Thank you so much for your interest in getting involved with the New York City Poetry Festival!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Host A Reading

Thank you so much for your interest in hosting a reading at the 2025 New York City Poetry Festival!

We’re thrilled by the overwhelming response this year—our reading slots filled up faster than ever! While all spots are currently full, we’d still love to hear from you. If you’d like to be considered for the NYC PoFest Wait List, you can apply below. We appreciate your enthusiasm and hope to see you at the festival, whether on stage or in the crowd!

All accepted organizations will be given a 30-minute time slot on a stage with two mics, two mic stands, two music stands, and a full PA system with additional inputs. (If you’re interested in having more time on stage, consider becoming a sponsor of the event.) We will do our best to accommodate requests for particular days, times, and technical additions, but we cannot guarantee those requests. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis while time slots are available with only a few stipulations:

1) Applications must be 100% complete, and each line item should be filled out with sufficient detail. We will ask you for the following:

2) Each organization must feature at least two poets other than the host. Organizations may feature as many additional poets & performers as they’d like during their 30-minute time slot.

3) A single poet or host can be featured on stage by no more than two organizations. Your application may be rejected if it includes a poet who is already reading for two other organizations (or if you yourself are already reading for two other organizations), so please make sure to ask your prospective readers if they have already committed to reading for another organization at the festival before confirming them.

Thank you for your interest in becoming a vendor for NYC PoFest 2025!

At NYC PoFest, our Open-Air Artisan Market & Vendor Village brings together an extraordinary range of vendors, each with their own unique voice and vision. In 2024, attendees explored hand-bound poetry chapbooks and radical zines from publishers like Beautiful Days Press, Belladonna Collaborative, and Dead End Zine*. They discovered bilingual and underrepresented literary voices through Alegría Publishing, Darklight Publishing, Get Fresh Books, and Nuyorican Poets Cafe, while typewriter poets like Holly’s Typewriter Poetry and QWERT Poetry crafted verses on the spot. Immersive projects such as Braving the Body and Poetry Is A Team Sport created space for deep storytelling and creative connection.

But the Vendor Village isn’t just for book lovers—it’s for art lovers, healers, and seekers too. Visitors found handmade copper and crystal jewelry from alignedwire, sustainably crafted clothing from Furkat & Robbie, and Afropunk-meets-Cyberpunk apparel from Exiled Rebels. They experienced the power of healing and ritual with A Little Bit of Love’s organic body care, Aset Intention Crystalz’s metaphysical tools, and Wilde Herbs’ CBD-infused remedies. They also discovered wearable art and sculpture from Aly Cupcake, hand-painted journals from with love, Lucia, and earth-pigment watercolor paintings by Melody Rose Serra.

And, of course, all that browsing worked up an appetite! Festival-goers indulged in Venezuelan tequeños from Crispin Dopamine, artisan desserts from Phivi Box, and refreshing, fair-trade Just Ice Tea as they explored the vibrant marketplace.

The NYC PoFest Open-Air Artisan Market is a celebration of words, artistry, and community. Whether attendees come to find their next favorite poet, take home a one-of-a-kind creation, or simply soak in the festival’s electric atmosphere, the Vendor Village is where it all comes to life.

A standard vendor package includes a permit to sell goods & services and distribute promotional material on the island for both festival days, one (1) 6’ folding table, and two (2) white plastic folding chairs.

We’re thrilled that you’re interested in being part of this dynamic marketplace, and we can’t wait to celebrate poetry, creativity, and community with you!

Thank you so much for your interest in volunteering for NYC PoFest! Fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you closer to the festival!

Your support makes our work possible!

Below are our standard & corporate sponsorship levels, but if you have other ideas in mind, we can also work together to create a customized experience of your brand for our festival goers. It would be our pleasure to meaningfully integrate your brand into the festival environment and the natural beauty of Governors Island.

For Literary Organizations, 501(c)3 Non-Profits, & Educational Programs:

  • Silver Sponsorship ($500)

    • Name in press release (100+ journalists, 1 mil.+ readers)

    • Name in festival brochure & on entrance signage (15,000 attendees)

    • One Deluxe Vendor Package (Vendor Package additions: tablecloth, 10’x10’ pop up canopy, & custom hanging banner)

    • 4 VIP tickets to NYC PoFest

  • Gold Sponsorship ($750)

    • All Silver Sponsor Benefits AND:

      • Name, logo, & link on website (34,000+ impressions/yr)

      • Name & link in newsletter (5,300+ opens)

      • 1+ tag & 1+ mention on all PSNY socials (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

      • One Deluxe Vendor Package

  • Platinum Sponsorship ($1,000)

    • All Gold Sponsor Benefits AND:

      • Logo in festival brochure and on 1 step & repeat at the festival entrance (15,000 attendees)

      • 1+ dedicated social media posts (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

      • Priority placement of logo and organization info in newsletter announcements (5,300+ opens) and on the festival website (34,000 impressions/yr)

      • Add your mailing list signup to the festival registration page

  • Volunteers Sponsorship ($2,500)

    • All Platinum Sponsor Benefits AND:

      • Organization will be named the official sponsor of the volunteer program in the festival press releases (100+ journalists, 1 mil.+ readers) & in dedicated posts on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

      • Organization name & logo will appear on volunteer check-in banner (15,000+ attendees)

  • Stage Sponsorship ($5,000)

    • All Platinum Sponsor Benefits AND:

      • Organization will be named the official sponsor of the stage of your choice in the festival press releases (100+ journalists, 1 mil.+ readers) & in dedicated posts on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

