THE SILLERMAN FIRST BOOK PRIZE FOR AFRICAN POETS

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry is awarded annually to an African poet who has not yet published a collection of poetry.

Organizers: 

AFRICAN POETRY BOOK SERIES

Eligibility: 

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets will only accept “first book” submissions from African writers who have not published a book-length poetry collection. This includes self-published books if they were sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or a similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible.

Type of Work Accepted: 

Poem Collection

Length of Work: 

Poetry manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long.

Prize: 

The winner receives USD $1000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal.

Entry Fee: 

No entry fee is required to submit to the contest.

Rules: 

·         The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets will only accept “first book” submissions from African writers who have not published a book-length poetry collection. This includes self-published books if they were sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or a similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible.

·         An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.

·         Only poetry submissions in English can be considered. Work translated from another language to English is accepted, but a percentage of the prize will be awarded to the translator.

·         No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska, are eligible for the prizes.

·         A winner will be announced in early January, with notifications sent shortly thereafter.

·         The 2016 Prize is open to submissions! Manuscripts are accepted annually between September 15 and December 1st.

·         Poetry manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long.

·         The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript. All entries will be read anonymously. Please include a cover page listing only the title of the manuscript (not the author’s name, address, telephone number, or email address). An acknowledgements page listing the publication history of individual poems may be included, if desired. No application forms are necessary. Eligible writers may submit more than one manuscript.

·         While we have no specific formatting rules, we suggest sending your manuscript in Times New Roman or Arial, 12 point font, single-spaced. We also prefer one poem per page, meaning a new poem does not begin on the same page on which another ends.

Deadline: 

Manuscripts are accepted between September 15th and December 1st.

How to Submit: 

Click here to submit. 

THE MANCHESTER POETRY PRIZE

Organizers: 

Manchester Metropolitan University

Eligibility: 

The Competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over. Members of MMU staff (who may also be students) and their spouses are however excluded from being eligible to enter.

Type of Work Accepted: 

All work submitted for consideration can be on any subject, and written in any style or form, but must be the entrant's own original writing and must not have been previously published.

Length of Work: 

Entrants must submit a portfolio comprising a minimum of three and a maximum of five poems There is no line limit – minimum or maximum – for each individual poem, but the overall maximum length of the poems combined must not exceed 120 lines. Titles, blank lines and page numbers are not included in the line count.

Prize: 

£10,000 prize for the best portfolio of three to five poems.

Entry Fee: 

• The cost of entry is £17.50 (sterling) per portfolio of three to five poems.
• Payment may be made by cheque or postal order or debit/credit card only. Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to "Manchester Metropolitan University".
• POSTAL ENTRANTS: if a portfolio is received successfully but the cheque or debit/credit card payment does not clear, the entrant will be contacted by MMU within 28 days of the deadline for entries and asked to attempt payment again, or to provide an alternative method of payment, or to withdraw from the Competition.
• ONLINE ENTRANTS: if an online entrant successfully submits a portfolio but then fails to complete payment at the checkout the entry will not be counted and the entrant will need to start their online entry again.
• In any cases where payments have not cleared by 4th November 2016, entrants will be automatically disqualified from the Competition.
• Payment in any form other than cheque or postal order or debit/credit card cannot be accepted and payment via other methods is made at the entrant's own risk.

Rules: 

