CURRENT GULF COAST POETS COMPETITIONS
These competitions (open to everyone, including non-members) help us fund honorariums for meeting speakers. Poets are allowed to enter all contests each month, except for those they sponsor. Winners may win more than one second or third place, but are limited to one first place win per month, except members of the Gulf Coast Poets are permitted to additionally win the Member Contest. Limit: Entry of up to 5 poems (all in one category, or divided among the categories) during September. If you do not include the fee, your entry will not be eligible for prize or place. If your entry is postmarked before or after a due date, your entry will not be read, although your check may be kept. The Gulf Coast Poets welcomes people of all cultures and backgrounds; all entries should be secular rather than religious, non-partisan rather than political in nature. E-mail with questions. If you are a member of the Poetry Society of Texas, and you wish your winning poems reported to them, you must do the reporting.
CONTEST TWENTY-SEVEN - SEPTEMBER TOPICS
1. Summer's Gifts (Sponsor: Richard Peake).
2. From a Distance (Sponsor: Mary Carlisle).
3. From Home to Here (Sponsor: Richard Peake).
4. My Heart is an Ocean (Sponsor: Mary Carlisle).
5. Member Contest (no fee, no prize except publication).
DUE DATE: Entries must be postmarked no earlier than September 1, 2009, and no later than Monday, September 21, 2009 and arrive within 4 days of the final due date.
Contests 1-3 have a $10.00 first place prize.
Contest 4 has a $25.00 first place prize.
Poets may enter all contests, but may win only one cash prize per month.
Entry by e-mail permitted only in the Member Contest.
Membership information here: http://GulfCoastPoets.info
2009 GENERAL RULES
Open to all, except those eighteen and younger must include parental permission and contact information.
Member Contest: Members may submit one fee-free poem each month on any topic, as long as the entry includes MEMBER CONTEST above the poem title, and all other rules have been followed. No prize but publication is offered in the Member Contest category. Member Contest poems may be e-mailed with a cover letter that includes your biography, or included with other monthly entries.
About your entry: Your best unpublished work only, (except for Contest 4, where one poem may have been previously published if all publisher information is included). The fee is $5.00 per total entry (not per poem). An entry is defined as all the poems you include in one envelope for one month's competitions. All entries except Member Contest poems must be sent via postal mail. Send all of your poems for a month in the same envelope. Put each poem on a separate page, with a limit of 5 poems per month. Your poems may be on different topics, or on one topic. Do not title poems with the name of the topic. Please send only one copy of each poem (one poem per page) typed on 8½ x 11 paper. Put the topic of the poem first, then your titled poem. Do NOT include your name with the poem, only on your cover letter.
Cover Letter: Include a one-page cover letter that has the date, then names the first contest, then the titles of the poems submitted in that topic; then names the second contest, and titles of poems submitted in that topic; etc. (This allows us to id your poems later.) Beneath that include your full name, mailing address, e-mail address, and weekend phone number. Finally, on the same page, include a third person autobiography written in 50 words or fewer.
Technical Advice: Font: Easy to read, 12 or 14 point. No script fonts, colored ink, or illustrations, or ALL CAPS. Justification: Fully left justified or centered only, no tabs, in one column. A maximum of 34 lines or fewer, including title and stanza breaks. Long lines would most probably wrap in unfortunate places if published, and add to your line length, so use no more than 60 characters across, including punctuation and spaces. Be prepared to send your poems and biography via e-mail if your work is chosen.
Fee: The fee is $5.00 per entry (not per poem). Do not include a SASE. Do include a check made out to Gulf Coast Poets. No coins or bills; check only. Mail to: Gulf Coast Poets, c/o Carlisle, P.O. Box 580037, Houston, Texas 77258-0037. Four day grace period for receipt of an entry if the postmark was within the entry period. Questions? GulfCoastPoets [at] gmail.com or Sol.Editor [at] prodigy.net
Announcement of winning: Winners contacted by e-mail. Winning poems will be posted at the Gulf Coast Poets’ Website along with a brief biography of the poet, and sometimes placed in the next meeting's handout. Poets are invited to read their winning poem at the next meeting. Once posted at the Gulf Coast Poets Website, all rights return to the poet. Poets who enter a competition may be invited to submit works to be considered for publication in a Gulf Coast Poets chapbook or anthology.