I'm pretty chuffed to have been asked to act as a long-list judge for the 2016 University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor's Poetry Prize (entries open from 2 November 2015 – 30 June 2016).
I suppose it would be somewhat cooler to have been asked to be the short-list judge, but given the person in question is mega-famous British bard Simon Armitage, my nose isn't too far out of joint. My two co-judges, Philippine-Australian writer Merlinda Bobis and Goan-Anglo-Indian poet Michelle Cahill, are also very dynamic figures. I've heard them both in action at various conferences, and they're pretty inspiring.
Here are some details of the competition:
- The winner will receive AUD$15,000
- The runner-up (second-placed poem) will receive AUD$5,000
- Four additional poems will be short-listed
- All poems entered for the prize will be single poems that have a maximum length of 50 lines (see the Conditions of Entry for further details)
- Each entry of a poem will cost AUD$15 if submitted by 29 February 2016 and AUD$20 if submitted between 1 March and 30 June 2016. There are discounts for students.
And here's the link to the How to Enter page.
It's true that you do have to speculate to accumulate - you have to pay to enter, but the prize money is pretty sweet. And it goes without saying that you can count on the very best of service from yours truly and the other judges ....
