The Ponderosa Prize for Poetry

South Broadway Press has an open contest for full-length poetry manuscripts by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Poets.

THE WINNER OF THE PONDEROSA PRIZE WILL RECEIVE:

• Book publication and a $500 prize
• Fifteen author copies
• Additional books available for purchase at $2 over the cost of production and shipping
• $6 royalty for each book sold by the press, with the exception of those books that do not profit $6 or more (less than 5% of our historic sales)
• Book featured on social media and South Broadway Press site
• A book launch event planned by the press, and a small travel stipend
• Options to enter the book into post-publication contests including the Colorado Book Award
• Guidance over cover design via a collaborative process with the press
• Book distributed at various locations throughout Colorado and at satellite events both locally and nationally
• Six manuscripts will be deemed finalists of this contest, though only one poet will be chosen as the recipient of the Ponderosa Prize

MEET THE JUDGE: AHJA FOX

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Submissions are open until April 17th @ 11:59p Mountain Time.

Please send a twenty page sample of your manuscript. Title pages, tables of contents, etc. will not count towards the total of twenty pages. Authors must be ready to submit a full manuscript of at least sixty pages and no more than one hundred and twenty pages, should they be selected as a finalist. Simultaneous submissions are welcomed. (Simultaneous submission: submitting to multiple presses at the same time. Please only send one manuscript to us.)

Please do not include your name anywhere in your submission, as we will be reading submissions anonymously for this contest. Please do not send a bio, as we want to consider your poetry for the quality of its content, not professional accolades.

There is no fee associated with submitting to this prize.

Please send manuscripts attached as a .doc or Google Doc to submissions@southbroadwaypress.org. Please submit only one manuscript. Manuscripts written by multiple authors will not be considered for this contest.

Please put “Ponderosa Submission – <Your Name>” in the subject line of your email.

SELECTION PROCESS:

Manuscripts are submitted anonymously to the reading and judging panel.

In the initial review of manuscripts, at least two South Broadway Press editors will review submissions at each stage of the process.

The South Broadway Press editorial team will ultimately select the six finalist manuscripts.

Full manuscripts will be requested from the six finalists, which will then be reviewed by Guest Editor Ahja Fox, who will choose the winner of the Ponderosa Prize.

ETHICS STATEMENT:

We endorse and agree to comply with the following statement released by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses:

CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to:

conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
provide clear and specific contest guidelines – defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 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 our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

ABOUT SOUTH BROADWAY PRESS:

South Broadway Press is a publisher of poetry through books, print journals, and on our online journal.

Our mission is to provide a platform through poetry, writing, and the arts for ideas that offer alternatives to the harmful systems and ideologies that we historically have and continue to live among. We are interested in work that points us towards symbiosis with not just other humans, but with all beings in this moment, all beings past, and those future beings that will be impacted by the choices we collectively make today. We focus our attention on love as a guiding force. Not a love that only reactively supports those who have been afflicted by oppression, but a love that is willing to disrupt, disobey, and proactively prevent and redirect the potential forthcoming affliction around us. A love that is resolute in its boundaries for itself and others. A love that takes the form of dissent, resistance, and in the words of John Lewis, a love that is willing to “get into good trouble”.

We are not a horror journal. Our former journal name, South Broadway Ghost Society, has, at times, given folks this impression.

With any questions or inquiries, please email submissions@southbroadwaypress.org.