On Contests
The art of the scam is alive and well in poetry, but there are many good contests out there. And Catholic Literary Arts has one that is open now.
Just the other day I was sitting in the car line waiting for school to let out when a friend of mine got my attention so I rolled down my window. She is a writer, of the journalist variety, who told me that she recently tried to enter a contest for children’s poetry. After her submission my friend received an email saying that she needed to send 15£ to be considered. After chatting a bit more it sounded like this was a fraudulent contest.
The deceitful…
Winning Writers has a page that lists contests to avoid and has tips on how to identify a possible sham. I am sure this is not a complete list since a new con seems to be born every day. Always do an Internet search on a publication before putting any money down!
Many of these so-called contests and publications make poets buy their anthologies as a condition of publication. Some ask poets to pay four figures to help get their books to press. Others are basically phishing scams.
Many of the publishers have reputable sounding names, like America Library of Poetry, The Amherst Society, Circle of Poets, Iliad Press (an imprint of Cader Publishing), League of American Poets (poetryamerica.com), National Library of Poetry, Paramount Group, Poetry Institute of Canada, Poetry Laureates, Poetry Nation, Poetry Press, Poetry Press Publishing (songwritingopportunities.com), Poetry Publications International (The Poet's Yearbook; The Top 100 Poems of [Year], Poets' Choice, The Poets' Guild, and The Poets' Workshop (www.poets.com which looks suspiciously similar to www.poets.org which is real and well-respected).
The legitimate…
So what is a writer to do? Well, fortunately there are plenty of real contests out there.
Poets & Writers has a great list of grants and contests, but it can be overwhelming to look through because the list is so long, but you can filter via the database.
From P&W’s page:
The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
Become a Writer Today has a shorter list of poetry awards and contests, but I also find the list a bit ambitious, although I do know a number of people who are very accomplished poets, like my friend Sally Thomas whose poem “Swans” was nominated for a Pushcart in 2022. (FYI, a Pushcart is an award where you do not enter yourself but an editor can submit your work for the honor.) If you are ready for these contests you likely already know of them.
However, I thought Become a Writer Today had this good question to consider:
Should I submit to poetry contests?
Before entering a poetry contest, it is wise to consider if you are entering for fun or for professional purposes. Contests can be a good way to meet other poets and improve your craft, but several contests have a submission fee for entry, so be careful not to spend more on contests than you can realistically make from poetry, especially since contests are not a guaranteed way to get published.
You may have better luck looking for smaller presses. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good list of the contests. ABLE Muse is an excellent small literary journal known for quality fiction and formalist poetry. Every year they have the ABLE Muse Write Prize.
The free…
Poetry Mama has a list that names some free contests, but a number of these are highly competitive like The Poetry Foundation contests and The James McLaughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets.
The local…
And always be on the lookout for poetry contests in your area. For example, if you live in Cambridge, Massachusetts there is the Sidewalk Poetry Contest which I have to say is one of the cooler games in town because not only is there a $1000 cash prize but you get to have your poem imprinted on the sidewalk for every pedestrian to see. Sorry to say that the 2023 contest has passed but it comes up once annually.
If you are in my lovely home state of Massachusetts, and you have a budding young poet you may want to check out the Longfellow Student Poetry Contest.
My point is to do some searches in your geographical area. Make friends with writers and poets in town and sometimes they will mention these opportunities when they come up.
And one that is open now at CLA
Finally, I wanted to give an example of a contest that is open right now from my friends at the Catholic Literary Arts. The 2023 Annual Sacred Literary Contest is open for submissions, and their window closes on April 30, 2023.
My friends, notice how nicely laid out the details are. Everything is clear and up front, and that is how it is supposed to be.
Contests vs. Regular Submissions
My friend at CLA, Sarah Cortez, was telling a bunch of us in a class a while ago that if you are looking to get published just try to submit a poem to a journal instead of entering contests. It is really hard to win these things and there is a lot of stiff competition. However, for those who like the challenge it can be fun (and having fun is a totally legit reason for doing many things in life). In the case of CLA, the $25 submission fee goes to a great organization that provides classes and critique groups to writers who write like I do. I have tried other places, and this is the first time I have felt at home.
If you decide to enter a contest you will want to know the caliber of your competition. Check to see if a contest has a page with previous winners. In the case of CLA you can find winning poems from 2022 here. Last year’s judge was A.M. Juster, well known for his work as a formalist poet and translator and as poetry editor of First Things and Plough Quarterly. (Tip: If the judge is listed for a contest, make sure you research what kinds of poetry this person writes. Find out if they are the editor of a journal and look at the poetry that they select for publication. Keep these things in mind when you write or choose your poem.)
Bonus Rubliw for St. Joseph
If you didn’t know already, you can probably guess that I am Catholic, and this past week my family celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph. I wrote something that I am NOT entering to CLA because it is too simple and a bit dorky, but it is in a form of light verse that I love called a rubliw. (That would be Wilbur, backwards.)
My heart kinda lit up with words when I saw this sculpture by Dony MacManus, which is one of the pieces that one can choose for CLA’s contest inspiration.
Dear Child, Who laughed and smiled At once, how you so riled Me deeply with a joy so wild My heart had leapt! Who knew from undefiled And chastened love I reconciled With God for her so mild? You have beguiled Me, Child!
There it is. My quick, little, and not very great poem but I had fun, and as I said, having fun is a good reason for doing just about anything in life.
Have fun. Write stuff. Be happy.
Despite the flimflam fraudsters trying to con you out of your earnest hopes and honest earnings.
Have fun. Write stuff. Be happy. Yes, yes… be happy!
For my subscribers, thank you again for your support. I hope this was helpful to someone!