Submission deadline extended to 15th July.
Rhythm Divine Poets Poetry Chapbook Contest Guidelines 2018
1. The poetry chapbook contest is being organized by Rhythm Divine Poets, a Kolkata-based poets group co-founded by three poets (Dr. Amit Shankar Saha, Sufia Khatoon and Anindita Bose) for the promotion of poetry.
2. The length of the chapbook should be between 24-30 pages of poems.
3. The language should be English.
4. There is no theme.
5. There is no submission fee.
6. There is no restriction of nationality to enter the contest.
7. Entry is limited to one manuscript per poet. No simultaneous submission allowed.
8. Only poets who have no full-length book published in print (singly or co-authored) and not more than one chapbook published in print (singly or co-authored) are eligible for entry.
9. The manuscript should be formatted in Times New Roman with 12 size font and should have a content page.
10. The manuscript should be in MS Word document bearing the title of the chapbook and the name of the poet.
11. Manuscript should be submitted by email to rhythm.divine.asa@gmail.com with the subject line “Submission – Chapbook 2018 – (Name of the Poet)”
12. The email should have: (a) a short bio of the poet, (b) a declaration that the entire manuscript is an original work and the poet bears the copyright to it, (c) a declaration that the manuscript has not been published as a whole in any format before, (d) if individual poems have been published in any journals/ magazines/ periodicals/ anthologies (print or online) then those details should be provided separately, (e) full contact details of the poet, (f) any disclosures that may be relevant.
13. The winner will be provided 20 printed copies of the chapbook published by Hawakal Publishers, our publishing partner. More copies can be bought from Rhythm Divine Poets. Postage to be borne by foreign/ outstation poets. Rhythm Divine Poets will make the chapbook copies available at their events for prospective buyers.
14. Poets who are longlisted/ shortlisted will be provided certificates if sought.
15. The launch event of the chapbooks will be held in Kolkata.
16. The last date of submission of manuscript is 30th June, 2018.
17. This year our judging partner is Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library (IPPL) who will appoint judges for various stages (longlisting, shortlisting, finale) of the competition. Rhythm Divine Poets will be responsible for monitoring the technical aspects of judging and resolving contentious issues that may arise. Secrecy will be maintained regarding which judge is judging which part of the contest.
18. No participating poet will contact any judge regarding this matter. Each manuscript will be provided a unique number and sent to IPPL judges without any identification mark of the poet.
19. After submission of your manuscript please be sure that you receive an acknowledgement email from Rhythm Divine Poets within a week. If you do not receive it then do email us.
20. Keep checking Rhythm Divine Poets blog (http://rhythmdivinepoets.blogspot.in/) and/ or Facebook page (http://facebook.com/rhythmdivinepoets/) for periodic updates.
21. Rhythm Divine Poets will try to maintain the expected timeline of the contest subject to contingencies.
22. By entering the contest the participating poet grants Rhythm divine Poets the exclusive right to publish the submitted manuscript.
23. The decision of the organizers will be final and binding and no disputes will be entertained.
24. Any violation of the guidelines will disqualify the participating poet.
25. Rhythm Divine Poets will maintain strict ethical standards in conducting this contest and will expect the same from the participating poets.
About our judging partner:
Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library (IPPL), Kolkata draws on the model of The Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, Scotland. Conceptualized as a unique national resource centre for poetry, the Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library boasts of a pan Indian outlook and aspires to become a veritable home of creative minds—to bring people and poems together nationally and forge lasting ties with the international writing community, thus building a worldwide audience for Indian poetry, and an audience for international poetry in India. A firm believer in the power of the pen, the Society also seeks to find avenues of exchange between poetry and other forms of visual & performing arts so as to heighten the impact of the arts on contemporary life and society and make poetry and the arts the means of societal uplift and aid as well. The advisory board of IPPL includes eminent poet Prof. Shankho Ghosh (Gyanpith awardee and Sahitya Akademi winner twice), Prof. Bashabi Fraser, Mr. Amalesh Dasgupta, Mr. Goutam De, Mr. Pankaj Roy, amongst others. IPPL is governed by Prof. Sanjukta Dasgupta (academician and poet with five collections of poems) as President, Dr. Sharmila Ray (academician and poet with eight collections of poems) as Vice-President, Dr. Jaydeep Sarangi (academician and poet with six collections of poems) as Secretary, Ms. Ananya Chatterjee (techie and poet with three collections of poems) as Treasurer, Dr. Sutapa Chaudhuri (academician and poet with three collections of poems) as Assistant Secretary, and others.
Previous Winners
