The 2018 Colorado Prize for Poetry

Description

Book-length poetry manuscripts will be accepted from October 1, 2017, through the deadline of January 14, 2018. The winner will be announced by May 2018. (Note: We will observe a grace period through midnight January 20.)

The winning book will be published by the Center for Literary Publishing and distributed by the University Press of Colorado in the fall of 2018. The poet will receive a $2,000 honorarium.

The online entry fee is $28 ($1.11 is a credit card fee and $1.89 goes to the good people who run Submittable), which includes a one-year subscription to Colorado Review. Poets with a US address may choose either a print or digital subscription; those living outside the US will receive a digital subscription. Please select the relevant option when submitting your manuscript.

This year's final judge is John Yau. Friends and students (current and former) of the final judge are not eligible to compete, nor are Colorado State University employees, students, or alumni.

Manuscripts may consist of poems that have been published, but the manuscript as a whole must not have been previously published (or self-published).

In the cover letter form--separate from the manuscript--tell us your manuscript title, your name, address, e-mail address, and phone number. You may provide a bio note here, if you wish, but it is not required.

The title page of your manuscript should provide only the title, not your name or contact information.

Please do not include acknowledgments of poems' previous publication; the judges will not see them.

Your name should NOT appear anywhere in the manuscript itself; this contest is judged blind. Please make sure your name is not in your document's running heads.

The theme and style are both open.

Manuscripts may be double- or single-spaced.

Manuscripts must be at least 48 pages but no more than 100 pages.

You may enter more than one manuscript. Each manuscript requires the entry fee. If you'd like the additional subscriptions sent to someone other than yourself, include that information. Otherwise, your subscription will be extended by one year for each additional entry.

Authors do NOT need to be residents of Colorado or the United States.

The Colorado Prize for Poetry adheres to the following Contest Code of Ethics, as adopted by the Council of Literary Presses and Magazines, of which the Center for Literary Publishing is a longtime member: “CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines — defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.”

Questions? Please call us at (970) 491-5449 or send an e-mail to creview@colostate.edu