Other Literary Competitions

2008 Troubadour Poetry Prize  

Judged by: Jo Shapcott & Stephen Knight

1st prize £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250, plus 20 commendations @ £20 each

and a coffee-house poetry reading for all prizewinning and commended poets with jo shapcott & stephen knight on monday 1st december 2008

Submission Deadline: Friday 10th October 2008

Judges

Jo Shapcott has won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Forward Poetry Prize, and the National Poetry Competition (twice) with poems which appear in Her Book: Poems 1988-1998 (2000), selected from three previous collections. She has worked with musicians & composers, presented ‘Poetry Proms’ on Radio 3, translated Rilke and co-edited Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange Times (1996). She now teaches on the MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway College, University of London, is a Visiting Professor at University of Newcastle and at University of the Arts, London, and is President of the Poetry Society.

Stephen Knight reviews fiction & poetry for the Times Literary Supplement and Independent on Sunday as well as teaching on University of Glamorgan and Goldsmiths’ College (University of London) Creative-Writing courses. Novelist (Mr. Schnitzel, 2000) and freelance theatre director, his poetry collections include Dream City Cinema. He has received an Eric Gregory Award, has had his work shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and has won both the Arts Council of Wales Book of the Year Award and the National Poetry Competition.

Both judges will read all poems submitted.

Rules

General: Entry implies acceptance of all rules; failure to comply with rules may result in disqualification; competition open to poets of any nationality over 18 years; no competitor may win more than one prize; judges’ decision is final; no individual correspondence may be entered into.

Poems: Poems must be in English, must each be no longer than 45 lines, must fit on one page of A4, must be the original work of the entrant and must not have been previously broadcast or published (in print or online); winning & commended poems may be published (in print or online) by the Troubadour Poetry Prize and may not be published elsewhere for one year after 10th October 2008 without written permission. No limit on number of poems submitted.

Fees: All entries must be accompanied by fee of EITHER £5/€7/$10 per poem if less than 4 poems OR £4/€5/$8 per poem if 4 or more poems submitted; payment by cheque or money order (Sterling/Euro/US-Dollars only) payable to “Coffee-House Poetry” with entry name (and/or e-mail Entry Ref) written on back.

By Post: No entry form required; each poem must be typed on one side of A4 white paper showing title & poem only; do not show author’s name or any other identifying marks on submitted poems; include a separate page showing Name, Address, Phone, E-Mail (opt), Titles and Number of Poems EITHER @ £5/€7/$10 OR @ £4/€5/$8; no staples; entries are not returned.

By E-mail: No entry form required; poems must be submitted in body of e-mail (no attachments) to CoffPoetry@aol.com; entries should be preceded by Name, Address, Phone, Titles and  Number of Poems EITHER @ £5/€7/$8 OR @ £4/€5/$8; acknowledgement will be sent to entrant’s e-mail address showing Entry Acknowledgment Reference; send payment by post quoting Entry Acknowledgement Reference;  e-mail entries will be included only when payment received.

Acknowledgement/Results: will be sent to all e-mail entrants, and to all postal entrants who provide an e-mail address; other postal entrants should include stamped, addressed postcard marked “Acknowledgement” and/or stamped, addressed A5 envelope marked “Results” if required.

Deadline: All postal entries, and postal payments for e-mail entries, to arrive at Troubadour Poetry Prize, Coffee-House Poetry, PO Box 16210, LONDON, W4 1ZP postmarked on or before Friday 10th October 2008. Prizewinners will be notified by Friday 21st November 2008. Prizegiving will be on Monday 1st December 2008 at Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour.