Ben Lerner will judge the 2011 Omnidawn Chapbook Poetry Contest.
Electronic and postal submissions will be accepted from January 1, 2011 to February 28, 2011.
The 2011 Omnidawn Chapbook Poetry Prize is open to any poet writing in English. The prize includes $1,000, Fall 2011 publication by Omnidawn, and 100 complimentary copies of the chapbook. The winning poet and manuscript will also be advertised in American Poetry Review, Poets & Writers Magazine, Writer’s Chronicle, Rain Taxi Review of Books, and other publications. Manuscripts will remain anonymous until a winner is selected. All entrants will be mailed a copy of the winning chapbook. The reading fee for each manuscript is $15.
Two Submission Options:
1. Submit on our web site. (Most submissions are via our web site. This is generally the easiest way to submit.)
2. Submit via postal mail.
Detailed requirements for each method of submission are listed at the end of this web page.
Requirements:
1. The chapbook contest is open from January 1 to February 28. Electronically submitted manuscripts must be received between January 1, 2011 and midnight, Pacific Standard Time, on February 28, 2011. Manuscripts sent by postal mail must be postmarked between January 1, 2011 and February 28, 2011.
2. This contest is open to all writers no matter how many books they have published.
3. Manuscripts must be 20 to 40 pages of poetry (not including the front and back matter).
4. Individual poems in a contest manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, print or web journals, or anthologies, but the work as a whole must be unpublished. Manuscripts that have been self-published as books or chapbooks are also ineligible.
5. The manuscript must be original and in English. Translations are ineligible. However, we do understand that you may choose to use some words from other languages occasionally in poems. This is perfectly acceptable.
6. Manuscripts by more than one author are ineligible.
7. Friends, colleagues, and students of the judge are not eligible to compete.
8. A reading fee of $15 must accompany each entry.
General Guidelines:
—Manuscripts must include one cover page with title of manuscript only, and a second cover page with title plus your name, address, telephone number, email address, and where you learned about the Omnidawn chapbook contest to the best of your recollection. Please do not include any other identifying information in or with the manuscript. Please do not include acknowledgements page, cover letter, or bio.
—Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please notify us with an email to submissions@omnidawn.com if your manuscript has been accepted elsewhere.
—Multiple submissions to this contest are acceptable, but each manuscript must be submitted separately, with a separate entry fee.
—The manuscript should be paginated.
—Please notify us of changes in your contact information with an email to submissions@omnidawn.com, or if you submitted electronically you can log in to your account and change the contact information yourself.
—No revisions to submitted manuscripts will be allowed during the contest.
—All manuscripts will be deleted or recycled at the end of the contest. For entries sent by postal mail, please do NOT enclose SASE for return of the manuscript. You may enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard, which we will mail back to you to confirm receipt of your manuscript. Your cancelled check will also confirm receipt.
—We will announce contest results by email, as well as at www.omnidawn.com/contest the Omnidawn blog (http://omnidawn.wordpress.com), and in display advertisements in American Poetry Review, Poets & Writers Magazine, Writers Chronicle, Rain Taxi Review of Books, and other publications.
—All entrants will be mailed a copy of the winning chapbook when it is published in the fall of 2011. (Some of our notices about this contest state that a copy of the chapbook will be sent if you include the cost of an SASE. This is no longer necessary and all entrants will be mailed a copy of the winning chapbook.)
—Regarding the winning manuscript: The chapbook may not be published in a subsequent book or chapbook by the winning poet for one year after publication by Omnidawn.
How We Judge—Each Manuscript is Read by at Least Two Editors:
Identifying information will be removed from all manuscripts before they are sent to an editor. All manuscripts will be given a number to associate them with the contact information of their submitters. All personal identifying information will then be removed from manuscripts before these are forwarded to editors. The Omnidawn staff members who remove the identifying information are NOT involved in the reading process.
All manuscripts will then be read by at least two different editors. Only Omnidawn's Senior Poetry Editor and Poetry Editors will read submissions, and these editors will not have access to the identities of the submitters. For the sake of avoiding any conflict of interest, if an editor believes that he/she recognizes the work of a colleague, student, or friend, then that manuscript is given to another editor. The editors will select the semi-finalists to be sent to the judge. The judge will then select the winner and five finalists. If the judge wishes to see additional manuscripts, he may request them; the judge is not, however, permitted to request specific manuscripts. Friends, colleagues, and/or students of the judge are not eligible to compete. The judge is not allowed to choose manuscripts that present a conflict of interest.
Omnidawn abides by The CLMP Code of Ethics. The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses’ community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our staff, editors, or judges; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines -- defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.
