2026 - 2027 POET LAUREATE RFP

COMPENSATION

Compensation for Consultant will be $8,000 for services for one year.

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To support the Poet Laureate Program, there is a separate materials and supply budget, which is not to exceed $8,000. Subject to approval by the Director of Library, Arts & Culture, City staff will be responsible for expending the funds (up to $8,000 total) in concordance with the budget. This budget cannot be used to provide additional compensation to the Poet Laureate.

 

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES AND SUBMISSION DETAILS DEADLINE

The City must receive the Application — consisting of the documents and images described in (a) through (f) below on or before 5:00 p.m., Friday, April 17, 2026.

 

The Application must be submitted via the Arts & Culture Commission’s website.

 

A Proposal received after this date and time will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed by the selection panel.

 

Required documents:

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A. Letter of Interest

1. Include the Proposer’s name, address, phone number, and email.

2. Compose a letter of interest (maximum 1 page) detailing the reasons for your interest in the Poet Laureate role.

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B. Biography

1. Submit a brief biography, not to exceed one page.

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C. Resume

1. Submit a resume or Curriculum Vitae of two pages or less, including:

   • Publication and performance history, highlighting inclusion in poetry journals, magazines, websites, and/or spoken word events. Please indicate where experience is self-published or self-curated;

   • Any related experience, particularly in public speaking, teaching, and/or public performance;

   • Community outreach and/or volunteering experience;

   • Professional and educational background; and

   • Any other information as it pertains to this RFP.

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D. Writing Sample

1. Include up to 10 pages of poetry. Please note publishing history for each piece when applicable. Links to recordings of readings of submitted poems are encouraged, but not required. Applicants with work in languages other than English are asked to provide translated versions for the selection panel to review and may include more than 10 pages for their sample as needed.

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​E. Project Proposal

1. Submit a proposal for a community engagement project that is no longer than two pages and includes:

   • An exciting vision for celebrating the City’s rich culture and diversity, and promoting the art of poetry;

   • A plan for involving communities of diverse backgrounds and all ages throughout the City;

   • A draft timeline of activities for the year, including at least four programs; and

   • Plans for using the budget for the Poet Laureate Pilot Program.

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F. References

1. Submit two professional references that include: Name, title, organization.

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A Proposal received without any of the required documents listed above will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed by the selection panel.

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PROPOSER'S REPRESENTATIONS

By submitting a Proposal, the Proposer represents that: 

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• The Proposer has thoroughly examined the RFP, made all necessary investigations and inquiries, and understand the Services that the City requires; 

• The RFP is sufficient in scope and detail to indicate and convey reasonable understanding of all requirements, terms, and conditions for performance of the work required for the Services; 

• The Proposer is fully familiar with — and has fully considered — all facts, conditions, circumstances; 

• The Proposal is an irrevocable offer for a period of at least ninety (90) calendar days following the City’s opening of all Proposals; and 

• The Proposer is, and will be, in compliance with the RFP’s requirements, terms, and conditions. 

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INDEMNIFICATION

At its expense, the Proposer agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City and its officers, agents, employees, and representatives from and against any and all liability, suits, actions, proceedings, judgments, claims, demands, liens, losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees, litigation, arbitration, mediation, appeal expenses) if a dispute, lawsuit, or other proceeding arises out of any one or more of the following: 

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• A Proposer’s submission of the Proposal; 

• The City’s accepting a Proposer’s Proposal; or 

• The City’s awarding a Contract to a Proposer in compliance with this RFP, or state, federal, or local laws. 

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IDENTIFYING PROPRIETARY INFORMATION; PUBLIC RECORDS ACT

A Proposer must identify and list all copyrighted material, trade secrets, or other proprietary information (“protectable documents”) that the Proposer included in its Proposal which the Proposer believes should be exempt from disclosure under California’s Public Records Act, Government Code Section 7920, et seq. 

 

By listing the documents, the Proposer agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City and its officers, agents, employees, and representatives from and against any action, claim, lawsuit, or proceeding, including costs and expenses, arising out of or connected with the City’s refusal to disclose the protectable documents to any party making a request for those items. 

 

The City will treat any Proposer who fails to identify documents that the Proposer believes should be exempt from disclosure as having waived its right to an exemption from disclosure, as the Public Records Act provides. 

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SIGNATURES

The individual signing the Proposal must represent that the individual is authorized to bind the Proposer.  An individual signing a Proposal as an agent of another must attach to the Proposal evidence of that person’s legal authority to sign on behalf of another. 

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PROPOSAL PREPARATION EXPENSES

Expenses for developing the RFP response are entirely the responsibility of the Proposer and are not chargeable to the City in any manner.  The City is not liable for any pre-contractual expenses, which are defined as expenses incurred by the Proposer in: 

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• Preparing its Proposal in response to this RFP. 

• Negotiating with the City any matter related to the Proposal. 

• Any other expense incurred by the Proposer before the date of award of the Contract for this RFP. 

