DEADLINE (extended!): March 28th, 2008
Complete Guidelines:
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
You are eligible if you are a current resident of Colorado, were born in Colorado, are currently attending a university in Colorado (even if not technically a resident), or have graduated from a Colorado University (even if not currently residing in Colorado).
SUBMITTING
Send up to five poems. Poems may be emailed or printed out and mailed via postal mail (or hand-submitted to Bryan Roth, Director of the Colorado Poets Association).
Hard Copy Submissions
Hard copy is preferred, but printed poems will not be returned. Please do not place more than one poem on each page, and do not put your name on the printed poems--list the titles of the poems you are submitting with your cover letter (which can also contain your biographical statement, although it is permissible to put your bio on a page by itself). Mail printed submissions to:
Colorado Poets Association
1304 South College Avenue, Suite 11
Fort Collins CO 80525
Email Submissions
If you email your poems, please do NOT send them as attachments! It's preferred that you send a biographical statement with the titles of the poems you're submitting in one email, and a separate email for each poem with the titles in the subject headings of the emails (this will make things easier for the judging process, although it is permissible to send all poems in a single email, as long as it's clearly delineated where one poem ends and another begins). Email entrees to: contest@coloradopoets.org
Biographical Statement, Formatting, and Other Matters
Do send a biographical statement (5-10 sentences; in other words, a short-to-medium-length paragraph, subject to editing for content and space). Do NOT send any information about the individual poems at this time; background information will be requested when a poem is selected. After a poem is selected, you will have a chance to proofread it online before it appears. For an example of what a finished page will look like, see the webpage below (although this year's pages will be ad-free!):
http://www.geocities.com/coloradopoets/aprilpoem17
Poems must be the original work of the person submitting them and previously unpublished, or published for the first time during the 2007 calendar year (no "forthcoming" publications!). By "published," we mean it appeared in a literary print publication, an established online ("ezine") publication (not a blog or personal website), or it appeared in a complete volume of poetry (anthologies included). If a poem was published, be sure to credit the publication (including volume and number, if appropriate). There are no stylistic, subject, or formal restrictions; however, medium-length (30-40 lines) poems stand the best chance (so haiku, epigrammatic poems, or epics might not be best-suited, although they're not unacceptable). The only criterion is that a poem is well-written. (In other words, the poem will stand up well on the page without the benefit of the author being "there" to read it.)
PRIZES
Thirty poets will have one poem selected. Winning poems will be assigned a day during April (National Poetry Month) to appear online in the 2008 Colorado Poems Calendar. The poems will also be printed in a chapbook, which will be sold to raise money for next year's publication and contest. All poets who have a poem selected will receive a tear sheet and a free copy of the chapbook, and all Founding Members of the Colorado Poets Association will also receive a free copy. Winners will be able to buy additional copies at a reduced price, as will Supporting Members of the CPA. One poem will receive the Colorado Poems Prize of $100. (Hopefully this prize will be larger in the future!)
DEADLINE
March 28th. This is "received by," not "postmarked by." Since the poems you send should be your best work (or your best work published in the last year), that should be plenty of time to decide what to submit. Winners will be announced on April 1st. Contest winner will be announced April 30th.