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2012 SFPA Poetry Contest

The 2012 Contest Is Now Closed. Winners are posted.

Contest Rules:
This year’s incarnation of the SFPA’s speculative poetry contest is open to all poets, including non-SFPA-members. Prizes will be awarded for best poem in 3 categories: Dwarf (poems 1–10 lines); Short (11–49 lines [prose poems 0–499 words]); Long (50 lines and more [prose 500 words and up]). A special prize for the best poem by a non-SFPA-member poet (chosen from entries of any length) will also be awarded. All sub-genres of speculative poetry allowed in any form.

Judge: Andrew Joron, a prominent science-fiction poet.

Send no more than one previously unpublished poem per category (Dwarf, Short, Long). Submission deadline is Sept. 15, 2012. Winners announced on November 1, 2012.

Submission guidelines:

  • Deadline is September 15, 2012.
  • Previously unpublished poetry only.
  • Submissions by e-mail only to 2012SFPAContest@googlemail.com
  • Send no more than one poem per category.
  • Poems must be included in the body of the e-mail or sent as .rtf attachments; no other methods will be accepted. If a poem contains unique formatting, please send it in .rtf format. Please use single spacing; if pasting into e-mail from a .doc, convert your poems to plain text format. Indicate indentation with spaces, NOT tabs, and italics with _underlines_.
  • Indicate if you are NOT an SFPA member; an additional prize will be awarded to the best poem by a non-member.

Confirmation of receipt of your submission should follow within 2 days.
Announcement of winners will be posted on the SFPA website by November 1, 2012

Prizes:
1st prize in each category (Dwarf, Short, Long, Non-Member): $50 cash plus one-year membership (membership extension or cash equivalent where applicable) plus publications donated by membership. Choice of one publication donated by SFPA members for runners-up. Publication on Poetry Planet (StarShipSofa.com) podcast magazine and on the SFPA website for winners and runners-up.

Previous SFPA Contests

2010 New Poets Contest: Ekphrasis

2008 Poetry Contest: Energy

2007 Poetry Contest: Sonnets

2006 Poetry Contest


SFPA has published anthologies of selected contest poems.

2008 SFPA Energy contest anthology 2007 SFPA sonnet contest anthology

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