Michael Marks Awards Submission Guidelines
In submitting pamphlets for consideration for the Michael Marks Awards for Poetry
Pamphlets, entrants agree to be bound by these guidelines.
For each Award the following entrant rules apply:
1. Eligibility
a) It is the responsibility of the poet/publisher to read these guidelines and ensure that
submissions are eligible. Ineligible submissions will not be considered. No
correspondence will be entered into regarding ineligible submissions and they will
not be returned. If in doubt, check eligibility with the Wordsworth Trust prior to
submission.
b) The definition of pamphlet includes pamphlets, chapbooks, small press publications,
community publications, illustrated works, art books and non-traditional book
formats. The Awards aim to stimulate printed publications, so e-books are not
eligible. Please contact the Wordsworth Trust if you are unsure of eligibility.
c) Publications must have no more than 36 pages, excluding covers but including
blank pages, title page, notes etc. Publications with more pages than this will not be
eligible. There is no lower page limit.
d) Single poems, single author collections, joint author publications, translations and
anthologies are all eligible.
e) Self-published work can be submitted.
f) There are no upper or lower limits on publication price.
g) Regularly published magazines or journals are not eligible.
h) Poems must not have been published before in pamphlet or book form. They may
have been published in magazines.
i) Posthumous work is eligible only if published within 6 months of the poet’s death
and during the period 1st January 2012 to 30th June 2013.
j) Only pamphlets published in the United Kingdom between 1st January 2012 and
30th June 2013 are eligible. The extended period is due to the Awards being moved
in the calendar to later in the year. Future Awards will have an eligibility period of no
more than twelve months.
2. Procedure
a) Titles must be submitted in printed published form. Five copies of each submission,
together with a completed submission form, must be received at the Wordsworth Trust by
4.00pm on 29th August 2013. If entering for both awards there is no need to duplicate the
number of pamphlets submitted, but a submission form must be completed for each award.
Multiple titles can be entered on one submission form.
b) The closing date is final and entries received after this will not be considered.
c) Submission forms can be downloaded here.
d) All submissions will be acknowledged by email.
e) Entry to the Michael Marks Awards is free.
f)
No entries will be returned.
3. The Judging Process
a) The shortlist and winners in both categories will be chosen by a panel of three judges.
b) The shortlist will be announced in October 2013. No correspondence will be entered into
prior to the official announcement.
c) The winner of each award will be announced at a special dinner at the
British Library on the evening of 19th November 2013.
d) The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
4. Supply
Of the five copies of each title submitted, one copy will be sent to each of the three judges. One
copy will be held by the Wordsworth Trust for administrative purposes, and one will be offered to
the Printed Literature Collections of the British Library. The permanent inclusion in the British Library
collections is at the discretion of the Lead Curator, Printed Literary Sources. No copies will be
returned.
5. Publicity
Copyright remains with the authors, but entrants grant the organisers of the Michael Marks Awards
for Poetry Pamphlets permission to use submitted poems for publicity purposes in publications in
printed and electronic form, in audio form and on their respective websites for up to one year
following the shortlisting of the Awards. Publishers and poets should be willing to participate in
publicising the Awards.
6. Further Rules for the Poetry Award
a) Where the winning work is by more than one author the award will be shared proportionally
between the authors or, in the case of posthumous entry, the author’s estate.
b) Where the winning work is a new translation the award will be shared according to the
contractual arrangements between the original author and translator.
c) The Harvard Summer School will be offered for specific dates. The award is not transferable
and no alternative will be offered. In the event of the winner not being available for the
offered dates, the residency will be offered to another shortlisted poet at the discretion of
the judges.
7. Further Rules for the Publishers’ Award
a) There is no minimum number of pamphlets that the Publisher needs to have published
during the eligible period.
b) Entrants to the Publishers’ Award should submit all pamphlets published between
January 2012 and June 2013.
c) For the Publishers’ Award publishers are asked to make a submission to the judges under
the following headings:
1. Pamphlet publishing – a brief description of the pamphlet publishing programme for
the eligible period, accompanied by a statement of the pamphlet publisher’s
publishing philosophy, aims, strategy and future plans (no more than 500 words).
2. Design and print - a brief statement of the design and print criteria employed by the
pamphlet publisher, which will be looked at by the judges in conjunction with the
submitted pamphlets published during the eligible period (no more than 300 words).
3. Promotion - a brief statement of the pamphlet publisher’s sales and promotional
strategy and activities during the eligible period, and the results achieved (no more
than 300 words).
8. Enquiries and Submissions
All enquiries and submissions should be sent to:
Andrew Forster
Literature Officer
The Wordsworth Trust
Dove Cottage
Grasmere
Cumbria
LA22 9SH
Tel 015394 35544
Email A.Forster@wordsworth.org.uk
Download submission forms at www.wordsworth.org.uk/poetrypamphlets