OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS ON APRIL 15, 2009
The Deane Wagner Poetry Contest has been an annual tradition of the St. Louis Writers Guild for decades. It is held every spring with First, Second, and Third Prizes and Honorable Mention awards presented in mid-summer. The contest seeks to discover exceptional, unpublished poems and to encourage poets through recognition and rewards. You do not need to be a member of the St. Louis Writers Guild to enter this contest.
READ THESE CONTEST GUIDELINES CAREFULLY.
THEY WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.
Get a printable pdf copy of the guidelines.
| Topic |
Any topic is allowed, but each poem must be the author’s original work and previously unpublished.
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.
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| Deadline |
Submissions must be postmarked on or after Wednesday, April 15 and no later than Saturday, June 13, 2009
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| Entry Fee |
Remit $10 for the first poem and $5 for each additional poem. Limit three poems.
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| Submission Address |
Make check or money order payable to: SLWG and mail to:
St. Louis Writers Guild
Attention: POETRY CONTEST
P.O. Box 411757
St. Louis, MO 63141
Do not send certified mail. Do not enclose a SASE; entries will not be returned. Please make copies of your submission(s) for your own records.
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| Submission Guidelines |
The contest’s previous year’s first place winner is prohibited from entering this contest.
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.
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| Prizes |
- 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 on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 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.
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| Publication |
All entrants release first one-time rights for St. Louis Writers Guild to publish their winning entry(ies) on the St. Louis Writers Guild website. Other publication opportunities may be offered, but are not guaranteed.
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| Judging |
Judge of the 2009 Deane Wagner Poetry Contest is poet Tom Padgett. Tom is a poet, writer, teacher
and webmaster. He earned his PhD in English from Missouri University in 1972. Tom taught at
Southwest Baptist University from 1963 to his retirement in 1993. During much of that time he served as chair of the Department of English. He has served as chancellor and webmaster of the National
Federation of State Poetry Societies, secretary and webmaster of the Missouri State Poetry Society,
editor of Grist anthology and the Spare Mule newsletter and currently edits Thirty-Seven Cents, a
poetry e-zine monthly now in its ninth year. He has published over 300 poems in
journals/newsletters/e-outlets, in addition to six chapbooks and one book.
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| Winner Announcement |
PLEASE NOTE: St. Louis Writers Guild will not notify all contest entrants concerning the contest’s outcomes.
Winners and Honorable Mention awardees (only) will be contacted in the week of July 5 so that they may prepare to attend our reading event on Tuesday, July 14.
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 July 5.
Winning entries will be posted on the SLWG website as soon as they are received in electronic format, but no later than August 2, 2009.
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BEST OF LUCK WITH THE CONTEST!