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2023 Gloucestershire Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition
August 31, 2023, 11:59 PM BST
£4
Black Eyes Publishing UK, in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Poetry Society, presents the GPS Open Poetry Competition, open for entries until 31st August 2023 (midnight UK time).
Competition Prizes
Winner: £150 & Featured in the Steel Jackdaw magazine
Runner Up: £75 & Featured in the Steel Jackdaw Magazine
Third Prize: £25 & Featured in the Steel Jackdaw Magazine
Friendship Prize: £25 & Featured in the Steel Jackdaw Magazine
We are pleased to announce that Jessica Mookherjee is the main judge for the Competition.
Jessica Mookherjee is a poet of Bengali heritage. She was brought up in Mumbles, Wales. She lived most of her adult life in London. She lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. She has worked in Public Health for over 20 years and has a background in psychology and biological anthropology, and socio-ecology. Her book Tigress (Nine Arches Press) was shortlisted as best second collection in the Ledbury Munthe Prize in 2021. Her book Notes from a Shipwreck is published by Nine Arches Press in 2022. In January 2023, Broken Sleep Books published her long poetic London poem: Desire Lines. Jessica is a board member of the Poetry Society and a Co-Editor of Against the Grain Poetry Press.
A long-list will be compiled by Josephine Lay (Editor for Black Eyes Publishing UK) and Jason Conway (Director of the Gloucestershire Poetry Society).
Josephine will also choose the winner of the Friendship Prize.
All longlisted poems will be eligible for the 2023 Competition Anthology. Poets will be contacted to confirm their wish to be included, if longlisted.
Submission Criteria
The Open Poetry Competition is run by Black Eyes Publishing UK on behalf of the GPS
Entries can be on any subject
Entries must be submitted online.
Entries will be shortlisted and judged anonymously
You can enter any number of poems.
Entries can be withdrawn by notification in writing.
Entry fees will not be refunded.
Entries may be submitted from anywhere in the world, provided they are in English and the correct fee is paid.
Format
Submission dates are from 1st June 2023 to 31st August 2023 (midnight UK time).
All poems must have a title and must not exceed 40 lines in length (excluding title).
Lines between text or stanzas are not counted.
Entries can be on any subject.
Poems must be the entrant’s original work and not have been published, in any form, elsewhere.
Do not send illustrated poems.
The font should be 11pt, black.
Each poem should be on a separate Microsoft Word Document (.doc or .docx). Do not send PDFs.
The file name should be the title of the poem only, exactly the same as in the document.
Do not include your name in the document or on the file title, or it will be disqualified.
No corrections can be made after receipt, nor fees be refunded.
Ideally, we would ask that you avoid dual submissions. However, we do recognise having poems tied up awaiting a decision can be difficult for poets. So, should a poem you have submitted to us be subsequently placed or published elsewhere, we should be notified immediately and the poem withdrawn. No fees will be refunded.
Please email Poems (as an attachment) to the email address provided below after payment with the subject line, 2023 Open Poetry Competition. Include your name in the email.
Judging
The judges’ decision is final, and no individual correspondence can be entered into. Judges are unable to comment on individual entries. Judging is fair and unbiased. Black Eyes Publishing UK reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice if necessary.
Poems will be shortlisted & judged anonymously. All correspondence regarding entries must be sent via email.
Due to the high volume of submissions, we are unable to provide feedback on work that is unsuccessful. However, all entrants will receive an email notification of results, via the email used for the submission.
Entry implies acceptance of all the rules. Failure to comply with the entry requirements will result in disqualification.
The cost of submission is £4 per poem or £12 for up to 4 poems.
Submission Steps
1. Pay for your entry
2. EMAIL YOUR WORK to gpsopen2020@yahoo.com
GPS Friendship members can enter up to 3 poems without charge as part of their membership. Please state in your email that you are a friendship member.
Copyright
The worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the author. But Black Eyes Publishing UK and the GPS have unrestricted rights to publish the winning and runner-up poems in Steel Jackdaw magazine, Website and Social Media pages and any relevant promotional material.
Results
Winners and runners-up will be notified in October 2023, and cash prizes will be awarded accordingly.