Two Submission Options
Option 1: Submit on our web site. (Usually the easiest way to submit)
Option 2: Submit via postal mail.
Procedures for each of these options are listed in detail below.
Option 1: Procedure to submit on our secure web site.
—PLEASE READ AT LEAST THE BOLD TYPE in the directions below before proceeding to the online submissions web page. You will find the button to direct you there at the end of this procedure.
—If you have any questions send an email to submissions@omnidawn.com or telephone our toll free number (800) 792-4957. If we can’t take your call immediately, we can usually call you back within 30 minutes.
—Electronically submitted manuscripts must be received between January 1, 2011 and midnight, Pacific Standard Time, on February 28, 2011.
—The secure online submissions web site has been tested for use with various browsers including Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, Safari 2.0 and above, and all versions of Firefox. Earlier versions may also work. The latest versions of these programs are available for free on the Internet. Your Internet browser must be set to accept cookies and to allow pop-ups in order to use our online submission program.
—If you did NOT enter an Omnidawn Poetry Contest last year (2010), or previously this year, when you go to our secure online submission page, you will be asked to enter your credit card billing and contact information, the title of your manuscript, and a six character password of your choice. (Contact information is retained in our database, but credit card numbers are not.)
—If you DID enter an Omnidawn Poetry Contest last year (2010) or previously this year, either online or via postal mail, you probably have an account. If so, when you go to the secure online submissions page you can log in using the box on the upper left by entering your email address and your password. If you don’t have your password, click “need help” below the login button, and you can have a new password sent to your email address. Once you are logged in you can click “submit your work” in the new box on your left, which will take you to a secure web page to submit a new manuscript. (Contact information is retained in our database, but credit card numbers are not.)
—You will be able to upload your manuscript on the submissions page. Manuscripts must be sent in one file, not multiple files. Please submit files in .RTF (Rich Text Format) or MS Word .DOC or .DOCX format only. Most word processing programs can save files as .RTF by going to FILE—SAVE AS, and then choosing Rich Text Format in the FORMAT drop-down box.
—Please DO use the “comments” field to tell us where you learned about the Omnidawn contest to the best of your recollection. You may also add other information you would like us to know, but please do not use this box to share any personal or publication history. These comments will only be read by staff who are not involved in the selection process.
—If you want to submit additional work you can login at the end of this process or in the future using the email address and password you entered so that you will not need to complete contact information again.
—If when you click “Continue” your credit card is NOT accepted (usually because of a typo) your contact information and manuscript have still been uploaded to our database so that we have everything we need except your payment. You can resolve this by completing the payment in one of two ways:
(a) Mail a check for $15 to the address at the bottom of this web page. Please write your email address and the title of your manuscript on your check (or money order, which is also acceptable). We will send you an email confirming that your manuscript has been entered into the contest when your check arrives.
(b) Enter your credit card info again by going to https://omnidawn.net and using the box on the left to log in using the email address and password you just entered. A screen will appear displaying the contact info you have entered with a record showing the entry you just submitted. In the second field of that record click on the words “pay now” and a secure screen will appear so that you can enter your credit card information again. If successful you will receive an immediate notification of success and an email notification that your submission has been entered into the contest. If your credit card still does not work you can still use option (a) above by mailing a check.To go to the secure submissions page and begin the electronic submission process, please click here.
Option 2: Procedure to submit via postal mail:
If you have any questions send an email to submissions@omnidawn.com or telephone our toll free number (800) 792-4957. If we can’t take your call immediately, we can usually call you back within 30 minutes.
Manuscripts sent by postal mail must be postmarked between January 1, 2011 and February 28, 2011.
Please DO NOT send Fed Ex, UPS, or signature required US Post Office envelopes. These will not be accepted.
Please DO NOT send cover letter, acknowledgements, or bio. These will only be removed before your manuscript is read.
Please enclose the following:
1. Reading fee of $15. This can be either a check or money order. Make checks or money orders payable to Omnidawn. (A reading fee of $15 must accompany each submission.)
2. One title page with your name, contact information, and where you learned about our contest (to the best of your recollection). Please include your mailing address, phone number, and email address if you have one.
3. One title page with manuscript title only and nothing else.
4. 20–40 pages of poetry in a manuscript with pagination.
5. (Optional) A self-addressed stamped post card. You may, if you choose, include a self-addressed stamped postcard, and we will mail this back to you to verify that your manuscript has been received. (If you include an Email address, you will also receive an email when we enter your submission into our database. Your cancelled check will also confirm that your entry has been received.)
Send postal submissions via First Class or Priority Mail to:
Omnidawn Chapbook Poetry Prize
Omnidawn Publishing
1632 Elm Avenue
Richmond, CA 94805-1614