WRITERS' Journal Poetry Contest

If the Writer's Digest contests have too steep of an entry fee, check out the WRITERS' Journal Poetry Contest.  The entry fee is much more reasonable at $3 per poem, but you won't get any books to sweeten the deal.  There are three prizes: $50, $25, and $15.  The winners and honorable mentions will be published in WRITERS' Journal.  Unpublished poems up to 25 lines long can be entered, with no restrictions on form, style, or theme.  This contest is run quarterly, and the next deadline is August 30th.

three more contests

Contest season is upon us. Here are three good contests (and two of them are free):

Balticon Poetry Contest - A speculative poetry contest with cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50, plus Balticon convention membership and publication in the convention souvenir book. Winners will also be invited to read at the convention. There is no entry fee, and each person can submit up to 3 poems (50 lines or less). Deadline is April 1st.

WRITERS' Journal Horror/Ghost Story Contest - An annual fiction competition for unpublished stories up to 2,000 words. The entry fee of $7 per story is a little high, but winning $250, $100 or $50 would certainly offset that. Winners will be published in the magazine, and the postmark deadline is March 30th.

True Vine Press 2009 Summer Chapbook Contest - The publishers of the haiku journal Wisteria want to see a collection of 8-12 haiku and/or senryu on the theme of summer. One lucky winner will get his or her chapbook published and receive $20 plus 20 copies of the book. There is no entry fee, and previously published poems are OK with acknowledgement. Last year's winner was Carolyn Hall (editor of Acorn) and her chapbook In and Out of Shadow is a great little collection that was very nicely produced. The deadline for this year's contest is March 30th.

New issue of paper wasp, some more contests

Yep, it's true... the new issue of paper wasp is out. No surprise that it's filled with high-quality haiku by Stanford M. Forrester, Mark Arvid White, and Bob Lucky, as well as a few poems by one of the editors, Katherine Samuelowicz. But it is surprising to find a haiku by speculative author Charles Gramlich nestled among the pages. If you've never read an issue of paper wasp, volume 14 number 3 is a good one to start with. You can order a sample copy from their website for only $8.00 (shipped from Australia).

Here are two contests currently being run by Fanstory.com, a site I know very little about, but it appears you have to be a member to enter their contests.

- Fanstory.com Haiku Poetry Contest: For this contest they're looking for traditional 5-7-5 haiku, one entry per person, with a $100 Visa gift card as the prize. Second and third place winners receive "member dollars." Deadline is October 14th.

- Fanstory.com Halloween Poetry Contest: This contest is for horror or thriller poems, also one entry per person with the same prizes. No line limit and the deadline for this one is October 31st.

The site says their standard membership is $2.80 a month, but there's some sort of free membership you can get, too -- not sure if that will allow you to enter any contests. But it looks like it could be a neat site. Check it out if you have time.

Also check out the current issue of Writers' Journal if you get a chance. It's got the three winning stories from this year's Horror/Ghost Story Contest, as well as details about upcoming contests. New this year is the Science Fiction/Fantasy Contest, which is open to entries ($7 entry fee) until November 30th. Top three prizes are $250/$100/$50. Submit unpublished stories up to 2000 words.