16th Annual Juried Reading and Awards

Mark Nowak
Final Judge
A poet and labor activist heralded by Adrienne Rich for "regenerating the rich tradition of working-class literature," Mark Nowak regularly leads transnational poetry workshops between American and international trade unions. He is the author of Revenants and Shut Up Shut Down, a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and finalist for the Academy of American Poets' James Laughlin Award. A native of Buffalo, New York, he is now the Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House at Washington College in Maryland.

Postmark deadline: January 30, 2010

First prize: $1,500; Second prize: $500; third prize, $250; five finalists receive $50

The Poetry Center invites regional poets to submit their unpublished work for consideration in the 16th Annual Juried Reading. Eight finalists will have their poetry published in an e-book by Plastique Press as well as on the Poetry Center website, and all eight poets will be invited to read at an award ceremony in the spring.

The Juried Reading is open to all poets residing in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Poets may be unpublished or have published no more than one full-length book of poetry. All submissions are blind; the jury and the judge will have no access to identifying information about the submitting poets.

To submit, mail:

1. A cover sheet including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address and titles of poems submitted.

2. Four copies of a packet, independently stapled, of no more than five single-sided, typed pages of unpublished poetry. There is no restriction on the number of poems per page, but the packet should not exceed five pages. Your name should not appear on any of the pages containing poems.

3. $15 jury fee, check or money order made payable to "The Poetry Center." The contest is free for Poetry Center members. Poems will be accepted by US mail only.

Send poems to: 16th Annual Juried Reading, The Poetry Center of Chicago, 37 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603.

E-mail and fax submissions will not be accepted. No phone calls please.