MARK FISCHER POETRY PRIZE CALLS FOR ENTRIES

27 Feb MARK FISCHER POETRY PRIZE CALLS FOR ENTRIES

Telluride Arts in Telluride, Colorado, invites submissions to the 14th annual Mark Fischer Poetry Prize to be be judged by Kierstin Bridger.

The prize is named in the memory of Telluride’s much-loved poet, lawyer, skier, and raconteur. Mark Fischer was a daring experimenter who combined a polyglot’s command of languages with a quirky sense of humor and a passion for obtuse words. In that spirit, prizes will be awarded to the entry that best exhibits the qualities of originality, novelty, complex meaning, linguistic skill and wit. The wilder the better. All styles and content matter are acceptable. Awards of $200 first prize, $ 150 second prize, and $100 third prize, and $50 honorable mention are presented at a celebratory reading in Telluride in May. We hope to offer donated accommodations to those coming in from out of town.

Eligibility:
·         Poets residing in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah or Arizona for at least seven months prior to the deadline.
·         Previously published work is acceptable as long as the writer retains the copyright.
Submission Guidelines:
Submission to the contest grants one-time use rights of publication to Telluride Arts on our website, in local papers and in any future anthology of work. Copyright is retained by the author.
·     A cover letter that includes–
o   Name
o   Contact information: phone number, email and mailing address
o   Short (one paragraph or less) bio
o   The title of each work
·         Please submit each poem on 8.5 x 11 page(s) in 12 point font.
·         Please do not include your name on your poem pages.
·         Please include $5 per poem entered. Multiple entries are welcome and encouraged
o   Please make checks payable to Telluride Arts or call Telluride Arts to make a credit card payment over the phone.
·         Email submission is preferred but not required.
o   Submissions By Snail Mail: Send completed submission packet to: Telluride Arts PO Box 152 , Telluride, CO 81435
o   Submissions by Email: Please note Poetry Contest in the subject line and email your complete submission packet to info@telluridearts.org. We will notify you upon receipt. If you do not receive a notification from us we did not receive your application. Please contact us.

Completed entries must be received by Telluride Arts by 5pm on Friday April 6, 2012.

For more information, contact Sasha at Telluride Arts 970.728.3930 or sasha@telluridearts.org

About our 2012 Judge:

Kiersten  Bridger – Kierstin is the 2011 winner of the Mark Fischer Poetry Prize.  Her most recent poetry was a finalist for The Year In Review at Broadsided Press and can also be found in the upcoming issue of Mountain Gazette. Thrush Poetry Journal will be publishing her poem “Boundary Breach” in the May 2012 issue.

Her flash fiction can be found online at the Best of 2011 Nail Polish Stories, a “Tiny and Colorful Literary Journal” and Smith Books: 6 Words about Work. Her short stories and one act play appear in such publications as Stripped: A Collection of Anonymous Flash Fiction from PS Books, a division of Philadelphia Stories, Porter Gulch Review, and Bricolage.

She has performed her work on stages around Colorado, in Philadelphia and Seattle.  She is currently at work on a book of poems entitled “Lonely Marrow Highway.”

Kierstin divides her time between Telluride and Ridgway Colorado with her high school sweetheart and their daughter. She writes, blogs, designs, and rolls her eyes at the new puppy in her house.