August Poetry Contests

AUGUST Poetry Contests

Arranged by deadline, then alphabetically; deadlines in red denote "received by" rather than "postmarked by." Not responsible for out-of-date or incorrect information; write, call, e-mail or check websites for current guidelines.

August 1 Deadlines

8/1/10	Milwaukee Irish Fest Poetry Contest	Prizes: (2x)$100	Fee: none
Attention: Poetry Contest Milwaukee Irish Fest 1532 Wauwatosa Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53213		414-476-3378 info@irishfest.com	Judge:
			Notify: by August 22
Poems: The awards will be given to the entries best reflecting Irish or Irish-American poetry traditions. While the poems do not necessarily need to have direct Irish or Irish-American themes, the winning entries should have a cultural/literary relation to either Ireland or Irish-America. Each contestant should submit no more than one poem; however, Wisconsin residents may submit one poem for each contest. • The Donn Goodwin prize is named after a Wisconsin poet, linguist, and educator who was active in supporting Irish and Irish-American writing and poetry. An award of $100 will be given to the winning poem. This contest is open to all. • The Joseph Gahagan prize of $100 will be awarded in memory of the man who served as poetry consultant to Irish Fest for many years and was a lecturer in the English department of the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. Only current residents of Wisconsin are eligible for this prize. Entries must be received between June 15 and August 1, 2010. All entries must be typewritten and mailed. No handwritten, faxed, or e-mail submissions will be accepted. Each entry should have a cover sheet that contains the poet’s name, address, telephone number, and/or FAX and/or e-mail address. It should indicate whether the poem is being submitted for the Goodwin or for the Gahagan Prize, and it should be stapled to the entry. The poet’s name or other identifying information should not appear on the poem. Each entry should be the poet’s original work and should not have appeared previously in any publication. No entries will be returned. Contestants are urged to keep copies of their submissions and to put a clear return address on the envelope in case of non-delivery.
http://www.irishfest.com/festival/atthefest/contests/poetrycontest.php

8/1/09	Mississippi Review Poetry Series	Prizes: (3x) $1,000 and publication	Fee: $25 to Mississippi Review
Mississippi Review Poetry Series 118 College Drive # 5144 Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001		questions call 601.266.5600	Judge: Dara Weir
			Notify: September
Book manuscript: Open to all poets working in English except current or former students or employees of Southern Miss. There will be three $1000 prizes and we will produce three full-length (48-64 page) paperback perfect-bound books. Each will bear the cover price of $12 but the three winning books will be packaged as a set for MR subscribers. Each winner will receive the cash prize plus 100 copies of his or her book as payment. Manuscripts may total no more than 56 pages of poetry. Fee is $25 per entry, payable to Mississippi Review. There is no limit on the number of entries an author may submit. Each entrant will receive a set of the three prize-winning books. No manuscripts will be returned. Postmark deadline: August 1. Publication scheduled: January. Please put MR Poetry Series, name, address, phone, e-mail, and title on page one of entry. No current contest. May become biennial.
http://www.mississippireview.com/mrpoetryseries

8/1/10	Rattle Poetry Prize	Prizes: $5,000, (10x)$100, and publication	Fee: $18 to RATTLE
RATTLE 12411 Ventura Blvd. Studio City, CA 91604			Judge: editors
			Notify: September 15
Poems: Entry fee of $18.00 includes a one year subscription to RATTLE. Open to writers, worldwide; poems must be written in English (no translations). International entrants MUST submit via email and credit card. Pay the $18 entry fee via credit card through our secure vender. You may submit up to four poems per entry, so unless you're planning on submitting more than four, be sure to pay the entry fee only once. (Please note that your confirmation email will say that the order has "shipped," but because what you're receiving is a subscription, this just means that your order is scheduled for shipment when the next issue is released.) After paying the entry fee online, send an email to submissions@rattle.com. Write "Contest Entry" and the CCNow order number of your entry fee in the subject line. Attach one single MS Word document or text file, that includes the cover sheet and all of the poems you're submitting in a single document. Do not attach more than one file. Only .txt, .rtf, .doc, .docx, or .pdf extensions will be opened. Submissions will be judged in a blind review by the editors of RATTLE: This document should be formatted as for hardcopy—your name, address, phone number, email, and the titles of the poems on the first page. Each poem on a separate page following that, with no contact information on any of the pages with the poems. If any of this is confusing, you should probably just send a hardcopy entry, but do feel free to email Timothy Green with any questions. Send no more than four poems per entry. There is no line-limit; poems can be any length. Multiple entries by a single poet are accepted, however each group of four poems must be treated as a separate entry, each with its own emailed document and $18 entry fee. RATTLE's winter issue (Dec. 2010) must be a potential first publication for all works submitted. No previously published works, or works accepted for publication elsewhere. No simultaneous submissions, except to magazines or presses open to publishing reprints after January 1st, 2011. Winners will be announced no later than September 15th, and those poems will be published in the Winter issue of RATTLE. Additional entries may also be offered publication as well. For an idea of our editorial tastes, back issues can be purchased. E-MAIL DEADLINE: 11:59pm PST August 1st, 2010.
http://rattle.com/rpp/rpp.htm

