CRWROPPS Post: 2022 Mary Blinn Poetry Prize

Now Accepting Submissions

Deadline February 28, 2022 Mary Blinn Poetry Prize 2022 Judge, Billy Lombardo After Hours launched the inaugural Mary Blinn Annual Poetry Prize in 2019.  Commemorating the outstanding work of Mary Blinn as a poet, visual artist and musician, the prize is awarded annually for outstanding works of poetry by writers who, like Mary Blinn, are deeply dedicated and passionate about their art and the crafting of fine poetry. One $200 Winner and three $50 Finalists will be selected in an anonymous review by After Hours editors with the final winning decisions made entirely at the discretion of our 2022 judge Billy Lombardo.  Winning entries are published annually in the Summer Issue of After Hours. Unlike our standard submission guidelines which require contributors to have a connection to metro Chicago, the Mary Blinn Poetry Prize is open to all poets writing in English.  We do hope you will enter the Mary Blinn Poetry Prize competition and/or recommend us to your favorite poets. There's nothing more exciting, as an editor, than clicking on the next poem, which might be the winner. Deadline for entries is February 28, 2022 Guidelines Outlined Below and on our website: Contest Information and Guidelines About Mary Blinn Mary wrote poetry throughout her life, but took up the craft in earnest in the 1990s, winning a prize with one of her earliest efforts, "His Treasure" in 1993.  More than a poet, however, Mary was also a singer/songwriter and visual artist.  Her CD of children's songs, "A Handful of Sunshine," which she wrote and performed, earned a Grammy nomination in 2002.  When she was suddenly faced with a devastating illness, her reaction was to start a project to make a multimedia book about her hospitalization -- something to help other people who might share the same situation.  Taking a bad experience and turning it into something creative to help other people is quintessential Mary.  Unfortunately she wasn't able to complete that project; but in recognition of her talent and many other contributions to the poetry community, After Hours has published her selected poems entitled when word and image run away. About our 2022 Judge, Billy Lombardo Billy Lombardo is an award-winning poet, teacher, essayist, and fiction writer.  His three books of fiction include: The Logic of a Rose: Chicago Stories, The Man with Two Arms, and Meanwhile, Roxy Mourns. His novel, How to Hold a Woman was re-issued by Tortoise Books as morning will come in January 2021. Billy's most recent work has been published in Hypertext Magazine, Ireland's HCE Review, The Tishman Review, Tikkun Magazine, The Chicago Reader, The Chicago Tribune, and Triquarterly. He was the 2011 Nelson Algren Award winner for Fiction. A dynamic speaker and performer, Billy has presented and performed at more than 300 high schools, universities, and literary events since 1989. Billy lives in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood with his partner, Amy Danzer, and their dog, Valentino. After Hours has published two-issues per year consistently since June of 2000.  We are wholly independent without any outside source of funding.  We value our independence and want to continue without influence or oversight.  As is common with many literary journals who sponsor prizes and competitions, we will require an entry fee for this competition.  Your $15 entry fee will primarily fund our prizes but will also help to support the cost of publishing, postage and the overall long-term future of After Hours.  Poetry Contest Guidelines 1) $15 entry fee.  Payment made through PayPal must be confirmed before submissions will be considered.  Payment link.  You can use a credit card or your PayPal account. 2) One $200 Winner and three $50 Finalists will be selected in an anonymous review by After Hours editors with the final winning decisions made by our 2022 Judge, Billy Lombardo. 3) Submissions will be accepted between November 5, 2021 and  February 28, 2022.  Winners will be announced on April 15, 2022, and published in After Hours 2022 Summer Issue (released at the Chicago Printers Row Lit Fest, 2022). 4) All entries must be submitted via email to: poetryprize@afterhourspress.com.  Your last name followed by "Mary Blinn Prize" should be the subject of the email. Cover letter and poems should be combined in one file and emailed as a single attachment(.doc /.docx file types preferred). Your cover letter with contact information,75 word bio, and the names of the poems submitted is required.  5) Open to writers, worldwide; poems must be written in English (translations accepted if translated by the author).  After Hours' Summer Issue must be a potential first publication for all works submitted. No previously published works, or works accepted for publication elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but we must be notified immediately if any poems are accepted elsewhere.  6) No identifying personal or contact information should appear on any pages with poems.  7) A cover letter with contact information,75 word bio, and the names of the poems submitted is required. 8) Entry fees are non-refundable. Send up to four poems per entry. There is no line-limit. Poems may be any length, any style, or any subject. Multiple entries by a single poet are accepted, however each group of four poems must be treated as a separate entry, each with its own cover sheet and an additional $15 fee. AH Editors at the Printers Row Lit Fest: Albert DeGenova and Pat Hertel Contact: editor@afterhourspress.com Copyright © 2020 After Hours Press, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: After Hours Press 2417 N. 75th Avenue Unit F Elmwood Park, IL  60707