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PROPOSAL RETENTION

All Proposals and other material submitted become the property of the City and may be returned only at the City’s option.  The City reserves the right to use any ideas presented in any response to the RFP.  Selection or rejection of the Proposal does not affect this right. 

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QUESTIONS; INTERPRETATION OR CORRECTION OF RFP

If a Proposer has any question about this RFP or the Scope of Services― or if a Proposer finds any error, inconsistency, or ambiguity in the RFP, or the Scope of Services, or both― the Proposer must make a “Request for Clarification” before submitting a Proposal.

 

The Proposer must submit a Request for Clarification in writing— by email— to: 

 

Tiffany Barrios, Senior Library, Arts & Culture Supervisor

at tbarrios@glendaleca.gov

  

The City must receive the Request for Clarification on or before 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 24, 2026.

 

If necessary, the City will make clarifications, interpretations, corrections, or changes to the RFP, or the Scope of Work or both, in writing by issuing Addenda, as described in Section 14 (below). 

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ADDENDA

The City will issue Addenda in writing only.  A Proposer must not rely upon, and the City is not bound by, purported clarification, interpretations, corrections, or changes to the RFP that are made verbally or in a manner other than written Addenda from the City. The City will make reasonable efforts to deliver Addenda to all Proposers whom the City knows have received the RFP and have provided a street address for receipt of Addenda.  The City cannot guarantee that all Proposers will receive all Addenda.

 

Proposers may also inspect the Addenda at:

Glendale Central Library 

222 East Harvard Street 

Glendale, CA 91205 

(Business hours, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) 

 

This RFP is also on file there. 

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WITHDRAWAL, CANCELLATION, OR MODIFICATION OF PROPOSAL

Before the Proposal Deadline, a Proposer may withdraw and then modify a Proposal, by giving written notice, signed by the Proposer. A withdrawal request must be emailed to: 

 

Tiffany Barrios, Senior Library, Arts & Culture Supervisor

at tbarrios@glendaleca.gov

 

For a withdrawal to become effective, the City must receive the Proposer’s request for withdrawal before the Proposal Deadline.  The City will not accept or consider a Proposer’s verbal request for modification or withdrawal of a Proposal. 

 

If a Proposer withdraws its Proposal, the withdrawal will not prejudice the Proposer’s right to submit a new Proposal, if the new Proposal is submitted: a) in accordance with the RFP’s requirements, and b) before the Proposal Deadline. 

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After the Proposal Deadline, a Proposer must not withdraw, cancel, or modify its Proposal for a period of at least ninety (90) calendar days following the Proposal’s opening.  The City may extend the 90-day period upon the City’s written request and upon the affected Proposer’s written approval. 

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SELECTION PROCESS; EVALUATION CRITERIA

Applications will be reviewed in a two-round review process. The initial review of applications (Round #1) will consist of City of Glendale representatives who will review all submissions and score the applications. The secondary review of applications (Round #2) will consist of a Selection Panel of local poetry experts, Poet(s) Laureate from other cities, and a member of the Arts & Culture Commission who will select the Poet Laureate with the support of Library, Arts & Culture staff. The Selection Panel will review submitted applications to determine whether they are responsive to the requisites of this RFP. Applications that are determined by the Selection Panel to be non-responsive or submitted after the deadline may be rejected. City of Glendale representatives will send a notification by email and formal letter to the selected candidate for the 2026 Poet Laureate in May 2026.

 

Applications will be evaluated and scored on the selection criteria listed below.

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• Qualifications (30%)

  • Demonstrated history of publication and performance, with a record of being included in poetry journals, magazines, websites, and/or spoken word events

    • Experience that is not self-published/self-curated experience is preferred.

  • Experience in public speaking, teaching, and/or public performance

  • Community outreach service and/or volunteering experience

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• Artistic Merit (30%)

  • ​The quality of poetry samples in relation to the applicant pool and relevance to the multicultural community of Glendale.

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• Proposal Content and Schedule (30%)

  • The creativity and quality of the community engagement proposal and its responsiveness to the program’s goal

  • The feasibility of the plan for involving communities of diverse backgrounds and all ages throughout the City

  • The practicality of the timeline of activities for the year

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• Overall Proposal Responsiveness (10%)

  • ​Application will be evaluated on the Applicant’s overall responsiveness to the requests of this RFP.

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TOTAL: 100%

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The City may investigate the qualifications of an Applicant under consideration, require confirmation of information furnished by the Applicant, and call upon the Applicant to provide additional information or evidence of the Applicant’s qualifications for the Services described in this RFP.

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POST-PROPOSAL INTERVIEWS

After the Selection Panel has evaluated the Proposals, Proposers may be asked to attend one or more interviews to review their Proposal and their qualifications to perform the work.

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AWARD OF CONTRACT

The Selection Panel will submit recommendations to the Director Library, Arts & Culture of (“Director”). The Director may select a successful Proposer, and then may make a recommendation for the City Council’s consideration for an award of a Contract.  Alternatively, the Director may present the finalists to the City Council for consideration and selection of the successful Proposer. 

