The 2010 Book & Pamphlet Competition

Sponsored by NAWE

 

Entrants are invited to submit a short collection of poems (20-24 pages), for the chance to win:

• book publication & six free copies (for the overall winner),
• pamphlet publication & 20 free copies (for three/four first-stage winners),
• a share of £2,000 prize money,
• a poetry reading hosted by The Poetry Business,
• and publication in The North magazine.

 

JUDGE: Simon Armitage

DEADLINE: Last posting on Monday 29th November 2010 (or for online entries, 1st December)

ENTRY FEE: £25 — or £20 for Friends and subscribers. £1 surcharge is applied to entries submitted online.

— Terms and conditions

— Competition FAQs

— Contact us for more information

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"One of the career milestones for very many poets of note has been winning the prestigious Poetry Business competition."

— Anne-Marie Fyfe

Allison McVety was the overall winner of the 2006 Book & Pamphlet Competition. Her collection, The Night Trotsky Came to Stay, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize in 2008, and a poem taken from the collection was shortlisted for the inaugural MMU Prize the same year.

Allison's second collection, Miming Happiness, will be published by Smith/Doorstop Books later this year.

 

"I still remember getting the call to say I’d won the Book and Pamphlet Competition and having to keep it secret until the announcement was made. But beyond the immense joy of winning and the knowledge that your poems have been read by a judge at the height of their skill comes the hard graft and close attention that shapes a manuscript into a pamphlet or full-collection. The help and editing I got from the Poetry Business really brought it all together, made it work."

— Allison McVety, 2006 overall winner

Michael Laskey was a winner in the 1988 competition, with his collection Cloves of Garlic. He has since received two PBS Recommendations (in 1991 and 1999) and was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Prize in 1999. He founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1989 and Smiths Knoll magazine in 1991.

 

"It was a wonderful boost of confidence for me, winning the Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition. It felt like a justification of the time I spent writing and an encouragement to keep going. It was the original and only pamphlet competition back then, and so it felt particularly significant — that being judged anonymously on a group of poems, not just a single one."

— Michael Laskey, 1988 winner

 

Catherine Smith was a winner in the 2000 competition with The New Bride, which was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection.

Her first full-length collection, The Butcher's Hands, was a PBS Recommendation; and her second, Lip, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection.

 

 

Daljit Nagra was a winner in the 2002 competition, with his pamphlet Oh My Rub! This collection was awarded the first ever PBS Pamphlet Choice the following year. Daljit has since won the Forward Prize twice (in 2004 and 2007), and was longlisted in the 2007 Guardian First Book Award.

 

Notes on the experience of judging the competition:

You have not seen the sky grown dark. You have not realised that you are hungry. You have forgotten to feed the cat. You are engrossed in the work of the finalists for the Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition

Be warned! Good poetry can seriously disrupt your life.

– Alison Brackenbury 

 

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NAWE

“NAWE is delighted to be sponsoring this highly distinguished competition, run by one of the UK’s foremost poetry development agencies.” — Paul Munden (Director, NAWE)

NAWE (the National Association of Writers in Education) is the Subject Association for Creative Writing, supporting writers at all stages of their careers.

The NAWE website has details of all the latest jobs, opportunities and events for writers throughout the UK – all of which can be emailed to you as a free e-bulletin every fortnight.

All writers joining NAWE receive free copies of NAWE publications, benefit from reduced rates to NAWE events and have access to the extensive online Archive. For Professional Members, NAWE processes Enhanced Disclosure applications to the CRB and can assist in dealing with any other government clearance schemes. NAWE also offers free public liability insurance cover to members who work as professional writers in any public or educational arena.

NAWE, PO Box 1, Sheriff Hutton, York YO60 7YU
Tel: 01653 618429  •  Web: www.nawe.co.uk •  Email:info@nawe.co.uk