It turns out there are really a lot of parameters to consider in planning a contest: I think I have a handle on all the major ones, but if you have questions, please ask ’em. And feel free to spread the word!
Contest information:
Theme: Since about every third poem I write has something to do with the Moon, I wanted to use a Lunar theme that would be amenable to a wide variety of approaches. Therefore: each poem entered must be inspired by the name of one (or more) of the Lunar maria. There’s a full list here.
Submitting: Email all entries to dichroic at riseagain dot net. The two winning poems will be “published” in the spec_poetry community on LiveJournal. By submitting, you grant me the right to post them there, once. You retain all subsequent publication rights (for those who do not win, you retain *all* rights).
Deadline: poems are due by September 1. I will choose and announce the winner by mid-September.
Prizes: First place: one annual membership to the Science Fiction Poetry Association (which actually supports all forms of speculative poetry, not only science fiction). Second price: one copy of the 2009 Rhysling anthology, donated by Sam Henderson (SFPA treasurer).
What’s eligible: All subgenres of speculative poetry will be welcome – science fiction, fantasy, mythic, horror, scifiaku… whatever. Villanelle, tanka, freeform, minimalist … also whatever. Poems previously published in any journal are *not* eligible – I’m not about to go checking, so this is on the honor system. Poems published in your own blog are fine. In my own defense, I am limiting submissions to “short” poems by the Rhysling award definition: under 50 lines.
Who’s eligible: Anyone who is not a current member of SFPA.