The Guild Complex is proud to announce the call for poetry submissions for the 17th annual Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Award (GBOMA). Curators will select 20 semi-finalists from open submissions. Those 20 poets will perform their work in front of a live audience on (UPDATED) Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 7:00PM, at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, Chicago to compete for a $500 prize!
The Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Award was founded by the noted Chicago poet almost two decades ago. Every June it showcases emerging performance poets in an exciting, audience-involved competition. Poets must be 18 years of age or older by the date of the reading, and a resident of Illinois. A submission fee of $5 is required.
See below for full submission guidelines and FAQs. (Sorry for all the gory details, but following the instructions carefully is the only way to make sure your submission gets the best consideration.) Good luck!
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Submission Guidelines
1. What to submit
•One poem (No exceptions please – if you send us more than one favorite, we won’t consider any. We hate choosing sides.)
•Must be previously unpublished
•Must be typed in legible 12-pt font
•Must include the $5 submission fee. Submissions without the submission fee will not be considered. Click the "DONATE NOW!" button on the left to pay your entrance fee through PayPal.
•Must be able to be performed by you, the evening of (UPDATED) June 23, carefully and clearly, in under 4 minutes (No exceptions please; you will be timed. If you go over, we’ll have to cut you off and you won’t be able to advance in the competition. And we hate being the bad guy.)
•Performance cannot include props, musical accompaniment, recordings, etc. – just you and the mic
•You must be 18 years old by (UPDATED) June 23th, 2010
2. Where to submit it
Mail OR email...
Mail:
Guild Complex
P.O. Box 478880
Chicago, IL 60647-9998
Attn: GBOMA
For mailed submissions: please put your full name, street address, email address, telephone number and name of poem on a separate cover sheet. None of that info should appear on the poem itself.
Email:
gboma@guildcomplex.org
For email submissions: please include your full name, street address, email address, telephone number and name of poem in the body of the email, and attach your poem as a Word document. None of that info should appear on the poem itself.
Whether sending your poem by mail or email, don’t forget to send your $5 submission fee via the “DONATE NOW!” button at guildcomplex.org.
Please DO NOT send any materials directly to The Chopin Theatre. The Chopin is only our home for that night. Any poems delivered there will not be considered.
3. When to submit
No later than Thursday, May 27, 2010, either postmarked no later than that date (for mailed submissions) OR in our email inbox no later than 5:00pm on that date (for email submissions). Submissions may not be made in person.
And that’s it! We’ll send you an acknowledgement email to let you know your submission arrived and has met the guidelines. Then we’ll notify semi-finalists by Wednesday, June 9, 2010 and the evening of performances will be (UPDATED) Wednesday June 23rd.
Again those key dates are:
• Thursday, May 27: last chance to postmark or email your poem
• Wednesday, June 9: Notification of semi-finalists.
• (UPDATED Wednesday, June 23: Competition at Chopin Theatre 1534 W. Division (intersection of Division, Ashland and Milwaukee), Chicago, IL, 7:00 p.m.
