Humor and Genre Fiction plus Comic Verse Welcome

Both The Tom Howard Short Story, Essay & Prose Contest and The Margaret Reid Poetry Prize for Traditional Verse are now open for entries. For this coming year, the prize pool for each of these contests has been increased to $5,350 (including a First Prize of $2,000), yet entry fees remain pegged at $7 for every 25 lines for the Poetry Contest, and $15 for each short story or essay up to 5,000 words in length.

You'll find full details at respectively http://poetrycontests.exactpages.com and http://shortstorycontest.0catch.com Alternative sites are http://www.geocities.com/rastar330 (for poetry) and http://www.geocities.com/rastar330/prose.htm  

Unlike many other literary contests, the Tom Howard Short Story, Essay & Prose Contest will accept genre fiction, for example, detective and mystery stories, science fiction and fantasy, romance and humor. In fact, the rules state specifically that the judges will endeavor to award at least one major prize to a humorous entry, whether it be a humorous short story, a humorous essay, a humorous article, or even a humorous interview.

So far, the number of humorous entries received can be counted on the fingers of one hand. So I repeat again, don't take any notice of what goes and what doesn't go in other contests. HUMOROUS ENTRIES ARE WELCOME HERE! And the same goes for detectives, policemen, robots, assorted monsters and space travelers; plus, of course, ROMANCE.

One important category of prose entry that I accidentally omitted from my list in a previous Newsletter was the One Act Play. Plays and film scripts are definitely also eligible for this contest, provided they don't exceed 5,000 words.

The Margaret Reid Prize for Traditional Verse is likewise unrestricted as to subject matter. And once again, humor is most welcome. In fact, in my opinion, meter and rhyme are most suitable for COMIC VERSE, yet last year I think we received exactly seven entries in this category. And, as far as I can recall, we received no songs or ballads at all. Free verse, of course, is also eligible (despite what some people think, that genre has actually been around for hundreds of years, so it certainly qualifies as "traditional"). We will also accept haiku and other Asiatic variants, even though that verse form is not "traditional" in English. In short, our definition of "traditional" is very loose. Prose poems or storoems are really the only popular forms that do not qualify.  

Verse plays are certainly eligible for The Margaret Reid Prize. Unlike the prose contest, there are absolutely no restrictions on LENGTH for verse plays, or indeed for any poems at all. And for both contests, the number of entries you may submit is unlimited.

When entering any literary contest, it's always a good idea to take at a look at some of the entries that have won prizes in previous years. The latest anthology of prize-winning poetry is "Sailing in the Mist of Time". This beautifully printed, large format book actually contains 106 poems, including 50 major award winners, and usually retails for $16.50. Even the publisher is selling copies for this price. Currently, however, it is still "on special" at Amazon for only $9.95. I’m surprised this "special" has lasted this long, as neither the publisher nor your humble editor are receiving a cent from this promotion. Fortunately, I’m not doing this for a living. But I'd recommend using this link direct to Amazon and buying your copy right now. If you are one of the contributors (you'll find a link to the list of authors at http://poetrycontests.exactpages.com ), here's a book that will make an ideal seasonal present for friends, admirers and relations.

Only $9.95 at Amazon: SAILING IN THE MIST OF TIME: Fifty Award-Winning Poems

Our latest prose anthology is "Watching Time". I notice that one bookseller has priced this at $72 and another at $89, even though this same book can still be purchased brand new from Amazon for just $12.95 at this link: WATCHING TIME: Anthology of Prizewinning Essays & Short Stories

All my very best to you all!

John