1st Prize: €1,000; 2nd Prize :€500
+chapbook publication with 50 free copies
+chapbook publication with 50 free copies
Winning poets offered a reading and three nights' accommodation
at Cork 2018 International Poetry Festival (www.corkpoetryfest.net)
at Cork 2018 International Poetry Festival (www.corkpoetryfest.net)
The competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country BUT at least one of the winners will be a debutante (with no chapbook or book published previously). Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as "highly commended".
Manuscripts must be 16 to 23 pages in length, in the English language and the sole work of the entrant with no pastiches, translations or 'versions'. The poems can be in verse or prose. Each chapbook is guaranteed a review in Southword Journal.
The winning chapbooks will be published in February 2018 with ISBNs, barcodes and will be offered for sale internationally through our own website, Amazon, and selected independent book sellers. The winning poets will be offered a reading and given three nights' accommodation at the 2018 Cork Spring Poetry Festival. An entrance fee of €25 will be charged for each manuscript. Entrants may enter more than one manuscript. The winners will be selected by a panel chosen by the management board of Southword Editions.
Closing date for entries is June 30, 2017.
Submission Guidelines & Rules
Chapbook competition rules
Please read the rules carefully before entering the competition.
Your Manuscript
Poems should be in English
Submitted collections may contain poems of any length or style, providing all poems are original work, each page contains no more than 32 lines of poetry and there are no more than 23 pages of poetry in total.
Poems must be typed, single-spaced, on A4 pages.
Entries are judged anonymously, so please do not put your name anywhere on your poems. Send TWO cover sheets: one with your name, contact details, title and contents of your collection (for administrative use); and one with the title of your collection and a list of contents but no name or contact details, if you are a debutant, place the word ‘debutant’ under the title.
Poems submitted may not have been published previously as part of a chapbook/pamphlet or full collection, but poems that have been published in magazines, anthologies, blogs and other media are eligible. Please do not include any information about where any individual poems have been previously published.
Simultaneous submissions of a collection are allowed, provided the winning poet withdraws their work from consideration in other competitions immediately upon notification of success in our competition.
We accept poems from poets of any nationality, from any country. There is no lower age limit but we would point out that very young poets are likely to stand little chance of winning.
No alterations may be made to a collection once it has been submitted.
You may enter any number of collections, each with the requisite entry fee.
Your work will not be returned, so don’t forget to keep a copy. If you want confirmation that we have received your postal entry, please enclose an SAE labelled ‘Acknowledgement’. If you want to be informed of results please sign up for our newsletter here:
Poems should be in English
Submitted collections may contain poems of any length or style, providing all poems are original work, each page contains no more than 32 lines of poetry and there are no more than 23 pages of poetry in total.
Poems must be typed, single-spaced, on A4 pages.
Entries are judged anonymously, so please do not put your name anywhere on your poems. Send TWO cover sheets: one with your name, contact details, title and contents of your collection (for administrative use); and one with the title of your collection and a list of contents but no name or contact details, if you are a debutant, place the word ‘debutant’ under the title.
Poems submitted may not have been published previously as part of a chapbook/pamphlet or full collection, but poems that have been published in magazines, anthologies, blogs and other media are eligible. Please do not include any information about where any individual poems have been previously published.
Simultaneous submissions of a collection are allowed, provided the winning poet withdraws their work from consideration in other competitions immediately upon notification of success in our competition.
We accept poems from poets of any nationality, from any country. There is no lower age limit but we would point out that very young poets are likely to stand little chance of winning.
No alterations may be made to a collection once it has been submitted.
You may enter any number of collections, each with the requisite entry fee.
Your work will not be returned, so don’t forget to keep a copy. If you want confirmation that we have received your postal entry, please enclose an SAE labelled ‘Acknowledgement’. If you want to be informed of results please sign up for our newsletter here:
The winner will be contacted by September 2017. The winning pamphlet will be published by Southword Editions in February 2018 and launched at the Cork International Poetry Festival.
The winning authors will each receive 50 complimentary copies. The first prize winner will receive €1000. The second prize winner will receive €500. One of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a debutant poet with no solo collection (full-length or chapbook) previously published. If the winners make their own way to the festival, the Munster Literature Centre will cover the costs of two nights’ hotel accommodation.
How to enter
Send your manuscript by post or enter online.
If entering by post, mark your envelope ‘Fool For Poetry Competition’ and send it postmarked no later than 20 June 2017 to The Munster Literature Centre, Frank O’Connor House 84, Douglas Street, Cork City, Ireland. You can pay by Irish cheque or postal order or by British cheque (payable to The Munster Literature Centre). If you cannot pay by Irish or British cheque you will need to enter online. The online closing date is ten days later than the postal deadline.
If entering online, please pay the entry fee in euros at the PayPal button below. Then email your manuscript as an attachment as a word document, text file or PDF to [email protected]
If entering by post, mark your envelope ‘Fool For Poetry Competition’ and send it postmarked no later than 20 June 2017 to The Munster Literature Centre, Frank O’Connor House 84, Douglas Street, Cork City, Ireland. You can pay by Irish cheque or postal order or by British cheque (payable to The Munster Literature Centre). If you cannot pay by Irish or British cheque you will need to enter online. The online closing date is ten days later than the postal deadline.
If entering online, please pay the entry fee in euros at the PayPal button below. Then email your manuscript as an attachment as a word document, text file or PDF to [email protected]
In the body of the email please copy all of the contact information from the manuscript title page and also copy and paste your PayPal receipt number. Also indicate here also where you are a debutant or not.
The €25/£25 entry fee allows you to enter one pamphlet of 18-23 pages of poems. You may enter as many times as you like, provided each collection is accompanied by the entry fee.
Closing date for online entries: 30 June 2017
The €25/£25 entry fee allows you to enter one pamphlet of 18-23 pages of poems. You may enter as many times as you like, provided each collection is accompanied by the entry fee.
Closing date for online entries: 30 June 2017
Use the button below to pay via PayPal
This post first appeared on Seán Ó Carolan Over One Thousand Writing Competi, please read the originial post: here
