Annual Slapering Hol Press Chapbook Competition
This contest is open to all writers (who are not current students at HVWC) who have not yet published a collection of poems in book or chapbook form. You may not have self-published a book or chapbook at any point in the past and still submit to this contest. Individual poems can be previously published, but poems should not have been published as a group in any form, including self-published collections. Please find the guidelines below:
Enter via Submittable
Deadline:June 15th, 2023
Guidelines
If you are not able to create a Submittable account, you can mail your submission to:
Editors, Slapering Hol Press Chapbook Contest
Hudson Valley Writers Center
300 Riverside Drive
Sleepy Hollow, New York 10591
Manuscripts can either be a collection of poems or one long poem and should be a minimum of sixteen and a maximum of twenty pages (not including title page, table of contents, or cover sheet). All poems should be single spaced and printed in twelve point type. No more than one poem should appear on a page.
For those who submit using on-line Submittable, the author’s name should appear nowhere in the file or in the file name, which should be the title of the manuscript. Your Submittable profile will include your name, address, phone number, email, and in place of the cover letter, an acknowledgments page, which must include the manuscript title. The acknowledgments page should not be included in the manuscript itself.
Please name your file as the manuscript title. If your title is long, please use the first four words of the file name, or however many words fit on the allotted line.
For those submitting hard copies, please include two title pages, one with contact information, including title, author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address. The second title page should be the title alone without contact information.
Manuscripts may be under consideration elsewhere, but please inform SHP immediately if a collection is accepted for publication. Entry fees will not be refunded for manuscript withdrawal.
Poems should be largely in English, though poets can, of course, incorporate phrases from other languages. The press co-editors will consult with the competition winner about the cover, but will make the final decision about cover design.
Each manuscript should be accompanied by a $15 reading fee. Please make checks payable to the Hudson Valley Writers Center.
IF YOU ARE A BIPOC (Black Indigenous Person of Color) you may submit your chapbook for free (hardcopy) or for $2 on Submittable.
The reading period for the competition begins on February 15. Entries must be postmarked by June 15th. Submissions will only be considered if received between those dates.
The winner receives a $500 cash award, publication, ten copies, a reading at the Hudson Valley Writers Center, plus travel expenses up to $500 if needed and if reading is in person. Winning poets are also offered editorial and marketing advice.
SHP editors use an anonymous judging system and subscribe to the CLMP contest code of ethics.
FAQs
If I have published a book in another genre, may I apply?
Yes.
Should I include acknowledgements?
Many people do not follow the guidelines properly when submitting a chapbook manuscript. The acknowledgements section of the cover letter should include a list of publications where individual poems have been published online, in journals, or in anthologies. It should NOT include dedications or private messages of appreciation. Most importantly, the acknowledgements MUST NOT be included in the manuscript, only in the cover letter on Submittable. It is crucial that you follow this requirement in order for us to follow the CLMP code of ethics for anonymous judging.
If I publish a chapbook, can I publish the same poems in a full-length collection?
Under most current guidelines, it is possible to publish the same poems in a chapbook and in a full-length collection.
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