First Prize £1000, 2nd Prize £250
10 commendations £25
Closing date 30th June 2012
The McLellan Poetry Prize is awarded in memory of Robert McLellan, the poet, playwright and short story writer who spent his working life in High Corrie on the Isle of Arran. The prize is administered by the Arran Theatre and Arts Trust as part of the annual McLellan Festival held on the island. The festival is dedicated to fostering the literary, visual and performing arts with a special emphasis on encouraging new work.
This year we are very pleased to welcome as our judge the Scottish poet and novelist Jackie Kay.
Born in Edinburgh of Nigerian/Scottish parentage, adopted by a white couple and brought up in Glasgow, Jackie has written extensively on divided, displaced or mixed identity.
Her poetry collections include The Adoption Papers which won the Saltire Society Scottish 1st Book of the Year Award , Other Lovers which won the Somerset Maugham Award and most recently Fiere which was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards.
In 1998, her first novel, Trumpet, based on the life of the jazz trumpeter Billy Tipton won the Guardian Fiction Prize and she has since published two volumes of short stories, Why Don't You Stop Talking followed by Wish You Were Here. Red Dust Road, the story of her search for her birth parents was published in 2010. Her latest publication is the short story collection Reality Reality, out this year. She is presently Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Newcastle. She lives in Manchester.
- Poems can be of any length.
- You may enter any number of poems.
- No alterations can be made once a poem has been submitted.
- Once entered, poems cannot be withdrawn.
- Entry fee is £5 per poem. £12 for three.
- The online entrant will recieve an email copy within 24 hours.
ELIGIBILITY
- This is an international competition, open to all.
- Entries must be in English or Scots, previously unpublished and not a previous prize-winner.
- Entries must be original work and translations are unacceptable.
- Entries may be in any style and on any subject.
- Every entry must have a title.
- Competition is not open to any committee member of Arran Theatre and Arts Trust Ltd.
THE JUDGING
- Jackie Kay is the judge and her decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
- The organisers reserve the right to change the judge should circumstances dictate.
- The organisers reserve the right not to award prizes if such action is justified.
- No competitor may win more than one prize.
COPYRIGHT
- Copyright will remain with the author but Arran Theatre & Arts Trust Ltd reserves the right to publish such winners and shortlist poets as they think fit for 2 years from September 2012.
RESULTS
- Prizes will be presented by Jackie Kay at an award ceremony on the 31st August.
- All winners will be contacted by 21st August 2012. The winning poems will appear on our website within a week of the prizes being presented and the winning poem will be sgmitted for the Forward Prize 2013. An anthology including the winners will be published in 2013.
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To enter please choose the number of poems you plan to submit from the drop down list below . Then click the button to use paypal to pay for your enties. You do not need a paypal account just a debit or credit card to pay this way. Once you have paid you will be redirected to the submission page. Any problems please email poetry@arrantat.co.uk
