First, the bad news: The end is nigh! Apocalypses may fail to materialize, but the end of our regular reading period has arrived with a vengeance. Any manuscript postmarked after today will be burned, eaten, excreted, and then burned again by the four horsemen of late-submission annihilation. Maybe they are actually deadline-driven copy editors on rented scooters, but no matter—get thee to a post office quickly! We look forward to reading your in-the-nick-of-time poems and stories.
Now for the good news: The Robert and Adele Schiff Prizes in Poetry and Prose are officially open for submissions tomorrow! We promise to keep our more destructive staff members away from your contest manuscripts, but if you don’t send us an entry, the four fearsome scooter-persons may may well arrive to putter around on your lawn while ominously sharpening blue pencils. You’ve been warned.
Here’s all the official Schiff Prize information:
One winning poem and prose piece (fiction or creative nonfiction) will be chosen for publication in our 2012 prize issue, and winning authors will receive $300 each. All entries will be considered for publication in The Cincinnati Review.
RULES
Writers may submit up to 8 pages of poetry or 40 pages of prose, per entry. Previously published manuscripts, including works that have appeared online (in any form), will not be considered. There are no restrictions as to form, style, or content; all entries will be considered for publication. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable under the condition that you notify us if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
TO ENTER
Entry fee is your choice of either: $15 contest only or $25, which includes a one-year subscription to The Cincinnati Review. All entries will receive equal consideration. Checks should be made payable to University of Cincinnati.
SUBMISSION PERIOD
Submissions will be accepted by mail in June and July (postmarked). Entries must include a cover letter with the writer’s name, mailing address, telephone number, email, and the title(s) of the work(s) submitted. Please do not include the writer’s contact info on the manuscript, as submissions will be judged blindly.
MAIL ENTRIES TO
Schiff [Poetry or Prose] Prize
The Cincinnati Review
P.O. Box 210069
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0069
Winners will be notified October 1, and an announcement will appear on our website and in the Winter 2012 issue.
As at least 227 of you have already figured out, we’re open for business—the business of reading, that is. Send us your love letters, your manifestos, your toenail-clipping guides, all those narratives and nonce sonnets yearning for life on the published page. We’re ready to receive your words.