at the press has taught us that Washington State is filled with many strong, fine voices that deserve recognition — voices in full command of the power of language, rhythm, musicality and meaning, not only conveying a richness of experience but a depth of emotional understanding and resonance.  Washington poets have far too long been forced to compete on a national level, with no opportunity for prior successes locally to boost their careers.  Even well-respected local publications (such as The Seattle Review and Crab Creek Review) choose poems from submissions received across the country.  No where else do Washington poets have a chance to compete and be recognized locally before moving on to national ventures. We are proud to say that many of our competition winners have gone on to have their first full-length books published after winning our award and several poets count Pontoon as their very first publication credit.

Floating Bridge Press is a small organization that has achieved broad-reaching results. Because the press is a volunteer-driven organization, we have no personnel expenses and low organizational overhead costs.  This means that donations to the press go a long way toward providing support.  Our local focus gives regional poets a chance to be recognized in the manner that they deserve and can provide poets with a first crucial step in their careers.  Having their poems published in Pontoon continues to provide Washington poets with vital encouragement, validation, and public recognition that is so needed and yet so rare in the world of poetry.