Poetry Prize
Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize
Closed on November 8, 2024. We are reading!
$500 grand prize gift card, $140 second place gift card, $100 third place gift card.
Contest Guidelines
By submitting to the Contest, the entrant agrees to abide by all Contest rules.
All entries must be original works by the entrant, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters, or another person’s universe, without written permission, will result in disqualification. We expect that all writers understand plagiarism and provide said written permission upon submission.
To submit to this contest, writers
- Must be over the age of 18.
- Have a United States Postal Address (USPS). This can be a family or friend's address.
- Have the ability to accept and use the reward, which is a gift card, usually a Visa gift card purchased from Kroger. This will be mailed to the USPS address that you provide.
- Use the Submittable link below to submit to this contest. We can not accept submissions by email or by snail mail. If writers do not have an account with Submittable, it is free to set up but an account is required.
- Electronically submit no more than three (3) original, unpublished poems in any style, length or genre but in English. These poems must be typed and submitted as a Word file. PDFS will be disqualified.
- Pay $10 U.S. dollars by using the Submittable button at the bottom of the page by the deadline of November 8, 2024. Paypal can be used. There are no exceptions to the fee. We have other contests that are free.
- Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but poems printed elsewhere in the U.S. will not be included in contest. We want first North American Serial Rights. Writers will need to withdraw their entire submission packet on Submittable. Money will not be refunded.
- Writers should provide a cover page/cover letter that includes name, address, email, and a 30-40 word biography with the poems in one Word document. Bios over 40 words will be edited.
Edits/Changes
The most common edit that THRP makes for poets is shortening the bio.
We can not accept changes to the poem or bio once it is submitted. If you would like to make changes, please withdraw your first submission and submit a new one but be advised that we may have reached our cap and that another fee will be required. All resubmissions must follow the same guidelines.
Reward/Prize
- We will announce the 3 winners, around 2 honorable mentions, and finalists no later than the end of March. There's about 20 total.
- It takes up to 90 days to process the prizes, which are gift cards. These will arrive by USPS to the address provided.
- Each finalists (about 20) will receive a free copy of the Spring 2024 issue of The Heartland Review wherein winners and finalists will be published. This is mailed via USPS to the address provided in Submittable. Writers are responsible for updating their address in Submittable.
- Writers can purchase more copies through Amazon.
- THRP retains first North American serial rights and may use the submitted material to promote The Heartland Review and website in perpetuity. Upon publication, rights return to the owner. We asked to be credited in the future.
- THRP is not an independent press. We are subject to the governance of our college, Elizabethtown Community & Technical College, which in turn is part of a larger entity, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. As such, we are not able to enter into a legally binding agreement with our writers, but we've been doing this contest for over 20 years. Although we have hiccups from time to time, our volunteer staff is dedicated and tries to make your experience publishing with us a pleasant one.
$500 grand prize gift card, $140 second place gift card, $100 third place gift card.
Meet the Judge: Libby Falk Jones
Libby Falk Jones is a life-long writer of poems, stories, and essays. She’s authored or co-authored four books of poems, and her poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in more than 25 journals and anthologies. She’s a member of Bluegrass Writers Studio (Eastern Kentucky University) and a past president of Kentucky State Poetry Society. Currently, she co-directs Coming of Age, a grant-funded writing project for Kentucky women over 60 and serves as a writing coach at Western Kentucky University’s Mountain Workshops (photojournalism) and as Writer Workshops Coordinator for Shadelandhouse Modern Press. She holds degrees from Duke University (BA, history) and Stony Brook University (MA and PhD, English). An Emerita Professor of English at Berea College, she’s taught a wide range of courses in writing and literature, including creative writing, contemplative writing, experimental writing, nature writing, journalism and technical writing, and critical and research writing. She’s taken students to study writing, literature, and photography in the Southwest and abroad (Austria, Denmark, France, and Turkey) as well as serving a term as Visiting Lecturer at National University of Ireland in Galway.
The winners from the previous year are:
First Place, Victoria Melekian, “First They Send You to Limbo”, https://victoriamelekian.com/
Second Place, Marina Kraiskaya, “Migration through Borrego Springs”
Third Place, Cate Honzl, “No Matter”
Honorable Mention, Dalton Sikes, “Portrait of Barcelona’s Beauty”
Honorable Mention, Serghei Reazantev, “Old McDonald’s Farm
Other Finalists
Rachel Beard, Sophia” & “Virginia”
Aloma Davis, “Meniscus”
George Drew, “SELF-PORTRAIT AS A BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN”
Mel Finefrock, “Post Retrograde”, https://linktr.ee/MelFinefrock
Lance Levens, “Cy’s Battle”
Victoria Melekian, “Not Yet, My Grandchildren Aren’t Ready”
Miciah Pendarvis, “Two Truths and a Lie”
Linda Neal Reising, “What You Missed While You Were in Grandma’s Living Room with All the Other Women”
Barbara Schweitzer, “There are no memories, only stories, ha!”
The above individuals were notified March 27-31st through Submittable.
History
Joy Bale Boone (1912-2002) was an American poet best known for her devotion to the arts. Born in Chicago, where she received inspiration from poet Harriet Monroe, Boone spent most of her life in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. She was active in the women's liberation movement, having formed the League of Women Voters in Hardin County, KY in 1944. Throughout her life, she served on numerous committees and boards in hopes that more people would have the opportunity to experience the arts in the way that she had. Her most significant work was The Storm's Eye: A Narrative in Verse Celebrating Cassius Marcellus Clay, Man of Freedom 1810–1903. She served as Kentucky's Poet Laureate from 1997-1998.
From Joy
ZEN
Happiness is yet the essence of a moment--
be still for this!
Resist kaleidoscopes,
the mad twirling of colors,
and the hunter's horn.
Fleet is the moment
its essence shy
can wait forever . . .
only we die.
Thank you for supporting The Heartland Review and remembering Joy!
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