      • Organization name & logo will appear on a large banner on your chosen stage (15,000+ attendees)

For Corporate Sponsors:

  • Literary Ambassador Sponsorship ($5,000)

    • Name, logo, & link on website (34,000+ impressions/yr)

    • Name & link in newsletter (5,300+ opens)

    • Name in press release (100+ journalists, 1 mil.+ readers)

    • Name in festival brochure & on entrance signage (15,000 attendees)

    • 1+ tag & 1+ mention on all PSNY socials (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

    • One Standard Vendor Package

    • VIP tickets to NYC PoFest for company employees

  • Literary Visionary Sponsorship ($10,000)

    • All Literary Ambassador Sponsor benefits AND:

      • Vendor Package additions: tablecloth, 10’x10’ pop up canopy, & a custom hanging banner

      • Logo in festival brochure and on 1 step & repeat at the festival entrance (15,000+ attendees)

      • 1+ dedicated social media posts (1,500+ impressions)

      • Priority placement of logo and org info in newsletter announcements (5,300+ opens) and on festival website (34,000+ impressions/yr)

      • Add your mailing list signup on festival registration page

  • Literary Education Sponsorship ($25,000)

    • All Literary Visionary Sponsor benefits AND:

      • Organization will be named the official Literary Education Sponsor in festival press releases (100+ journalists, 1 mil.+ readers) & in dedicated posts on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

      • Organization name & logo will appear on a large banner on your chosen stage (15,000+ attendees)

  • Literary Hero Sponsorship ($50,000)

    • All Literary Education Sponsor benefits AND:

      • Organization will be named the official Literary Hero Sponsor in festival press releases (100+ journalists, 1 mil.+ readers) & in dedicated posts on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

      • 1 personalized team-building exercise for
        company

  • Literary Champion Sponsorship ($100,000)

    • All Literary Hero Sponsor benefits AND:

      • Organization will be named the official Literary Champion Sponsor in festival press releases (100+ journalists, 1 mil.+ readers) & in dedicated posts on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter (1,500+ impressions guaranteed)

      • PSNY membership & exclusive merch for company employees

All Corporate Sponsorship Benefits Include:

  • Exposure via social media, email marketing, & advertising

  • VIP PoFest Experience for company employees

  • Logo on all signage & step-&-repeats

  • Two free Galla tickets OR reduced corporate Gala ticket packages

  • Resources for literary advocacy

NYC PoFest strives to create a poetry wonderland every year on Governors Island. Now in its fourteenth year, NYC PoFest takes its next bold step forward with Poetopia—a living, breathing, poetic utopia, built by collective imagination and radical creativity.

At Poetopia, words do not merely describe the world—they disrupt, transform, and rebuild it. Poetry is not just an artifact of the past, but a living force shaping the future. More than a festival—Poetopia is a movement, a dream in motion, a space where hierarchy dissolves, imagination reigns, and poetry becomes practice.

To bring Poetopia to life, we are seeking immersive art installations that transform the festival grounds into an interactive, participatory wonderland of poetry, performance, and visual storytelling.

Poetopia’s Core Principles:

  • Poetry as Liberation – We wield words and art to challenge oppression, break silence, and give voice to the unseen and unheard.

  • Radical Inclusivity – Poetry belongs to all! We honor the voices of every race, gender, ability, and background, ensuring Poetopia is a space of true belonging.

  • Collective Imagination – Utopias are built together! We cultivate collaborative creativity, forging poems, performances, and discussions that spark transformation.

  • The Commons of Language & Art – Poetry and art are not commodities, but shared, infinite resources, creating spaces of exchange, movement, and dialogue.

  • Embodied Resistance & Joy – We reject the notion that revolution is only struggle—joy is its own form of defiance. Through art, we celebrate, disrupt, and reimagine!

  • Sustainability & Reciprocity – Our creations must nurture, not deplete. We commit to ethical, ecological, and regenerative practices in all aspects of Poetopia.

  • Poetry Beyond the Page – Poetry lives in the body, the voice, the street, the city, the sky. Poetopia invites installations that push poetry beyond traditional forms, into sculptural, interactive, and performative experiences.

NYC PoFest Installation Proposals Must…

  • Align with NYC PoFest's Sustainability Pledge (scroll down in the About section)

  • Follow PSNY's Code of Conduct

  • Fit within a 10 ft by 10 ft space (approximate)

  • Be able to be installed in the heat of July (set up on the Friday before NYC PoFest & taken down on the Monday after)

  • Be budget-friendly (we are an arts non-profit)

  • Be adaptable to weather conditions

  • Be mindful of the history of violence & colonization on Governors Island (see our Official Land Acknowledgement in the About section for more info)

What We’re Looking For:

We are seeking art installations that transform Poetopia into an interactive, poetic realm where visitors don’t just observe—they experience, engage, and co-create. Your installation can be:

  • Sculptural structures

  • Interactive installations

  • Performance art

  • Dance pieces

Bonus Points If Your Installation…

  • Engages with poetry and/or the landscape of New York

  • Encourages audience participation (think: typewriter poetry stations, communal mural projects, collaborative storytelling)

  • Is ongoing and accessible throughout the festival (not just at specific times)

For Inspiration, Here Are Installations We've Loved in the Past:

Please read our FAQ first, but if you have a question we haven't already answered, feel free to shoot us a message!

To stay up-to-date on all things #NYCPOFEST, follow us on Instagram & Facebook and join our mailing list!