Open to all Washington State Poets

Submission Period: February 15 – May 15, 2010

NO READING FEE

Judge's Prize: $200 and publication of the winning manuscript; public reading and workshop to be held in Tacoma in November 2010.

Open to Washington State poets who have not yet published a full-length collection of poetry.

Tacoma Poem Prize: $100 for the best poem about Tacoma, Washington

Judged by Kathleen Flenniken, author of Famous, the winner of the Prairie Schooner Prize in Poetry, and co-editor and president of Floating Bridge Press.

Guidelines for the First Book Contest:

Manuscript Requirements:

Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript between 50-100 pages, as an email attachment to firstbookcontest@exquisitedisarray.org. The email attachment should be in MS Word or a compatible word processing program. Please do not send PDF files, multiple attachments, or images of any kind. The poet’s name and manuscript title should appear in a short cover email that also includes poet’s address and telephone number, but only the manuscript title should appear in the attached file. Individual poems may have been previously published in journals, as long as the poet holds the current rights; please indicate any prior journal publication in the cover email. The cover note should also include the title(s) of any poem(s) to be considered for the Tacoma poem contest.  Manuscripts should be single spaced. Only electronic submissions will be considered; please do not send paper manuscripts. Manuscripts that do not follow the above guidelines will not receive consideration. No reading fee is required. We will confirm receipt of manuscripts within 30 days; please do not contact us before then.

Note about the Tacoma Poem Contest:

By “Tacoma poem” we mean a poem that embodies the spirit of the city of Tacoma or that addresses issues of particular interests to Tacomans.  The poem needn’t mention Tacoma by name.  If you are interest in examples of the kind of work that constitutes a “Tacoma poem,” we encourage you to read the poems in our anthology In Tahoma’s Shadow.  Only poems contained in manuscripts for the first book contest will be considered for the Tacoma poem contest.  We ask that you identify the poem(s) you want to be considered for the Tacoma poem contest in your cover note.

Contest Procedures and Ethical Considerations:

All manuscripts will be read anonymously by the volunteer staff of Exquisite Disarray Publishing and the competition for first book contest will be judged Kathleen Flenniken.  The competition for winning Tacoma poem will be judged by the editors of Exquisite Disarray Publishing.  Any poet writing in English whose primary residence is Washington State and who has not previously published a full-length book is eligible.

Exquisite Disarray Publishing is a non-profit corporation registered in the State of Washington, and is an affiliated program of Shunpike, a 501(c)(3) corporation.

Agreement: The winning poet will receive $200 cash award and 20 copies of the published volume; the winning poet may purchase additional copies at the publisher's discount of 40%.  Exquisite Disarray Publishing will also provide free copies to appropriate reviewers in consultation with the winning poet.  Proceeds from sales of the winning volume sold through bookstores and/or online by Exquisite Disarray Publishing will go to support next year’s first book contest.  No members of Exquisite Disarray’s board of directors receive payment for their services.  Winning poet agrees to accept $200 in lieu of royalties and as payment for the rights to publish the first edition of the winning manuscript.  Rights for any editions subsequent to the first printing revert to the poet.  Winning poet agrees to give a public reading in and offer a public poetry workshop in Tacoma, Washington during the month of November without additional compensation.

How We Judge Contests:

To be certain that each and every manuscript submitted receives the fairest and most careful consideration, all manuscripts are read and considered anonymously. When a manuscript is received, all identifying material, acknowledgment pages and bios are removed and filed for reference after judging has been completed. The manuscripts will be read by a panel of the editorial staff of Exquisite Disarray (William Kupinse, Tammy Robacker, Matthew Jones, and Deborah Renee), who will narrow the field to 10 semifinalists.  Working from this list of semifinalists, Kathleen Flenniken will select the winner.  Exquisite Disarray Publishing does not use students or interns as readers at any stage of its competitions.

Exquisite Disarray Publishing is thoroughly committed to safeguarding the integrity of our contests. You should not enter this year's contest if you have studied with, have a close personal relationship with, or have worked on your manuscript with Kathleen Flenniken.  Similarly, no member of the editorial panel may consider any manuscript where they have a personal relationship with the poet, where they have taken any part in shaping the manuscript, or where—for whatever reason—selecting a particular manuscript might be considered improper.

Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) Contest Code of Ethics:

Exquisite Disarray Publishing is committed to the highest ethical principles in evaluating the manuscripts submitted to its first book poetry contest and any future contests it administers.  To ensure compliance with these principles, we follow the model established by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), which stresses transparency of process and clarity of contest guidelines.  Thus, Exquisite Disarray Publishing agrees to

1. Conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;

2. To provide clear and specific contest guidelines-defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and

3. To make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically.

We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.