Contest

Perugia Press Prize
for a First or Second Book by a Woman

Prize: $1000 and publication

Guidelines

(click here for printable version)

Manuscript Requirements

  • Send between 48 and 72 pages, on white, 8.5 x 11-inch paper, with legible typeface, pagination, and fastened with a removable clip. No more than one poem per page.
  • Include two cover pages: one with title of manuscript, name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, and one with just title of manuscript. Cover letter and bio not required.
  • Include contents and publications acknowledgments pages.

Eligibility

  • Poet must be a living US resident.
  • Poet must have no more than one previously published book of poems. Chapbooks and books in other genres do not count. If the submission is for a second book, please indicate on acknowledgments page the title of your first book.
  • Translations and previously self-published books are not eligible, nor are revisions; the winning manuscript may undergo revisions before publication.
  • Poets who have had manuscripts reviewed by Perugia Press Editor Susan Kan are not eligible to enter.

Terms

  • An entry fee of $25 must accompany each submission, made payable to Perugia Press. You may submit more than one manuscript; each is considered a separate submission and must include a separate entry fee.
  • Individual poems may have been published previously in magazines, journals, chapbooks of fewer than 48 pages, or anthologies, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
  • Simultaneous submissions permitted. Notify Perugia Press if accepted elsewhere.

Judging Process

  • To be certain that manuscripts receive the fairest consideration, all manuscripts are submitted to the judging panel anonymously.
  • Identifying material, acknowledgment pages, and bios are removed and filed for reference at the conclusion of the competition.
  • All readers are trusted and respected by Perugia Press.

Notification

  • Winner is announced via e-mail or enclose SASE. Notification will be by April 1.
  • Do not enclose SASE for return of manuscript; all manuscripts will be recycled at the conclusion of the competition. Please do not send your only copy.

Deadline

  • Entry must be postmarked between August 1 and November 15.
  • Early submissions strongly encouraged.

Mail Manuscript and Entry Fee to: (No FedEx or UPS)

Perugia Press Prize, P.O. Box 60364, Florence, MA 01062

Ethics Statement

We endorse and agree to comply with the following statement released by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses:

CLMP's community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to:
1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
2) provide clear and specific contest guidelines - defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and
3) make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public.
This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.