Blue Nose Poetry
announces its seventh international
Poets-of-the-Year Competition
which gives new and established poets
a prominent platform for their work.
The Competition makes a particular point of welcoming
all styles, forms and subjects.
Entries may be any length up to a maximum of 10 pages.
Whether a haiku, villanelle, extended sequence or free verse,
each entry will be judged in its own context, regardless of length or content.
Collections of individual poems are also acceptable, provided that
there is some unifying theme.
There is no need to fill the 10-page limit.
To Enter
Read the information and rules below and then print off an entry form.
Prizes
Up to £1000 prize money will be distributed at the discretion of the judges.
Winners will be invited to read at a special Blue Nose event in London.
Winning poems will be published in an anthology.
The judges may decide to award part of the prize fund in the form of the Blue Nose Bursary.
The Blue Nose Bursary
This prize will be awarded to a poet from London, enabling them to attend a Blue Nose writing weekend at the Abbey in Sutton Courtenay. There are 3 weekends each year offering the opportunity for both beginner and experienced poets to write in a relaxed and supportive environment.
The award will cover travel from London, accommodation, meals, all workshops, readings & personal tuition.
Past winners include
Philip Gross, Jill Bamber, Diana Syder, Jill Dawson, Michael Blackburn, Tessa Rose Chester, Jane Duran, Cliff Forshaw, GR Warren Wilson
Final Judges
Sue Hubbard’s first full-length collection is Everything Begins with the Skin. Other publications include I Dreamt I Remembered What Love Was and Venetian Red.
Mario Petrucci has had poems on radio, in anthologies and magazines. Shrapnel and Sheets was a PBS recommendation.
Invited guest judge Martyn Crucefix’s published books include On Whistler Mountain & A Madder Ghost.
Entry Conditions
1. Closing date will be in April 2000.
2. Entries must be written in English and be original work by the competitor.
3. Each manuscript must be given a title and should be from 1 to 10 sides of A4 paper (no more than 40 lines per page). Entries should be on white paper, using one side of the paper only. Clear typing preferred, but neatly hand-written poems will be accepted. Pages should be numbered and stapled together in the top left-hand corner. Manuscripts from visually impaired competitors can be submitted in other formats, please telephone Blue Nose on 0958 402 657 to arrange this.
4. Any number of entries is allowed by any one author, provided that all entries are accompanied by the appropriate fee (£3 for poems up to 60 lines and £6 for longer poems and all collections). Please make payment by cheque or postal order (payable to Blue Nose Poets) with the name & address of the competitor written on the reverse. Cash will not be accepted.
5. The name of the poet should not appear on the manuscript/s. The entry form (or a photocopy of it) must be completed and included with your entry.
6. Entrants living in Greater London who wish to be considered for the Blue Nose Bursary should clearly write BURSARY on the bottom left hand corner of the first page of the manuscript and indicate on the entry form in which London borough they live. The winner has one year from the date of the award to take up the prize.
7. Individual poems or entries as a whole may have been previously published in a magazine or journal, but NOT in a collection or anthology. It is the entrant's responsibility to ensure that reprinting of any previously published poem is acceptable.
8. Copyright will remain with the author but Blue Nose Poetry reserves the right to first publication after the closing date of the competition.
9. No alterations may be made to poems once submitted. No manuscripts will be returned. Competitors are advised to keep copies of their work.
10. For acknowledgement of receipt and/or list of winners, please supply in each case an SSAE with PRIZEWINNERS or RECEIPT clearly marked in the bottom left hand corner or the envelope.
11. Competitors may win more than one prize. The judges reserve the right to withhold any prize if they see fit. Their decision is final and binding and the organisers will not enter into any correspondence thereon. The judges may be changed without notice.
12. Prizewinners will be notified by September 1999. The reading and prize giving will take place in London, at which winners and highly commended poets will be invited to read. Every effort will be made to arrange a convenient date.
13. If sufficient entries are not received, the judges are at liberty to allocate prize money as close to £1000 as costs & revenue allow.
14. Submissions must be posted to Blue Nose Poets-of-the-Year Competition, 204 Horsenden Lane South, Greenford, UB6 7NU, England. Please ensure that sufficient postage is paid.
15. Submission of poems implies acceptance of all of the above conditions.
Now look at the
entry form