
A number of contest organisers have reached out to us recently for help getting the word out to our community.
We are not affiliated with any of these organisations so please don’t send us your work :).
The Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry from Arrowsmith Press
This annual contest accepts all books of poetry that have been written by a living poet who is not a US citizen. The book must be in English or in English translation and may have been published anywhere in the world. The prize includes $1000, a week-long residency at Derek Walcott’s home in either St. Lucia or in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad when it is safe to fly, and more. This year’s prize will be judged by Major Jackson (one of our favourite poets!). The submissions fee is $20.
Deadline: submission form and 2 copies of each book must be received by 15 February 2021.
Check their website for guidelines and information on how to submit.
Page Turner Awards
This inclusive initiative aims to give writers and authors the chance of securing a literary agent, a publishing contract, or a film rights option. Prizes span everything from mentorships to audiobook production and publishing packages. They have 5 different award categories (all Awards accept fiction and non-fiction in all genres):
- Writing Award – for unpublished, completed manuscripts
- Young Writer Award – for writers aged between 18 and 25
- Writing Mentorship Award – for uncompleted manuscripts
- Screenplay Award – for scriptwriters with a completed screenplay
- Book Award – for authors with a published book, mainstream or independently published
Deadline: none listed
Check their website for guidelines and information on how to submit.
Voice of Peace: 1st International Poetry And Short Story Anthology Competition 2021
The League of Poets is looking for stories and poems that seek unification, exhort love, harmonize truth and portray touching acts of kindness. They will compile two anthologies (one for poetry and one for short stories) of the winners from each continent: Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America. They are accepting poems of not more than 14 lines and short stories of not more than 500 words. Their website needs proofreading, which makes us a little wary, but there is no submission fee and you can see their previous publications here.
Deadline: 31 March 2021
Check their website for guidelines and information on how to submit.
Illinois Faux Poet Laureate
Ferdinand the Freestyler
As I sit here chillin’ and relaxin’ …
There’s some questions I need to be askin’ …
Is the world upside down? …
Do I smile when I frown? …
Are those “poems” by Angela Jackson? …
Is Freestyle a form of abstraction? …
Or perhaps just a knee-jerk reaction …
To demands of inclusion …
By those in delusion …
Are those “poems” by Jacqueline Jackson? …
Is addition the same as subtraction? …
Is expansion the same as contraction? …
Do we grease every wheel …
When they let out a squeal? …
Are those “poems” by Angela Jackson? …
Freestyle speaks verbal transaction …
Poetry sings verbal attraction …
Its words that have rhythm …
And the things you do with ’em …
Are those “poems” by Jacqueline Jackson? …
Not to bang on two gals named Jackson …
For they’re a product of overreaction …
That road was long paved …
By degenerates who craved …
A depraved Elitist distraction …
From the time their feet hit the floor …
They were impossible to simply ignore …
They’d scream and they’d shout …
And they’d whine and they’d pout …
Til they finally got their foot in the door …
Unfamiliar with words that would rhyme …
And unable to digest sublime …
They’d munch on a brick …
Or on shit-on-a-stick …
If some Elitist would give them the time …
Pretty soon they believed their own lies …
That they were gifted, poetic, and wise …
And the generations to come …
Though they couldn’t spell d-u-m …
Felt we owed them acclaim and a prize …
As Lapulapu said to Magellan …
“I ain’t buyin whatever you’re sellin …
So don’t come to my home …
With that shit you call poem …
I ain’t trading gold for no melon! …
And then a bunch of his nephews and nieces …
Screamed NO!!! … to Freestyle (and Jesus) …
Unleashed were the hordes …
Unsheathed were their swords …
And they hacked ol’ Ferdinand to pieces!