2019 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest: Submission Instructions
SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED AS OF OCTOBER 1 to DECEMBER 15 2018
TIMELINE: Contest opens: October 1, 2018. Postmark deadline: December 15, 2018.
PRIZES: 1st = $100.00. 2nd = $50.00. 3rd = $30.00. Optional 4th = $20.00. Up to five Honorable Mentions, judge’s discretion, will be awarded.
FEES: $3.00 entry fee, plus $1.00 per poem. (E.g., 3 poems for $6.00, 5 poems for $8.00). Limit 15 poems per person. Checks and money orders must be made out to WyoPoets.
SUBMIT: Poems must be original and unpublished at the time of submission (no blog posts, tweeted poems, etc.), single-spaced, one side of paper only, in English, any subject, any form. Photocopies accepted if clear and legible. Except for Oriental forms, poems must be titled. One poem per page, using Times New Roman 12-point font, 8 1/2 x 11 inch white paper, one-inch margins, no color. No pornography, racial or sexual slurs, or language considered obscene by average broad-minded readers. Simultaneous submissions permissible. No author bios necessary.
REQUIREMENTS: Submit two copies of each poem: one copy for the judge with no identification on it; one with name, mailing address, email address, and phone number in the upper right corner of each page. No electronic submissions. No poet can win more than one monetary prize, but can win additional Honorable Mentions. Contest entrants will be notified by email, where available, or may provide an SASE (a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) for the winners’ list to be distributed by April 1, 2019.
MAILING: Send both copies of poems with entry fee to WyoPoets Contest, Attn: C. L. Deering, 41 Eagle Road, Riverton, Wyoming 82501. No registered or certified mail.
FMI: http://www.wyopoets.org/contact.html https://www.facebook.com/WyoPoets/
or wyopoets@gmail.com
JUDGING: Judging will be done by a qualified poet not affiliated with WyoPoets. Judge’s decisions are final. Winners will be invited to read their winning poems at the WyoPoets Spring Workshop.
RIGHTS: All rights remain with the poet. No entries will be returned.
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Not following the above guidelines will result in disqualification
SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED AS OF OCTOBER 1 to DECEMBER 15 2018
TIMELINE: Contest opens: October 1, 2018. Postmark deadline: December 15, 2018.
PRIZES: 1st = $100.00. 2nd = $50.00. 3rd = $30.00. Optional 4th = $20.00. Up to five Honorable Mentions, judge’s discretion, will be awarded.
FEES: $3.00 entry fee, plus $1.00 per poem. (E.g., 3 poems for $6.00, 5 poems for $8.00). Limit 15 poems per person. Checks and money orders must be made out to WyoPoets.
SUBMIT: Poems must be original and unpublished at the time of submission (no blog posts, tweeted poems, etc.), single-spaced, one side of paper only, in English, any subject, any form. Photocopies accepted if clear and legible. Except for Oriental forms, poems must be titled. One poem per page, using Times New Roman 12-point font, 8 1/2 x 11 inch white paper, one-inch margins, no color. No pornography, racial or sexual slurs, or language considered obscene by average broad-minded readers. Simultaneous submissions permissible. No author bios necessary.
REQUIREMENTS: Submit two copies of each poem: one copy for the judge with no identification on it; one with name, mailing address, email address, and phone number in the upper right corner of each page. No electronic submissions. No poet can win more than one monetary prize, but can win additional Honorable Mentions. Contest entrants will be notified by email, where available, or may provide an SASE (a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) for the winners’ list to be distributed by April 1, 2019.
MAILING: Send both copies of poems with entry fee to WyoPoets Contest, Attn: C. L. Deering, 41 Eagle Road, Riverton, Wyoming 82501. No registered or certified mail.
FMI: http://www.wyopoets.org/contact.html https://www.facebook.com/WyoPoets/
or wyopoets@gmail.com
JUDGING: Judging will be done by a qualified poet not affiliated with WyoPoets. Judge’s decisions are final. Winners will be invited to read their winning poems at the WyoPoets Spring Workshop.
RIGHTS: All rights remain with the poet. No entries will be returned.
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Not following the above guidelines will result in disqualification
Submission Period for 2020 members-only Chapbook
Our next chapbook will be published in 2020. Entries for the 2020 chapbook will be accepted from August 1, 2019, through October 15, 2019.
