Announcing the 2026 Start a Riot! Chapbook prize Winner & Finalists
In response to rapid gentrification and displacement of QTBIPOC+ literary artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in celebration of these communities’ revolutionary history, Foglifter Press and Still Here San Francisco joined forces to create a poetry chapbook prize for local emerging queer and trans Black writers, indigenous writers, and writers of color. Each year, one poetry chapbook author is awarded publication, a $3,000 prize, and $1,000 to support their book tour/promotion.
Our 2026 winner is Reggie Edmonds-Vásquez, for their collection Ecology of the Hood, out in June 2026.
We also want to congratulate our finalists, Artie Patel with I Wonder If Boys Can Sing & Eden Julia Sugay with Bakla.
We are grateful to our judges, Dani Putney, Grayson Thompson, and Zara Jamshed, as well as our partner, Still Here SF.
winner
Ecology of the Hood
Reggie Edmonds-Vásquez (they/them) is a poet, educator, and cultural curator from Richmond, CA. Their work explores Black, queer, and gender-diverse identities and has earned recognition from Nomadic Press, Afro Urban Society, and the Museum of the African Diaspora. A two-time Berkeley Grand Champion and national finalist, they direct programming at Rich Oak Events.
Reggie Edmonds-Vasquez
(photo credit @lupepac_)
Finalists
I Wonder If Boys Can Sing
Artie Patel (they/them) is a trans nonbinary mixed South Asian American born and raised in Santa Clara County. They attended UCLA, where they were on the senior staff of FEM Newsmagazine. They are currently a graduate student and teacher at San José State University in the English department.
Bakla
Eden Julia Sugay (they/them) is a QTPOC writer and editor based in Oakland. They hold a BA in Creative Writing from Mills College and MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco. Their work has been supported by Kearny Street Workshop, Berkeley Poetry Festival, The Writers Grotto, Folkways Press, Four Leaf Collective, Kissing Dynamite, and The Walrus.
