www.caketrain.org/competition07.html

Each year, we bring a special guest into the selection process, a writer whose work we hold in very high regard, and this year is no exception: for 2007, we are honored and humbled to announce that Claudia Rankine will serve as our final judge. Claudia is the author of four collections of poetry: Don’t Let Me Be Lonely (Graywolf Press, 2004), Plot (Grove Press, 2001), The End of the Alphabet (Grove Press, 1998), and Nothing in Nature Is Private (Cleveland State University Press, 1994). She is coeditor, with Juliana Spahr, of American Women Poets in the 21st Century: Where Lyric Meets Language. She has taught at Barnard College, University of Georgia, and in the writing program at the University of Houston. Her accolades include an Academy of American Poets fellowship and the praises of Robert Creeley, Barbara Guest, Charles Bernstein, Lyn Hejinian, David Lehman, and many, many others.

The winner of the competition receives a $250 cash prize and 25 copies of their chapbook. The chapbook will be published in a 200-copy run on sixty-pound, acid-free text stock bound with a full-color cover. We hear we’ve put together some gorgeous books so far; to see how they’ve turned out, please check out our previous winners, Elizabeth Skurnick’s Check-In (2005) and Tom Whalen’s Dolls (2007).

Eligibility (Print and Electronic):

This competition is open to poetry* manuscripts written in the English language. While previously-published poems may be included in the manuscript, the manuscript as a whole must be an unpublished work. Translations and previously self-published works are ineligible. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable; please note, however, that reading fees are non-refundable, and notify Caketrain as soon as possible if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Manuscript revisions will not be considered during reading period. Please do not include cover artwork or photographs with your submission. Author must not have a close personal or professional relationship with Claudia Rankine or any Caketrain Journal and Press staff member; if an author is unsure whether this policy applies to him or her, Caketrain will gladly address inquiries.

Print Format:

Print entries must be postmarked no later than October 1, 2007. Please submit 20 to 35 pages of typed poetry. Include page numbers, table of contents, and, if necessary, an acknowledgments page. Submissions should include two cover pages: one with the manuscript’s title, the other with the title, author’s name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. The author’s name should not appear anywhere else in the manuscript. Please do not send original manuscripts; print manuscripts will be recycled at competition conclusion. Please submit manuscripts through the United States Postal Service. A reading fee of $20 must accompany each submission, made payable to Caketrain Journal and Press. Submissions may include an SASE for notification of competition results. If an SASE is not included, notification will be sent via e-mail. A list of winner and finalists will also be announced at www.caketrain.org. Submit print entries to Caketrain Journal and Press, Box 82588, Pittsburgh, PA 15218.

Electronic Format:

Electronic entries must be received no later than October 1, 2007. Please submit 20 to 35 pages of poetry as an e-mail attachment in either DOC, PDF, or RTF format. Include page numbers, table of contents, and, if necessary, an acknowledgments page. Submissions should include two cover pages as the first two pages of the attached document: one with the manuscript’s title, the other with the title, author’s name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. The author’s name should not appear anywhere else in the manuscript. Once the manuscript has been received, downloaded and verified as readable and functioning, a reply e-mail will be sent with a link enclosed to make payment of the $20 reading fee via Paypal. Notification of contest results will sent via e-mail, and a list of winner and finalists will be announced at www.caketrain.org. Submit electronic entries to caketrainjournal@hotmail.com.

*A Quick Note on “Poetry”: As you probably know, we’re quite comfortable with pp/ff and other hybrid-genre/form-mutants, so imagine this word as a large and welcoming umbrella with a gathering of people and animals and things underneath, milling about, mixing drinks, etc.