GoodLit Poetry Fellowship 2026
Charlotte Lit, Goodyear Arts, West Trade Review, and Charlotte Poet Laureate Jay Ward are proud to announce that Jordan Bailey has been awarded the 2026 Charlotte GoodLit Poetry Fellowship. Congratulations, Jordan!
Congratulations also to this year’s finalists, Boris Rogers, Caeli Faisst, and Alexander Beets.
Jordan Bailey is a 28 year old poet, teaching artist, and curator. Jordan began his journey into poetry at 16 years old, joining BreatheInk Poetry and becoming their grand slam champion twice. After aging out, Jordan continued the work, becoming a coach and teaching artist for the same organization as well as emerging as a star in the adult poetry slam community. He is a part of the 2018 National Poetry Slam Champions and the 2019 Slam Madness Champion. He is a graduate fellow of The Watering Hole, a writing retreat for writers of color. In the Spring of 2025, he became an artist in residence with Goodyear Arts. Jordan’s work is built on expanding minds and world building.
The GoodLit Poetry Fellowship, now in its fourth year, provides an emerging poet with a year full of opportunities that broadens their knowledge of craft, expands their platform within the city, furthers their experience with workshop facilitation, assists them in navigating the world of publishing, and gives them a platform to enrich Charlotte’s literary landscape.
About the GoodLit Poetry Fellowship
The GoodLit Poetry Fellowship — now in its fourth year — is a year-long program to support and expand the career of an emerging poet in the Charlotte, area. The Fellowship is a collaboration of the Charlotte Poet Laureate and representatives of Charlotte Lit, Goodyear Arts, and West Trade Review. Applications are accepted from December 8-22, with the winning Fellow announced in January.
Who should apply?
- An emerging poet who is at least eighteen and is a full-time resident of the Charlotte area;
- A poet who has not published a full length collection of poetry;
- A poet whose poetic career could be significantly impacted by the benefits of this fellowship and who otherwise might not have access to these benefits; and
- A poet who has much to offer and much to learn and is eager to add to the legacy of Charlotte’s literary landscape.
What’s included in the Fellowship?
- One-year membership to Charlotte Lit, including access to the organization’s catalog of writing classes
- One month of free, private, and 24/7 studio usage at Goodyear Arts
- Publishing 101 discussion with the editor of West Trade Review
- Feedback on five poems by West Trade Review
- Participation as a submissions reader for West Trade Review (starting in April or August)
- Access to a six-week workshop with Poet Laureate
- Feedback on chapbook-length manuscript of poems by Poet Laureate
- Feedback on chapbook-length manuscript with a writer from the Goodyear Arts Collective
- Opportunity to develop and facilitate a two-hour craft workshop with Charlotte Lit, including workshop development coaching
- Opportunity for chapbook publication by Charlotte Lit Press
- Public reading event at Goodyear Arts
What is the purpose of the Fellowship?
- The purpose of the GoodLit Poetry Fellowship is to provide an emerging poet with a year full of opportunities that broaden their knowledge of craft, expand their platform within the city, further their experience with workshop facilitation, assist them in navigating the world of publishing, and give them a platform to enrich Charlotte’s literary landscape.
What does “emerging poet” mean?
- For the purpose of this fellowship, an applicant should be a poet who has not yet published a full-length collection of poetry and who sees themselves as emerging vs. established. This artist may or may not have a list of journal and/or chapbook publications and performance credentials. They may be just starting out or could be well along in their poetic journey. Of key importance are that the poet has a passion for writing, a demonstrable skill set, and the potential to benefit from a boost to get to the next level of their poetic career.
How can a poet apply for the fellowship?
Meet the 2025 GoodLit Fellow
Charlotte Lit, Goodyear Arts, West Trade Review, and Charlotte Poet Laureate, Jay Ward, are proud to announce that Olivia Dorsey Peacock has been awarded the 2025 Charlotte GoodLit Poetry Fellowship.
The other finalists for this year’s Fellowship—the third—were Jordan Bailey and Fola Onifade.
Peacock (she/her) is a genealogist, poet, and tea maven based in Charlotte. She has received fellowships and support from The Watering Hole, the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, and the Arts & Science Council. She holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Lucky Jefferson, poetry.onl, Shot Glass Journal, and Her Words.
“My work focuses on authentic, creative engagements with Black history, memory, and archives. It often draws inspiration from my genealogy, personal reflections, small towns, and on occasion, morally ambiguous anime characters. In my writing, I dissect the lineage of expectation, re-imagine ancestral memory, and measure the contours of legacy. Most of all, I seek to uncover and cultivate intimacy with the elements that universally connect and sustain Black heritage.”
