Building on the success of our annual Short Story Prize, The White Review is launching an inaugural Poet’s Prize, supported by Jerwood Charitable Foundation. The Poet’s Prize is designed for English-language poets who are at the crucial stage of creating their debut pamphlet or collection. The winning poet will receive a significant financial reward of £1700, expert and personalised professional and editorial advice from a leading poetry editor and two prominent UK poets, and publication of their entry in The White Review’s online and print issues.
Crucially, the White Review Poet’s Prize will accept entries of poetry portfolios (5–10 pages per portfolio), as opposed to single-poem entries.
It is also unique among UK poetry prizes in actively encouraging work which explores and expands the possibilities of the page-poetry form. The judges for the 2017 White Review Poet’s Prize are Kayo Chingonyi, Vahni Capildeo, and Donald Futers. An award ceremony will be held in London, in early December, to announce the winner.
The submission period is 6th September 2017 until 5.00pm on 1st November 2017.
Jerwood Charitable Foundation is dedicated to imaginative and responsible revenue funding of the arts, supporting artists to develop and grow at important stages in their careers. The aim of its funding is to allow artists and arts organisations to thrive; to continue to develop their skills, imagination and creativity with integrity. It works with artists across art forms, from dance and theatre to literature, music and the visual arts. For more information visit www.jerwoodcharitablefoundation.org.
Expanding the page-poetry form
In many ways, poetry is currently the form of writing that is undergoing the most radical regeneration; the success of genre-bending works like Claudia Rankine’s Citizen and Maggie Nelson’s Bluets, and in the UK Luke Kennard’s Cain and our judge Vahni Capildeo’s Measures of Expatriation, demonstrates how poetry is successfully transforming and being transformed by other forms of writing and art; be it prose memoir, academic criticism, art writing, or even graphic design. The White Review has always promoted artistic innovation and experimentation; for this inaugural Poet’s Prize, we’ll be on the lookout for entries that, in some way, expand the possibilities of the page-poetry form.
How to Enter
Please first read all the terms and conditions below. Entries cost £10. To enter, purchase a ‘Poet’s Prize Entry’ from our online store, and then email an attachment of the receipt, along with your submission as a PDF or word.doc, to poetry@thewhitereview.org, with the subject line ‘Poet’s Prize Submission’. Only entries with valid attached receipts will be considered. There are also 50 free entries available to low income writers; if you are a low income writer and would like to apply for a free entry, please read the extra terms and conditions at the bottom of this page.
Link to Poet’s Prize Entry: http://thewhitereview.bigcartel.com/product/poet-s-prize-2017
Email Submission: poetry@thewhitereview.org
Terms of Entry
1. The White Review Poet’s Prize will be open to all writers who have yet to publish a single-authored poetry collection or pamphlet, and who are residents of the United Kingdom.
2. Poets who have published, or who have existing contracts for forthcoming, single-authored poetry collections or pamphlets are not eligible to enter
3. Poets may only submit one entry each, written in English (no translations).
4. Poems submitted must not have been previously published, either online or in print.
5. Entries must be in the form of portfolios; a portfolio must contain between 5 – 10 pages of poetry. A ‘page’ contains a maximum of 42 lines (excluding the title). Each individual poem will appear on a new page. For example, a submission of 5 poems that each stood at 60 lines would total 10 pages; a submission of 10 poems that each stood at 42 lines would total 10 pages.
6. Please include, on the first separate page of your submission, a cover letter which lists the titles of the poems in your submission, the number of poems in your submission, your name, your postal address, and your email address. Please do not provide any additional information about your work or biographical history. Entries must be sent in the following formats only: .pdf, .doc, .docx.
7. There is a £10 entry fee. All proceeds go to The White Review (Charity Number: 1148690), which ‘specialises in the publication of artistically or educationally meritorious works of new or emerging artists and writers’, and will help to ensure the future viability of the Poet’s Prize.
8. Entrants must pay the entry fee of £10 in order to be eligible.
9. Entry fees and submissions must be made in the following manner: pay for an entry via The White Review’s online store; you will receive an email receipt once payment has been made; email your submission to poetry@thewhitereview.org and attach the email receipt.
10. Only submissions received and paid for by 17.00 (GMT) on 1st November 2017 will be considered.
11. Entries that are not paid for, incomplete, are corrupted or submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
12. The entry must be the entrant’s own original creation and must not infringe upon the right or copyright of any person or entity.
13. Writers who have published books of prose (fiction or nonfiction) are eligible to enter.
14. The shortlisted entries will be published online, on The White Review website.
15. The winning entry will be published in a print issue of The White Review and online, on The White Review website.
16. The winning poet will receive a cash prize of £1700.
17. The winning poet will receive creative feedback on their work and professional/career advice from the judges.
18. All shortlisted entries and the winning entry will receive feedback on their work.
19. Longlisted and shortlisted entrants will be notified by email when they have made the list.
20. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.
21. No editorial feedback will be provided to unsuccessful entrants.
22. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging process.
23. The White Review will have the exclusive right to publish the winning and shortlisted portfolios for six months from first publication in The White Review. After six months, the rights will revert to the authors, who may publish the poems elsewhere so long as they appropriately credit The White Review.
24. Only submissions which meet all Terms and Conditions will be considered.
25. By entering this competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
Free entry for low income writers
The White Review is offering free entry to the Poet’s Prize for 50 low income writers. If you are a low income writer and would like to apply for free entry, please follow the below application guidelines. We will receive applications for free entries for 2 weeks, from Wednesday September 6th 2017 until Wednesday September 20th 2017. The White Review will grant eligible applicants free entry on a first come first-served basis.
Free entry terms and conditions
Free entry for the White Review Poet’s Prize is offered to UK-based writers who are on a low income – for example receiving benefits such as Job Seeker’s Allowance, Working Tax Credits, Universal Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance or those who are earning less than the London Living Wage of £9.45 per hour.
To apply, email poetry@thewhitereview.org, with the email subject line ‘Poet’s Prize Free Entry Application’. In the body of the email, please include:
¥ Your full name
¥ Your email address
¥ Your postal address
¥ A short written statement describing how you are eligible
Applications for free entries will be open for 2 weeks, from Wednesday September 6th 2017 at 9.00am until Wednesday September 20th 2017 at 5.00pm. Eligible applicants will be granted free entry on a first-come first-served basis; all applicants will be informed whether or not their applications are successful by Wednesday September 27th 2017. Any application submitted before the opening date or after the closing date will not be read.
Only one free entry will be granted per applicant.
Applicants must wait to see if their application is successful before entering the Poet’s Prize; The White Review will not grant refunds on already paid-for entries.
All entries will be judged in the same, anonymous way. The White Review Poet’s Prize terms and conditions apply to both paid-for and free entries.
We are grateful to Spread The Word for inspiring and helping to provide the guidelines for this free entry offer to low income writers.
