POETRY CONTEST, September-October


​The Poetry Contest runs every fall with a distinguished guest judge.  The winning poet receives $1,000 and publication in Sow's Ear Poetry Review.  In addition, approximately twenty finalists may be offered publication at the Editor's discretion.  Sow's Ear Poetry Review Poetry Contest is open to adults around the world. We are excited to announce Jericho Brown, director of The Creative Writing Program and associate professor of English and creative writing at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, is our 2019 Poetry Contest guest judge.

Electronic submissions, please send: 
- Up to 5 unpublished poems - without your name - in an e-mail to SEPoetryReview@gmail.com.  Each poem should be in a separate PDF document, saved as the title of the poem. In the body of your e-mail, include: the poem titles, your name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. There are no length limitations for the poems.
- An entry fee ($30 for U.S. addresses; $40, elsewhere), which entitles you to a one-year subscription. Pay on PayPal via the link below or by check (made to "The Sow's Ear Poetry Review"), mailed to the Managing Editor.

Mailed submissions, please send:
- Up to 5 unpublished poems - without your name. There are no length limitations. Each poem should start on a new page.
- A separate sheet, indicating the titles, your name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address.
- A reading fee of $30 for U.S. addresses.  You may pay on PayPal via the link below or by check (made out to "Sow's Ear Poetry Review"), mailed to the Managing Editor.  If you are elsewhere in the world, please send $40 in U.S. currency by PayPal.  The fee entitles you to a one-year subscription.
- A self-addressed, stamped envelope, if you want to be notified via postal mail. Otherwise - an e-mail address will suffice.
 
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but if your poems are accepted elsewhere, you must withdraw promptly from our competition [nota bene: the reading fee will not be returned].  Entries will not be returned.  The winning poem will be announced in January.

In September or October, send your poems and requested information to the Managing Editor: Sarah Kohrs, 1748 Cave Ridge Road, Mount Jackson VA 22842.  Entries must be postmarked by November 1.

Entry Fee Options


JUDGES FOR PAST POETRY COMPETITIONS:

2017 - Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda
​2016 - Ellen Bass
​2015 - Ron Smith
​2014 - John Brehm
2013 - T. R. Hummer
2012 - Michael Collier
2011 - Scott Cairns
2010 - X. J. Kennedy
2009 - Kelly Cherry
2008 - Eleanor Wilner
2007 - Marge Piercy
2006 - Linda Pastan
2005 - Gregory Orr
2004 - Robert Siegel
2003 - Elizabeth Spires
2002 - Vivian Shipley
2001 - Dabney Stuart
2000 - Molly Peacock
1999 - Henry Taylor
1998 - Maggie Anderson
1997 - Robert Morgan
1996 - Betsy Sholl
1995 - Rodney Jones
1994 - David Huddle
1993 - Josephine Jacobsen
1992 - Dave Smith
1991 - Amy Clampitt
1990 - Fred Chappell