August 14 Deadlines

8/14/10	Many Mountains Moving Press Poetry Book Contest	Prizes: $1,000 and publication	Fee: $25 to Many Mountains Moving Press.
Many Mountains Moving Poetry Book Contest Jeffrey Ethan Lee, Senior Poetry Editor Many Mountains Moving Press 1705 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19146		jeffreyethan@att.net	Judge: TBA
			Notify: spring
Book manuscript: Open to all poets and writers whose work is in English. Staff and their family members are not eligible to enter. Simultaneous submissions are allowed if the poet agrees to notify MMM Press of acceptance elsewhere. Entries may not be previously published, but individual poems and chapbook-length sections may have been if the previous publisher gives permission to reprint. (More than half of the ms. may not have been published as a collection.) Submission Checklist & NEW email submission guidelines: A typed ms. of 50–100 pages of original poetry, single- or double-spaced. (The author’s name must NOT appear anywhere on the ms.) A cover letter with the title of the collection, a brief bio, your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address(es). Acknowledgments may be included in the ms. but are not required. A $25 check or money order payable to Many Mountains Moving Press. An SASE for the winner announcement. Mss. will not be returned. The order form for contest entrants with a choice of any available free back issue and discounts on subscriptions and books, available online. Or enter via e-mail on site.
http://mmminc.org/html/2010contests.htm

August 15 Deadlines

8/15/10	Erskine J. Poetry Prize	Prizes: $200 and publication	Fee: $5 to Smartish Pace
Smartish Pace Erskine J. Poetry Prize P.O. Box 22161 Baltimore, MD 212036		sreichert@smartishpace.com	Judge: Stephen Reichert, Editor
			Notify:
Poems: Submit online through website with PayPal or submit by mail: 3 poems along with a $5 entry fee. Entry fees can be paid with a check or money order made payable to Smartish Pace. Additional poems may be submitted for $1 per poem. No more than 12 poems may be submitted (maximum submission: 12 poems= $5 + $9 = $14). All entries must include a bio. Please review bios from our most recent issue. Include an SASE) with your entry. Include your name, address, e-mail and telephone number (preferred) on each page of poetry submitted. Write or print "Erskine J." on the top of each poem submitted.
http://smartishpace.com/contests/erskine_j/

8/15/10	Memoir (and) Prizes for Memoir in Prose or Poetry	Prizes: $500, $250, $100, and publication	Fee: none
Memoir (and) PO Box 1398 Sausalito, CA 94966-1398			Judge: editors
			Notify:
Poems: Submit online (strongly prefer via submissions manager) or by mail. Do not include identifying information on poems. E-mail deadline August 16 at midnight.
http://memoirjournal.squarespace.com/contest

8/15/10	Transcontinental Poetry Award	Prizes: $1,000, 5% of press run, and publication	Fee: $20 to Pavement Saw Press
Pavement Saw Press Transcontinental Award Entry 321 Empire Street Montpelier, OH 43543		info AT pavementsaw DOT org	Judge: David Baratier, editor
			Notify: October
Book manuscript: All contributors receive books, chapbooks and journals ≥ the entry fee. Please mention this to your friends and all others who might be interested! The manuscript should be at least 48 pages of poetry and no more than 70 pages of poetry in length. Separations between sections are NOT a part of the page count. A one-page cover letter. Include a brief biography, the book's title, your name, address, and telephone number, and, if you have e-mail, your e-mail address. This should be followed by a page which lists publication acknowledgments for the book. For each acknowledgement mention the publisher (journal, anthology, chapbook etc.) and the poem published. The manuscript should be bound with a single clip and begin with a title page including the book's title, your name, address, and telephone number, and, if you have e-mail, your e-mail address. The second page should have only the title of the manuscript; no acknowledgments or mention of the author's name from this page forward. Submissions to the contest are blind judged. No more than one poem on each page. The manuscript can contain pieces longer than one page. The manuscript should be paginated, beginning with the first page of poetry. Each year Pavement Saw Press will publish at least one book of poetry and/or prose poems from manuscripts received during this competition. Selections are chosen through a blind judging process. The competition is open to anyone who has not previously published a volume of poetry or prose. The author receives $1000 and five percent of the 1000-copy press run. This year David Baratier will be the judge; past students, Pavement Saw Press interns and employees are not allowed to submit. All poems must be original, all prose must be original, fiction or translations are not acceptable. Writers who have had volumes of poetry and/or prose under 40 pages printed or printed in limited editions of no more than 500 copies are eligible. Submissions are accepted during the months of June, July, and until August 15th. All submissions must have an August 15th, 2008, or earlier, postmark. This is an award for first books only. Do not include an SASE for notification of results, this information will be sent with the free book. Do not send the only copy of your work. All manuscripts are recycled and individual comments on the manuscripts cannot be made. Electronic submissions using PayPal may be made on the site.
http://www.pavementsaw.org/pages/transaward.htm

