Poems must be intended for an adult audience (rather than for children), but must not contain blatant sexual, violent, religious, political, or other content that is not appropriate for a general audience composed of persons of all ages and sensitivities.

Entrant may not be a current student, employee, relative, or friend of, or have any current relationship, social, professional, or otherwise, with judge.

Submit TWO COPIES of each poem typed on a separate document; single-spaced in a 12-point standard black font on plain white paper.

There is a 2-page limit per poem and a total submission limit of six pages per entry (not counting copies of each submitted poem). The poem’s title and page number must appear on the upper left corner of every page of a multi-page poem document. Indicate ### following the last line of each poem.

DO NOT INDICATE POET’S NAME OR ADDRESS ON PAGES.

ONE FULLY-COMPLETED COVER SHEET MUST BE ATTACHED TO THE FRONT OF EVERY SUBMITTED POEM AND ITS COPY. Type title of poem, name and address of author, day and evening telephone number(s), and email address on a separate cover sheet and paperclip it to the top page of poem.

• First place - $200
• Second place - $150
• Third place - $100

Additionally, three Honorable Mention awards of $10 each will be presented. All winners and Honorable Mention awardees receive certificates.

St. Louis Writers Guild will also award introductory memberships to winners who are not already members.

Additionally, winners and Honorable Mention awardees will be honored at a special public reading event in August, 2008, at which they are encouraged to read their winning entries before a live audience.

Top place and Honorable Mention poems will be published on the St. Louis Writers Guild website, provided that they are submitted in an electronic format (in Microsoft Word) within two weeks following award notification.

Harvey Stanbrough is a poet, writer, and freelance editor. His works have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, the Frankfurt Award, the Pushcart Prize and the National Book Award. His current nonfiction books include Punctuation for Writers and Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction. His comprehensive poetry collection, Beyond the Masks, inspired rave reviews. At writers' conferences and in private seminars, he presents sessions on Observation for Writers, Writing Realistic Dialogue, and Writing Poetry. See his website at StoneThread.com.

Harvey will be giving a special workshop on April 5 for SLWG at Barnes & Noble-Crestwood from 10 am until 2 p.m. There is a nominal fee, and you must pay in advance. No payments will be accepted at the door. Watch for more details. (See Calendar for map & directions.)

Winners and Honorable Mention awardees (only) will be contacted in the week of June 29 so that they may prepare to attend our reading event on Tuesday, July 8.

Further, SLWG cannot respond to telephone and email inquiries concerning receipt of entries. Entrants may enclose a SASE postcard which we will mail back to confirm receipt (optional). The winners’ names and poems’ titles will be posted on the St. Louis Writers Guild website during the week of June 29.

Winning entries will be posted on the SLWG website as soon as they are received in electronic format, but no later than July 27, 2008.