• The Competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is not excluded by these Rules. There is no upper age limit for entry.
• Members of MMU staff (who may also be students) and their spouses are excluded from being eligible to enter.
• The deadline for entries is 5pm (UK time) on 23rd September 2016. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered but fees may still be charged. The online entry system may become busy as the deadline nears, so entrants are advised not to leave submission until the last minute.
• Entrants must submit a portfolio comprising a minimum of three and a maximum of five poems There is no line limit – minimum or maximum – for each individual poem, but the overall maximum length of the poems combined must not exceed 120 lines. Titles, blank lines and page numbers are not included in the line count.
• Entrants may submit as many portfolios of three to five poems as they wish, but each portfolio must be submitted as a separate entry with a separate entry form and a separate entry fee.
• All work submitted for consideration can be on any subject, and written in any style or form, but must be the entrant's own original writing, and should not have appeared in print or appear on a website (including blogs and social networking sites) or have been broadcast, for the duration of the Manchester Poetry Prize (which is deemed to begin on the date of entry and end on 25th November 2016). Work found to be published in print or on a website or to have been broadcast will be disqualified without refund of the entry fee.
• All work must be typed or word-processed, clearly legible and written in English. Entrants should not include illustrations or artwork. Pages submitted by post should be stapled, paper-clipped or loose, so that they can be separated easily for photocopying/scanning. Beyond these stipulations, presentation (e.g. font) is at the entrant’s discretion.
• Translations into English of work written in other languages can be accepted, provided that the source text is the entrant's own original work and has not been published (in print or on a website including blogs and social networking sites) or submitted for consideration elsewhere; translations into English of work published (in print or on a website including blogs and social networking sites) elsewhere in other languages will not be accepted.
• Entries will be accepted only by post or online via the competition website. Submission via other means (e.g. email) will not be accepted.
• Postal entries will only be valid if accompanied by a completed entry form and payment. Postal entrants should enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope or postcard if they would like acknowledgement of entry. Acknowledgement will normally be sent out within 28 days of entry, once the entry has been processed and checked.
• Online entries must be made via www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk. Online entrants will be required to pay online and will receive an automated email acknowledging receipt at the time of entry.
• All entries will be assigned an ID number and made anonymous upon receipt. Judges will not be privy to entrants' names during the reading and judging processes. Names will be reattributed to entries only after the short list and winners have been decided.
• Entries submitted for consideration may be withdrawn from the Competition by entrants by notification in writing (by post or email) to be received by the Manchester Writing School at MMU. Where work is withdrawn, entry fees will not be refunded.
• Amendments cannot be made to entries after they have been submitted; poems cannot be amended, corrected or substituted. If entrants wish to correct errors in poems, they must withdraw their portfolio of poems from the Competition as above and enter again with payment of entry fee. No correspondence or discussion about amendments will be entered into.
• Entries will not be returned under any circumstances.
• MMU reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the entrant has breached any of these Rules, or made a false declaration on the entry form.
• MMU cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the Competition.
• MMU will act in accordance with current UK data protection legislation in relation to your personal data.
• The Competition and Rules will be governed by English Law and any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
• MMU reserves the right to amend these Rules where it is deemed necessary to do so or where circumstances are beyond MMU's control. Any changes to the Rules will be posted on the Manchester Writing Competition website.
• Submission of an entry will be deemed to imply unqualified acceptance of the Competition's Rules. In the event of any dispute regarding these Rules or any other matter relating to the Competition, the decision of MMU shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.

Deadline: 

The deadline for entries is 5pm (UK time) on 23rd September 2016.

How to Submit: 

Entries will be accepted only by post or online via the competition website.

Postal entries should be sent to: Manchester Poetry Prize 2016, MMU Finance Service Office, Manchester Metropolitan University, Righton Building, Cavendish Street, Manchester, M15 6BG, United Kingdom. 

Online entries should be via  www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk

THE HIGH SHERIFF'S CHESHIRE PRIZE FOR LITERATURE

Organizers: 

University of Chester

Eligibility: 

The writer must have been born, live or have lived, study or have studied, work or have worked, in Cheshire. Entrants must be aged 18 years or over on 1st September 2016.

Type of Work Accepted: 

Original and previously unpublished Poems or Collection of Poems.
 

Length of Work: 

Individual poems should not exceed 50 lines and no more than 100 lines per entrant.

Prize: 

There will be £2000 for the winner and additional prize money will be awarded for the best entries.

Entry Fee: 

Entry is free.

Rules: 

1. The writer must have been born, live or have lived, study or have studied, work or have worked, in Cheshire. For the purposes of the Prize, Cheshire is deemed to include the Wirral, as well as Warrington and Halton. Documentary evidence of eligibility may be required.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or over on 1st September 2016.

3. Entries must be received by 1st September 2016. Three typed, (non-returnable) copies of the entry should be sent to: The Cheshire Prize for Literature, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ. The writer’s name should not feature on the entry itself. A covering letter should include the writer’s name and address, telephone number and/or email address, and the title of the entry submitted.   Alternatively, email entries can be sent to cheshireprize@chester.ac.uk, the entry must be attached as a Word document with a separate Word document attached containing a covering letter. There is no charge for entering the competition. Entrants may submit only one entry. Entrants from outside the county must state the reason for their eligibility.

4. Entries will be judged anonymously, by a panel chaired by Dr Ian Seed, from the Department of English at the University of Chester. The decision of the judging panel will be final. No correspondence can be entered into concerning individual entries.

5. By entering the competition the writer consents to their work being published.

Deadline: 

Entries must be received by 1st September 2016. 

How to Submit: 

Entries must be received by 1st September 2016. Three typed, (non-returnable) copies of the entry should be sent to: The Cheshire Prize for Literature, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ. The writer’s name should not feature on the entry itself. A covering letter should include the writer’s name and address, telephone number and/or email address, and the title of the entry submitted. 
Alternatively, email entries can be sent to cheshireprize@chester.ac.uk, the entry must be attached as a Word document with a separate Word document attached containing a covering letter.