Burning the Midnight Oil Poetry Contest
Deadline Extended until November 16
Strange name for a poetry contest, right? Maybe, but you know what we mean.
You stay up late at night, writing, writing, writing because the words won't leave you alone. Great poems are born at
such times. One part angst, another part inspiration. Words that burn right through the paper and into your
soul. Words that touch a nerve, twist your emotions. That's what we're looking for.
Submission Guidelines:
For a free critique, simply write "free
critique" on your entry. (See note below.)
1) Any style or form allowed. Any subject (with the exception
of erotic or excessively violent themes). One poem per single-spaced page.
2) Attach a separate
coversheet with title, name, address, e-mail, and phone number. If entering by e-mail, include this information at the top.
3) Entry fee: $5
per poem, limit three entries (1 poem = 1 entry). Checks payable to: The Write
Helper.
4) Poems must be unpublished at the time of submission, original work of the contestant.
5) Deadline: October 31, 2009, postmarked.
(EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 16)
6) Prizes: 1st place - $100, 2nd place - $50, 3rd place -
$25.
7)
For free critique, include an e-mail address (or business sized, self-addressed envelope). Optional: For
a thorough line edit, include $3 per poem.
8)
Winners will be posted on the website by December 1, 2009. Cash prizes will be mailed during the month of December.
9)
Mail entries in 9 x 12 envelope to:
Burning the Midnight
Oil Poetry Contest
c/o Amy Harke-Moore
104 Harke Lane
Old Monroe, MO 63369.
Do
NOT send by certified mail.
10) Checks payable to: The Write Helper
11) For electronic submission, paste poem
into the body of an email along with the title, your name and address, and send to: amy@thewritehelper.com. Select an option below (ex. number of entries, with or without line
edits) and click on the PAY NOW button at the bottom of this page to send payment. (For processing electronic
submissions, each entry is an additional $1.) After we receive your payment, you will be notified that we received
your entry.
Contest is open to all poets. Top prize winner will be given the opportunity to have his/her winning poem published
on this website.
For a list of winners, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Or check out our website by December 1, 2009,
for the winners' list.
Decision of judges is final. Not responsible for lost or misdirected entries. Poems will not be
returned.
NOTE: As the website
has taken off, it’s been a challenge to get all of the free critiques back to the entrants of our contests. Yet we don’t
want to give up offering the free critiques to those who truly want them. So please write “free critique” on your
entry to request this service.
