Rules for the York Literature Festival / York Mix Poetry Competition 2017

Here are the rules for the 2017 York Literature Festival / York Mix Poetry Competition

1. Poems must be in English, and may be on any subject.
2. Poems must be original work and not previously published in a collection or anthology, newspaper or poetry magazine. Work that has been posted in a closed poetry group online, or a personal blog online are eligible. Poems that have been broadcast on radio or podcasted online are not allowed.
3. Poems must not be longer than 40 lines of text, and must fit on a single A4 page. Poems must show the title and poem only. The poet’s name must not appear on the work. Poems may not be amended or edited after submission

4. Poems must be submitted via the official form on the entry page. Attachments are must be in one of the following formats in Word (.doc or .docx), text, Pages or PDF.
5. Poets may enter as many poems as they wish. The minimum entry fee is £5 for a single poem. For an entry fee of £10, poets may submit two or three poems. You can enter up to ten poems on one entry form. There is no limit to the number of entries that can be made. [e.g. Four poems would be £15, that’s £10 (for three of the poems, and £5 for the fourth poem); thus, ten poems would be three sets of three poems (£30), plus another £5 for the tenth poem: making £35 in total. To enter more than ten poems, you would need to do so in two separate entries. Thus, a 12-poem entry would entail three sets of three poems in one entry (£30), with the remaining three poems in a separate £10 entry. Total £40. 

6. Acknowledgement of entries: When your entry payment is complete, PayPal will assign a transaction number to the payment; this is a confirmation of your entry. Entrants will also receive a formal confirmation of entry when their poems are forwarded (anonymously) to the judge. As poems are forwarded for judging in batches, this latter acknowledgement may be sent several days after submission of poems. Late entries (made within 14 days of the closing date) might not receive acknowledgement until after the closing date.
7. No poet may win more than one cash prize.
8. Closing date: Deadline is midnight on Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
9. The competition is open to anybody aged 18 or over, and whose principal address is in the British Isles (including the Republic of Ireland and BFPO addresses). Non-UK citizens currently resident in the UK are eligible to enter (e.g. overseas students attending a UK educational establishment). Entries from outside the British Isles will not be eligible
10. Copyright in submitted poems remains with the author. Entrants agree to allow their poems to be featured fee-free on YorkMix.com, and the website of York Literature Festival. Winning and commended poems may not be published elsewhere before May 1, 2017, without the permission of York Literature Festival.
11. Prize-winning and commended poems may be used by the organisers in publicity or promotional material that is relevant to the festival or by YorkMix.com in their poetry coverage.
12. York Literature Festival Committee members, and performers listed in the Festival programme, are not eligible to enter.
13. Winners will receive payment by cheque.
14. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
15. Entrants agree to have their email address added to the York Literature Festival and YorkMix.com mailing list, but can unsubscribe at any time.
16. The judge, Antony Dunn, will read all entries; the entries will be presented to the judge anonymously.
17. A shortlist of poem titles will be published on or soon after March 7, 2017. Shortlisted authors will be contacted by email. Prizewinners and commended poets will be contacted (by email or phone) on or soon after March 14, 2017. All prize-winning or commended entrants will be invited to a prize-giving event at Friargate Theatre, York, on Sunday, March 26 (evening, time to be confirmed).
18. The organisers reserve the right to amend or update the rules.
19. Entry implies acceptance of all rules.

POSTAL ENTRIES
Postal entries are not encouraged, as they add significantly to processing time and costs.
However, at the discretion of the competition organisers, entrants who encounter significant problems with the online entry or payment procedure may email us at [email protected] for detailed instructions on postal entry. There is a minimum entry fee of £20 for cheque payments (covering up to a six-poem entry).

To pay by PayPal you do not need a PayPal account. All major credit cards are accepted.

If you have any questions or difficulties making an entry, please contact us on [email protected] with the words Poetry Competition in the Subject header.

Any queries and the organisers’ response may be posted on YorkMix if it is deemed helpful to other entrants.