August 16 Deadlines

8/16/10	Arvon International Poetry Competition	Prizes: £7,500, £2,500, £1,000, (3) £500, £500, and publication	Fee: £7 per poem
Arvon International Poetry Competition Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA United Kingdom		poetry@arvonfoundation.org	Judges: Andrew Motion, Moniza Alvi and Alice Oswald
			Notify: October 1
Poems: Open to residents of any country. Entrants must be aged 16 years or over on the date of entry. No competitor may win more than one of the main prizes, but The Wenlock Poetry Festival Prize may be won by a competitor who has also won another prize. The organiser reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice, or to appoint more judges. The decision of the judges will be final and the organizer will not enter into any correspondence about the results. The organiser reserves the right in its absolute discretion not to award any prize or prizes in the event that there are insufficient entries or the entries are not considered by the judges to be of a suitable standard. There will be a first prize of £7,500, a second prize of £2,500, a third prize of £1,000 and three commendation prizes of £500 each. A Wenlock Poetry Festival Prize of £500 is also being offered. All the winning poems and any poems the judges may wish to select for special commendation will be published in a Competition Anthology. Prizewinners will be notified by 1 October 2010 and will be invited to a reception in London on 4 November 2010. Each entry must be a poem of up to 42 lines in length, on any theme, written in the English language. Each poem must be the original work of the author and not a copy nor a substantial copy of any work and it must not have been previously published or broadcast, or have won a prize in any other competition. Entries will be accepted online, or by post if accompanied by a valid entry form. Entries for the competition must be received no later than 5pm on 16 August 2010. Competitors may submit as many poems as they wish. Each poem must be accompanied by an entry fee of £7 (pounds sterling). The entry fee must be paid either with a credit or debit card, or a cheque drawn on a UK bank. All credit and debit cards will be debited with UK pound sterling entry fees. Sterling cheques must be made payable to The Arvon Foundation. Arvon cannot accept cheques drawn on overseas banks or in any other currency. Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy. No corrections can be made after receipt, nor fees refunded. Winners will be posted on website on 5 November 2010.
http://www.arvonfoundation.org/

August 31 Deadlines

8/31/10	Aesthetica Creative Works Competition	Prizes: £500, other stuff, and publication	Fee: £10
enter online		submissions@aestheticamagazine.com	Judge:
			Notify: October 31
Poems: Submit up to 2 poems. No more than 40 lines each. Any genre considered. Please include in the email your name, email address, home address, phone number, your full name, title of your works, and your online payment reference number. Please mark your entry in the subject line with 'Aesthetica Annual Competition Poetry'. No alterations can be made once the submission has been received. The competition is open to anyone in the world. Creative works should be written in English. Please inform us if your work have been published elsewhere. An entry/administration fee of £10 is required for each category. You may submit more than once. There will be three winners; one from each category. Each winner will receive £500. Winners will be the first published work in their creative section. Winners will also receive an annual subscription to Aesthetica Magazine (value £28). Runners-up will be published in the Aesthetica Annual. Runners-up will receive a complimentary copy of the Aesthetica Annual.
http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/submission_guide.htm

