The Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA) is sponsoring its Second Annual Poetry Contest. They’re open to submissions from members and non-members alike, from now until 24 August, and offering cash prizes (see below).
This year’s chosen form is the sonnet: fourteen lines, iambic pentameter, rhyme scheme—everything we learned in high school English class. And “as a note, sonnets are often written to make some point or to depict some epiphany, with the shifts and volta allowing various aspects of an argument to be shown.”
Thematically, they’re “looking for speculative poetry, including science fiction (hard or soft), fantasy, and horror (but this must involve some aspect of sf or the fantastic—simply describing how you pushed your neighbor into a wood chipper won’t fly). We are also open to surrealism as well as any treatment of science or math or astronomy.”
First prize will include $80, publication on the SFPA’s web site, and a year’s membership in the SFPA, as well as copies of several books. Second prize is $40, publication, and some copies. And third prize is $20, publication, and copies of things.
Full details on the prizes and more information on the entry requirements are all available on www.sfpoetry.com/2007poetrycontest.html.