2026 City of Redmond Poet Laureate / Calls & Submissions

Deadline
July 13, 2025

Organization Name: City of Redmond

Organization Location: Redmond, WA

Type: Calls & Submissions

Fee: Free

Discipline:

The City of Redmond seeks applications for the position of Redmond Poet Laureate. The purpose of the Redmond Poet Laureate program is to make a significant contribution to the cultural life of the city and reveal new ways of understanding throughout our diverse community.

The Poet Laureate will generate a work plan within the allocated budget each year that includes community engagement opportunities or projects; i.e. public poetry readings, workshops, classes, lectures, text based visual art, composing and pushing original works, public art projects or other literary based performance or activity.

Schedule

  • Sunday, July 13, 2025: Applications due, 11 p.m. PST
  • Friday, July 25, 2025: Finalist selection announced
  • Week of August 4, 2025: Finalist Interviews
  • Monday, September 22, 2025: Poet Laureate Selection Announced
  • Jan. 1, 2026 – Dec. 2026: Term (contract renews annually)

Budget & Recognition

  • Finalists receive a $250 stipend for preparation for the interview during the week of August 4, 2025
  • The Poet Laureate receives an annual stipend of $5,000
  • The City of Redmond will provide staff support and an annual budget of $5,000 to complete events and projects proposed by the Poet Laureate
  • Poet Laureate can increase the scale of projects through outside funding sources pursued by the Poet Laureate

Selection Criteria

The selection process shall occur in four phases. In the first phase, a Review Panel comprised of poets, city staff, and Redmond Arts & Culture Commissioners will review all applicants, selecting up to three candidates to move into Panel Interviews. In the second phase, the short-listed candidates will have just under two weeks and be paid a $250 stipend to create a draft workplan and prepare a poem to read during the Panel Interviews. One finalist will be selected to be interviewed by the Mayor and then City Council.

Finalists will be selected through a panel process that will evaluate the applicants based on the below criteria:

  • Quality and strength of past work
  • Prior experience in program and/or project planning and development
  • Prior experience with community engagement or outreach
  • Demonstrated understanding of Redmond’s community

Opportunity Website

Open CallPoet LaureateRedmond