2013 Adult Contests and Awards

The following information is for the 2013 NCPS Contests, which will have a due date of January 12, 2013!
All judges will be distinguished poets residing outside North Carolina.
All winning poems will be published in the NCPS poetry contest anthology Pinesong.
Winning poets will be invited to read their winning poems at Awards Day on May 11, 2013.
Please note new line limits to include the poem’s title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text.

Poet Laureate Award

• Description:   A single prize of $100 for a serious poem, any subject, any style, maximum of 110 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• Eligibility:   Open to poets currently residing in North Carolina.
• Entry Fee:   $5 for current NCPS members, $10 for non-members.
• The winning poem will be selected by the NC Poet Laureate.
• Contest Rules:   See the “Contest Rules” section below for details.

Adult Contests

Entry Guidelines:

• No fee if NCPS membership is active.
• Otherwise, the entry fee is $3 for each poem entered.
• You can send membership dues with contest entries.
• Entrants do not have to be residents of North Carolina.
• See the “Contest Rules” section below for specifics.

Contest Categories:

Thomas H. McDill Award
Sponsored by the Board of the NC Poetry Society

• Any form, any style, maximum of 70 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• First Place: $50; Second Place: $25; Third Place: $15
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Caldwell Nixon Jr. Award
Sponsored by the family of Sallie Nixon

• Poems written by adults for children 2 to 12 years of age.
• Any form, any style, maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Joanna Catherine Scott Award
Sponsored by Joanna C. Scott

• Sonnet or other traditional form (with the exception of sestinas).
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text). with exception of sestinas.
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Ruth Morris Moose Sestina Award
Sponsored by Ruth Moose

• Any poem in the sestina form.
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Mary Ruffin Poole American Heritage Award
Endowed by Pepper Worthington

• Any form, any style, on the theme of American heritage, brotherhood/sisterhood, or nature.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Katherine Kennedy McIntyre Light Verse Award
Sponsored by Diana Pinckney

• Any form, any style, including limericks.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Griffin-Farlow Haiku Award
Sponsored by Sue Farlow and Bill Griffin

• One haiku per entrant
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Poetry of Courage Award
Endowed by Ann Campanella

• Any form, any style, on the theme of courage or crisis.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Poetry of Love Award
Sponsored by Dave Manning

• Any form, any style, on the theme of love.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• First Place: $25; Second Place: $15; Third Place: $10
• Up to Three Honorable Mentions.

Contest Rules

• Submit one poem per category. The same poem may not be entered into more than one category.
• A contestant may not enter a category in which he or she won first place last year.
• Each entry must be original, unpublished, and not currently submitted for publication or to another contest.

Submissions are by Mail only!

• For each poem submitted, send two legible copies printed on one side only of 8½-by-11 paper.
• On both copies type the name of the category in the upper left corner. On the duplicate copy only, type the author’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (if applicable) in the upper right corner; nonmembers add “nonmember”.
• Winning poems will be published in the NCPS anthology Pinesong.
• Entries must be postmarked by January 12, 2013. Mail entries to:
  Florence Nash
  PO Box 2739
  Durham, NC 27715
• All checks should be written payable to NCPS.
• Entries should be sent in one package with one check for the correct amount. Winners who provide an email address will be notified by email.
• Winners should be prepared to send an electronic copy of poems on request.
• Mail delays are not the responsibility of the NCPS. Entries arriving more than 7 calendar days after the deadline will not be considered and checks will be returned.
• You may send in your membership dues with your submission by mail, however please direct all membership questions to Malaika King Albrecht (pomegranite8@hotmail.com)

While you can send your membership dues in with your contest entry, all NCPS membership questions should be sent to:
Malaika King Albrecht
pomegranite8@hotmail.com

Contest Policies

The North Carolina Poetry Society retains first publication rights for winning poems published in Pinesong, after which publication rights will return to the authors.

A judge can reserve the right not to give awards.

NCPS reserves the right to cancel a contest due to lack of or low number of submissions.