 

Within ninety (90) calendar days after the City opens all Proposals, if the Director selects a Proposal, the City will give the selected Proposer a “Notice of Intent to Award Contract.”

 

Once selected, the successful Proposer must enter into a written Professional Services Agreement (“Contract”) with the City within thirty (30) calendar days following the Proposer’s receiving the City’s “Notice of Award of Contract” or within any extension that the City may allow.  The Notice will specify the “start date” for performing the Consultant’s Services.  The RFP, or any part of it, and the Proposer’s responses, will be incorporated into and made a part of the Contract. A copy of the proposed Contract is provided as EXHIBIT A.

 

Before Consultant’s Services can commence, the selected Proposer must execute the Contract, which is a standard form of agreement.  To facilitate smooth and timely implementation, a Proposer responding to this RFP must review all terms and conditions of the Contract, including, but not limited to, provisions relating to indemnity and termination.

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The City’s policy is that the Contract be accepted as is.  By submitting a Proposal to the City in response to this RFP, a Proposer is deemed to have reviewed and provided its approval to the Contract, accepting it without qualification.  If a Proposer seeks limited modification of the Contract, then in the Proposal a Proposer must identify the proposed changes.

 

However, changes or qualifications to the Contract may be weighed in the evaluation of the Proposal and may cause rejection of the Proposal as non-responsive, in the City’s determination.

 

The City reserves the right to further negotiate the terms and conditions of the Contract.  The Proposer whom the City Council selects must cooperate with the City in good faith to negotiate, sign, and deliver the final Contract. The City will draft the Contract and may require the selected Proposer to attend one or more Contract negotiation conferences to discuss possible:

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• Revisions to the Contract’s service-related terms, conditions, requirements (other than the indemnity provisions), specifications, or minimum performance standards; and

• Additions to the Contract, by the parties’ mutual agreement, or as a City Ordinance or Resolution, the City’s Charter or Municipal Code, or any other law may require.

 

At any time and for any reason, if Contract negotiations with the selected Proposer fail to progress, to the City’s reasonable satisfaction, the City reserves the right to not only end negotiations with the selected Proposer, but also cancel the award and reject the Proposal.  At its discretion, the City may then:  reopen the proposal process; choose from among the remaining, if any, qualified Proposers; reissue the RFP; negotiate directly with any Proposer for the Services; or choose not to contract for the Services.

 

The selected Proposer must submit a signed Contract to the City.

 

After the City receives the signed Contract, the City Attorney’s office will review the Contract.  If the selected Proposer has not changed any terms of the Contract, the City will sign the Contract and return an original of the Contract to the Proposer.

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INSURANCE

The City does not require the successful Proposer to submit proof of liability insurance or workers’ compensation insurance.

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CITY'S RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

This RFP and the Proposal evaluation process do not:

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• Obligate the City to accept or select any Proposal.

• Constitute an agreement by the City that it will actually enter into any Contract with any Proposer.

 

When it best serves the City’s interests, the City may do any one or more of the following:

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• Reject any Proposal or all Proposals at its sole discretion.

• Extend the deadline for accepting Proposals.

• Accelerate the pace of the RFP process if only one or a handful of Proposals are received.

• Waive any or all information, defects, irregularities, or informalities in a Proposal.

• Accept amendments to Proposals after the Submission Deadline.

• Amend, revise, or change the RFP’s evaluation or selection criteria before the Submission Deadline.

• Cancel, withdraw, amend, revise, change, or negotiate the terms of this RFP, the proposed contract, or both.

• Reissue a Request for Proposals.

• Conduct oral interviews.

• Visit Consultant’s facilities or business.

• Examine financial records of Consultant to the extent necessary to ensure financial stability.

• Make a partial award.

• Negotiate with one or more Consultants.

• Award contracts to one or more Consultants.

• Require a best and final offer from one or more Consultants.

• Provide its own Services, or contract directly — without an RFP or bids — for those Services.

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LETTER OF OBJECTION; PROCEDURES

A Proposer, who believes that any part of this RFP is discriminatory against the Proposer or precludes the Proposer from being given reasonable consideration in the procurement process, must submit an objection in writing— by email only— to the City. The City will not consider any verbal objection.  The Letter of Objection must clearly state:

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• The specific objections;

• The areas of concern;

• The facts supporting the objections; and

• A proposed method for resolving the objections.

 

The Proposer, or the person who is duly authorized to represent the Proposer, must sign the correspondence.

 

The Proposer must email the Letter of Objection to:

Tiffany Barrios, Senior Library, Arts & Culture Supervisor

at tbarrios@glendaleca.gov

 

The City must receive the Letter of Objection on or before 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

 

Upon the City’s timely receipt of the objection letter, the City will review the Proposer’s contention(s).  If the City decides that the RFP― whether in whole or in part― needs revision, the City will prepare Addenda, as described in Section 14 of this RFP.