8/31/09	Auntie Ann Poetry Book Award	Prizes: $1,000, 100 copies, and publication	Fee: $25 to MARGIE, Inc.
MARGIE: The American Journal of Poetry IntuiT House PO Box 250 Chesterfield, MO 63006		margiereview@aol.com	Judge: James Wilson, Senior Editor
			Notify:
Book manuscript: Submit an unpublished book manuscript of between 48 - 64 pages of poetry. If applicable, include an "Acknowledgements Page" where poems first appeared. Simultaneous submissions accepted. Only submit copies as manuscripts will not be returned. Include a $25 entry fee payable to MARGIE, Inc. Include 2 title pages; one with only the title of the manuscript--and the 2nd title page with manuscript title, author's name, address, phone, & e-mail (if possible). Multiple manuscripts may be sent at $25 for each additional manuscript. All manuscripts will be considered for publication. End pages, meaning: Table of Contents, Acknowledgements, Dedication and Notes do NOT count in 48-64 page poetry content. Mail manuscript(s) and entry fee POSTMARKED no later than August 31. Include SASE to receive notification of contest results.
http://www.margiereview.com/CONTESTS/contests.html

8/31/10	Donald Barthelme Prize	Prizes: $1,000 and publication	Fee: $18/$15 to Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast Barthelme Prize Department of English University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3013			Judge: Joe Bonomo
			Notify:
3 poems: Submit up to 3 previously unpublished prose poems or short stories, each no more than 500 words in length. Online entry preferred. Your name and address should appear on the cover letter only. All entries will be eligible for publication, though only one will receive our $500 prize. Include an SASE for results. Manuscripts will not be returned. Fee includes a one-year subscription.
http://www.gulfcoastmag.org/index.php?n=7

8/31/10	Gerald Brady Memorial Award	Prizes: $100, $75, $50, and publication	Fee: $1 each to Haiku Society of America
Brady Senyru Contest c/o Francine Banwarth 985 So. Grandview Dubuque, IA 52003			Judge:
			Notify:
1o poems: For best unpublished senryu. Deadline: Received by August 31. Please keep in mind that the U.S. Postal Service is not always prompt, and entries that arrive after the 31st will not be accepted. Up to 10 unpublished senryu, not submitted for publication or to any other contest. Submit each senryu on three separate 3" x 5" index cards, two with the senryu only (for anonymous judging), the third with the senryu and the author's name, address, phone number and/or e-mail in the upper left-hand corner. Please designate as "senryu" on each card. Senryu not submitted on 3" x 5" index cards will not be accepted. Please type or write legibly in ink each senryu. Failing to follow any of the rules will result in the disqualification of the entire submission without notification. Entry fee: $1 per senryu, US funds only. The names of the judge(s) will be announced after the contest. Winners will be published in Frogpond and on the HSA Web site. All rights revert to the authors after publication. Sorry, entries cannot be returned. Please send an #10 SASE for a list of the winning entries.
www.hsa-haiku.org/res-hsa-contests.htm#brady

8/31/09	Editor's Prize	Prizes: $1,000 and publication	Fee: $15 to MARGIE, Inc.
MARGIE: The American Journal of Poetry IntuiT House PO Box 250 Chesterfield, MO 63006		margiereview@aol.com	Judge: Robert Nazarene, Editor-in-Chief
			Notify:
Poems: Submit 3 unpublished poems & a $15 entry fee payable to MARGIE, Inc. (60 line limit per poem.) $5 each per additional poem. Enclose a single cover sheet with your name, address & phone. No names should appear on poems. Simultaneous submissions accepted. Only submit copies as poems will not be returned. Mail manuscript(s) and entry fee POSTMARKED no later than August 31. Include SASE to receive notification of contest results.
http://www.margiereview.com/CONTESTS/contests.html

8/31/10	Harold G. Henderson Awards	Prizes: $150, $100, $50, and publication	Fee: $1 each to Haiku Society of America
Henderson Haiku Contest c/o Francine Banwarth 985 So. Grandview Dubuque, IA 52003			Judge:
			Notify:
10 poems: For best unpublished haiku. Deadline: **Received by August 31*. Please keep in mind that the U.S. Postal Service is not always prompt, and entries that arrive after the 31st will not be accepted. Please send your entries in as early as possible. Submissions: Up to 10 unpublished haiku, not submitted for publication or to any other contest. Submit each haiku on three separate 3" x 5" index cards, two with the haiku only (for anonymous judging), the third with the haiku and the author's name, address, phone number and/or e-mail in the upper left-hand corner. Please designate as "haiku" on each card. Haiku not submitted on 3" x 5" index cards will not be accepted. Please type or write legibly in ink each haiku. Failing to follow any of the rules will result in the disqualification of the entire submission without notification. Entry fee: $1 per haiku, US funds only. Please make checks/money orders to "Haiku Society of America." The names of the judge(s) will be announced after the contest. Winning haiku will be published in Frogpond* and on the HSA Web site. All rights revert to the authors after publication. Sorry, entries cannot be returned. Please send an #10 SASE for a list of the winning entries.
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/hsa-contests.htm#henderson

