- If you'd like to help judge this poetry contest, please fill out THIS FORM.
- If you'd like to sponsor this contest, please email me. MSL_007@LIVE.COM
- Read about my E-Zine idea HERE and HERE.
Deadline: No more entries will be allowed after the end of the day on Friday, July 19.
Let's have a Poetry Contest
To expedite matters and to allow as many entries as possible, I'm thinking shorter poems:
No entry fee either. Let's get our feet in the water first, which means potential prize money will be very low. If I'm personally supplying the prize, it'll be no more than $15.
We might be able to eke out a little more of a cash prize if someone sponsors it. For example, an author could attach their name to this contest, get extra promotion from me, and supply a higher cash prize. Maybe $20 or $25. I'll let the author decide.
A sponsoring author may choose to enter the contest but would not be able to serve as judge in this case.
Here's how it will work
- A poet will fill out the form at the bottom of this post, which will capture the actual poem being entered.
- I'll collect a group of judges. (I already have somewhat of a list)
- Each judge will assign a ranking to each poem, a scale of one to five.
- Each poem's various rankings will be added together to produce a final score.
- The poem with the highest score will win the cash prize.
- In the event of a tie for first place, someone will act as a tiebreaker. (We'll cross that bridge if and when it's necessary.)
Other Particulars
Judges won't be given any additional ranking instructions other than to score each poem based upon their personal preference.
In addition to the ranking, I'll ask a judge to write a one or two sentence review of each poem. It could be something as simple as, "I like the imagery used." That way each participating poet gets some valuable feedback.
Names will not be attached to poem entries, so hopefully, judges won't know who they're scoring.
Some or all poem entries may be published in the Zine. I haven't decided yet. By entering a poem, you are giving me permission to do so.
If poems are published before scoring, names won't be attached in the Zine either—haven't decided—but I will publish a list of participating poets if this is the case. Each poem will have an entry number, hopefully explaining why an author's name isn't attached.
The rationale for this is so that people can experience the poetry contest first hand no matter when they find out about it, and it might encourage them to pick up the next issue of the zine to find out who won and to see how their favorite poem did in the ranking. In this second issue of the Zine, poems will be republished, attaching proper author attribution.
If you have other questions, suggestions, comments, critiques, or anything else really, you may email me.
msl_007@live.com
You may also talk to me on Twitter.