2018 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest winners
The 2018 WyoPoets Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest received 436 poems from poets living in 14 U.S.states, Canada and England. Contest Chair Kathleen Smith thanks everyone for submitting their outstanding writing. The top poems selected are:
1st Place: "Poem Than Mentions Only One Amputation" by Lyndi O'Laughlin, Kaycee, Wyoming
2nd Place: "Freed" by Linda Ruhle, Prunedale, California
3rd Place: "A Wolf I Met" by Nicholas Trandahl, Upton, Wyoming
4th Place: "Bivouac" by Betsy Bernfield, Wilson, Wyoming
Honorable Mentions
1st Place: "Poem Than Mentions Only One Amputation" by Lyndi O'Laughlin, Kaycee, Wyoming
2nd Place: "Freed" by Linda Ruhle, Prunedale, California
3rd Place: "A Wolf I Met" by Nicholas Trandahl, Upton, Wyoming
4th Place: "Bivouac" by Betsy Bernfield, Wilson, Wyoming
Honorable Mentions
- 1st "The Admirable But Doomed Optimism of a Veal Calf and the Nice Ladies From St.Marks Cathedral" by Lyndi O'Laughlin, Kaycee, Wyoming
- 2nd "There's a Clinic in Frankfurt" by Lyndi O'Laughlin, Kaycee, Wyoming
- 3rd "Unrequited Love Using a Fully Hydrated Gazelle as an Example," by Lyndi O'Laughlin, Kaycee, Wyoming
- 4th "Something I Can't Pretend to Understand" by Nicholas Trandahl, Upton, Wyoming
- 5th "Sahara Vignette" by Marsha Warren Mittman, Spearfish, South Dakota
2017 Members-Only Poetry Contest
First Place:
Carol Deering – Stopping at Louis Lake
2nd Place:
Lynn Carlson – Wyoming Ramble
3rd Place:
Robert Druchniak – Nail
Honorable Mentions:
Gail Denham – Careless Lifetime
Emory D. Jones – Spring Mourning
Lynn Carlson – Cold Snap
Susan Mark – To Grow Fat Writing Poetry
Carol Deering – Stopping at Louis Lake
2nd Place:
Lynn Carlson – Wyoming Ramble
3rd Place:
Robert Druchniak – Nail
Honorable Mentions:
Gail Denham – Careless Lifetime
Emory D. Jones – Spring Mourning
Lynn Carlson – Cold Snap
Susan Mark – To Grow Fat Writing Poetry
2017 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest winners
The 2017 WyoPoets Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest received 308 poems entered by 69 poets, so our contest judge, John Calderazzo, had much fine work to choose from. The top poems selected are:
1st Place: "Caskets" by Eileen Malone, Broadmoor Village, CA
Displays beautiful economy of phrasing and strong emotions that never pitch over into what could be sentimentality about death. Well done!
2nd Place: "Rain on Craters of the Moon" by Betsy Bernfeld, Wilson, WY
Driven by strong and original imagery that evokes the power and danger and beauty of nature.
3rd Place: "Decent/Descent" by Nick Sweet, Shepherd, TX
Uses rhyme quite naturally and effectively to tell a powerful story of friendship, memory, and almost-redemption.
4th Place: "Gone" by Myra Peak, Green River, WY
Had me from the microscopic precision of its first line. Then, through one beautifully rendered image after another, it builds to an emotionally devastating conclusion. Here's a poem that wastes NO words.
Honorable mentions
1st Place: "Caskets" by Eileen Malone, Broadmoor Village, CA
Displays beautiful economy of phrasing and strong emotions that never pitch over into what could be sentimentality about death. Well done!
2nd Place: "Rain on Craters of the Moon" by Betsy Bernfeld, Wilson, WY
Driven by strong and original imagery that evokes the power and danger and beauty of nature.
3rd Place: "Decent/Descent" by Nick Sweet, Shepherd, TX
Uses rhyme quite naturally and effectively to tell a powerful story of friendship, memory, and almost-redemption.
4th Place: "Gone" by Myra Peak, Green River, WY
Had me from the microscopic precision of its first line. Then, through one beautifully rendered image after another, it builds to an emotionally devastating conclusion. Here's a poem that wastes NO words.
Honorable mentions
- 1st: "Gravity" by Betsy Bernfeld, Wilson, WY
- 2nd: "No Rescue from Drowning" by Myra Peak, Green River, WY
- 3rd: "Sexed on a Kona Balcony" by Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, CA
- 4th: "Le Salles-du-Gardon" by Katharyn Howd Machan, Ithaca NY
- 5th: "When the Moose Come to Town" by Betsy Bernfeld, Wilson, WY
2016 EUGENE V. SHEA NATIONAL POETRY CONTEST WINNERS
- 1st Place: "10 Years After Katrina" by Mary Jo Maguire, Englewood, CO
- 2nd Place: "George Faulkner, Dying at Daysboro" by Sandra Lake Lassen, West Jefferson, NC
- 3rd Place: "Breaking Point" by Barb Blanks, Garland, TX
- 4th Place: "Enjambment" by Marian Kaplun Shapiro, Lexington, MA
Honorable Mentions
Honorable mentions are in no particular order
- "Inheritance" by Marian Kaplun Shapiro, Lexington, MA
- "John Walters" by Jerri Hardesty, Brierfield, AL
- "King of Barnhill" by Barbara Brannon, Lubbuck, TX
- "How to Lose Your Mind" by Cathy Moran, Little Rock, AR
- "A Rumor of Coyotes" by Christina Kamnikar, Cheyenne, WY
2015 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest Winners
2015 Members-only contest winners
