SCN is proud to announce its first annual poetry competition. Open only to members of Story Circle Network. To join us, go here.
2021 Topic: PLACE
“What I could remember about that natural world from which our family had been separated by so little was a combination of smells, the feel of the air, a sense of the presence of Nature as a living entity all around me. All of that had been deeply imprinted in me, but more in the blood and bone and muscles – an instinctive memory – than a precise memory of events or people. I remembered it with my body, or maybe I remembered it with another sense for which we have no name but is no less real for that.”
Sharon Butala, The Perfection of the Morning
“How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully one goes they hold you—you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences—little rags and shreds of your very life.”
Katherine Mansfield, Katherine Mansfield: Memories of L.M.
“You have to pick the places you don’t walk away from.”
Joan Didion, A Book of Common Prayer
Maybe it’s real, a place you remember or somewhere you long to be. Or maybe it exists only in the rich realm of your imagination. Either way, you feel it with your body or another, unnamed, sense. Using poetry, take us there. Tell us who you are when you are there, what the place fills you with, or asks of you in return. Paint a picture of it with your words.
Open for submissions July 5 – August 31, 2021
Awards
One prize of $100, one prize of $75, and one prize of $50. The first-place poem will be published in the Story Circle Journal. All winning poems will be featured on SCN's website. Upon the judges' recommendation, other entries may be published in later issues of the Journal and in other SCN print or online publications. An award may be withheld if, in the opinion of the judges, no entry achieves the expected standard. The judges' decision is final.
Rules
- You must be a dues-paying member of Story Circle Network to enter. (To join, use our online membership form; you can pay online or mail your check to the address below.)
- The $25 entry fee can be paid online or by check.
- One entry per member.
- To be eligible, your entry must be unpublished. We define a "published" piece as one that has been reviewed and accepted by an editor, either for a print or an online publication. For the purpose of this contest, blog posts are not considered "publications."
- Each entry must be titled, and no longer than 40 lines. (The submission form accepts only 40 lines) Keep a copy of your entry.
- Story Circle Network does not provide a platform for targeted political or religious argument, and such entries are not eligible.
- Winners' poems must be available for publication in the Journal. However, if you wish your poem to be published anonymously, we will remove your name.
- If you have internet access, you must submit your entry to us electronically by using our online form [see below].
- If you do not have internet access, mail your entry, typed and single-spaced, on 8.5 x 11" paper, to Story Circle Network 723 W University Ave #300-234 Georgetown TX 78626. Include your check for the $25 entry fee. If you do not have access to a typewriter, we will accept entries that are clearly handwritten in dark black ink. Be sure that your name and address appear on your entry. Put the actual word count under your name/address. Include a 100-word bio to be published with your entry if you win. Entries must be received by the contest deadline. Please allow ample time for delivery.
- By submitting your poem, you are giving Story Circle the right to publish it in the Journal, in its other print publications, and on its web site. However, authors retain copyright.
Criteria and Judging
We’re looking for entries that are fresh and original, with an authentic voice, responsive to the topic, rich in detail, and have been polished and carefully proofread. Entries will not be returned; evaluations will not be available. The judging team will be made up of Story Circle facilitators and published authors.
Deadline
Your entry and your entry fee must both be date stamped (if online) or RECEIVED (if by USPS) NO LATER THAN midnight ET on the deadline date. If mailing your entry and/or fee, be sure to allow ample time for delivery. It is unfair to writers who observe these rules to ask for an exception.
Notification
Winners will be notified when the judging is concluded.
How to Enter
Contest entries should be made via the web form if possible.