7/31/10	Kore Press First Book Award	Prizes: $1,000 and publication	Fee: $20 to Kore Press
online only		kore@korepress.org	Judge: Bhanu Kapil
			Notify:
Book manuscript: Deadline extended to August 31. Open to any female writer who has not published a full-length collection of poetry. Writers who have had chapbooks of less than 42 pages printed in editions of no more than 400 copies are eligible. Please submit one copy of the manuscript, a $20 reading fee payable to Kore Press, and include an email address for award notification. Manuscripts must be: a minimum of 48 pages and a maximum of 80 pages, anonymous (do not include your name anywhere in the manuscript), original poetry written by applicant (translations are not eligible).
http://www.korepress.org/firstbook/FirstBook2009.htm

8/31/10	Orphic Prize	Prizes: $1,000, 20 copies, and publication	Fee: $25 to Dream Horse Press
Dream Horse Press P. O. Box 2080 Aptos, California 95001-2080		dreamhorsepress@yahoo.com	Judge: J.P. Dancing Bear, Editor
			Notify:
Book manuscript: Submit 48-80 paginated pages of poetry, table of contents, acknowledgments, bio, email address for results, No SASE (manuscripts will be recycled), and a $25 reading fee for each manuscript entered. All entries will be considered for publication. Both free and formal verse styles are welcome. Multiple submissions are acceptable. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but if your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere you must notify Dream Horse Press immediately. Fees are non-refundable. Judging will be anonymous; writers' names should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Please include your name and biographical information in a separate cover letter. Please be sure to include your email address. The winner is chosen by the owner, J.P. Dancing Bear, Close Friends, Students (former or present), and Relatives of press owner are NOT eligible for the contest and their entry fee will be refunded. Also submit electronically on site.
http://home.comcast.net/~jpdancingbear/dhpcontests.html

8/31/10	Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award	Prizes: $3,000 and publication	Fee: $25 to Red Hen Press
Attn: Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award Red Hen Press P.O. Box 40820 Pasadena, CA 91114			Judge: Claudia Rankine
			Notify:
Book manuscript: for a previously unpublished original collection of poetry. Awarded collection is selected through an annual competition which is open to all poets. Award is $3000 and publication of the awarded collection by Red Hen Press. Entry fee is $25.00. Name on cover sheet only, 48 page minimum. Send SASE for notification. Entries must be postmarked by August 31.
http://www.redhen.org/RedHenPress.html#/literary/awardsView/sectionUUID=6D12FF53-C958-CA00-DDAB-8ABFA8815AC7

8/31/10	The St. Lawrence Book Award	Prizes: $1,000, 10 copies, and publication	Fee: $25 to Black Lawrence Press
enter online only		editors@blacklawrencepress.com	Judge: Editors
			Notify: October 31
Book manuscript: for a first collection of poems or short stories. Entrants must not have had a full-length book published. Chapbooks do not count as full-length books, so writers who have published or will have published chapbooks of poems or short stories are not disqualified. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, ten copies of the book, and an interview in The Adirondack Review.Please include the following in your electronic submission: A cover letter with brief bio and contact information including your e-mail address(es) A .rtf, .doc, or .pdf attachment including a title page, an acknowledgments page, a table of contents, and your manuscript with numbered pages. E-mail your submission. All work must be the original work of the author. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but notify Black Lawrence Press immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Because of the high volume of entries received, all finalists and semi-finalists will be announced on the Black Lawrence Press website. All finalists will be announced on or before October 31 of each year. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter.All finalists will be considered for standard publication.
http://blacklawrencepress.com/

8/31/10	To the Lighthouse	Prizes: $1,000 and publication	Fee: $20 to A Room of Her Own
A Room Of Her Own Attn: To the Lighthouse PPP PO Box 778 Placitas, NM 87043			Judge: Alice Quinn
			Notify:
Book manuscript: Prize will be awarded for the best, unpublished poetry collection by a woman. Submit 48 to 96 pages of poetry postmarked by August 31, 2010. The $20 reading/entry fee is payable by check or money order to A Room of Her Own; please indicate “To the Lighthouse PPP” in the memo line. Include an SASP [self-addressed stamped postcard] with your package for notification of receipt. Your name and address should appear on the cover sheet only, along with the manuscript title, and your address and telephone number. The award amount is $1000 and publication of your poetry collection by Red Hen Press. The winner will be contacted by phone or email prior to the web announcement date.
http://www.aroomofherownfoundation.org/To_the_Lighthouse.php

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