Frequently Asked Questions

the Greek Bicentennial Poetry Pamphlet Prizes for Poetry and Illustration

Entries have now closed

 

Before entering, you must read our Submissions Rules and Terms and Conditions

Key information is in our Prizes Announcement. You may also be interested in the articles of advice from our judges, which will appear between March and June.

General FAQs
How do I enter?

All entries must be through our Entry Portal. There, you will enter all of your information and be able to upload your portfolio. You will be able to preview your entry before you submit it. Please note that you will not be able to save your entry to return to it another time.

Is this an International Prize?

Yes, the only condition is that entries must be in the English language.

Can I enter more than one portfolio?

Yes, you will be able to upload more than one portfolio at the same time, when you fill out the entry form for the prize. If you wish to enter both the Poetry and Illustration Prizes, you will need first to submit your entry to one, and then separately to submit your entry to the other.

Do illustrators and poets need to collaborate and submit their work together?

No, poetry and illustration portfolios will be judged entirely separately.

How will I know that you have received my entry?

You will reach a page of our Entry Portal that says ‘Success!’ and tells you that your entry has been received.

When will winners be notified?

Winners will be notified by 18th September 2021.

Can I enter work that has been previously published?

No, all work submitted to the prizes must be unpublished. The only exception to this is that work may have appeared on social media, forums or blogs. Upon learning that they have won, the winner must immediately take down any such poems or illustrations from these online sites. Work published in online journals is not eligible. You will find more detailed guidance about this type of query in our Submissions Rules and Terms and Conditions

I don't live in the UK. If I win, will I be expected to travel to London for the event in December?

No, you won’t be expected to travel to London. However, if the event is an actual one and not solely online, then you will be invited to the UK event in December and would be very welcome to attend. You may wish to take part in a launch event that is more local to you, and we will look into helping with arrangements for this. Alternatively, you would be able to attend events virtually.

Will there be any prizes for commended work?

No, there will only be two winners: a poet and an illustrator. We may wish to publish online a selection of other work that stood out to the judges and should your work be among this choice then you would be contacted and we would discuss this with you.

I am a previous winner of a Michael Marks Award. Can I still enter?

Yes, all entries are anonymous

Poetry FAQs
There is a maximum line count for poetry but no minimum line count. Does this mean that I can enter a single poem?

Please remember that you are submitting a portfolio which must be able to fill several pages of a pamphlet. We have not specified a minimum line count because long series of short poems such as haiku are eligible, and may require space on each page. Similarly, a longer single poem in the epic tradition would be considered. However, we expect most portfolios to be in the region of the maximum number of lines.

How should I present my poetry portfolio?

Your portfolio must comprise no more than 150 lines of poetry. This does not include spaces, contents pages or other pages. You must save all of your poems to a single .doc or .docx file. The title of the file must be the title of the portfolio. Your name must not appear anywhere in either the body of the portfolio or the title of the file.

I don’t save my poems as .doc or .docx files. Can I submit a different file type?

No, to be eligible, your files must be one of these two file types.

Illustration FAQs
How should I present my illustration portfolio?

Your portfolio must comprise between five and eight illustrations. You may include contents pages but must not include pages of descriptive text about the illustrations. You must save all of your illustrations to a single PDF file no larger than 2MB. The title of the file must be the title of the portfolio. Your name must not appear anywhere in either the body of the portfolio or the title of the file.

Which colour mode should I use, CMYK or RGB?

Please use CMYK if you can because it is ideal. If you can only use RGB, this will be ok—we are used to this—but bear in mind that colour reproduction may not be as accurate as if you use CMYK. If you are not accustomed to the terminology of digital colour modes, don’t worry about this.

Do the pages need to be a particular shape, such as landscape, portrait, or a custom size?

We’ll design the pamphlet around the winning illustrations and poems so please choose whatever page format best suits your work.

Will I be able to add any text to give context to my illustration portfolio?

Yes, in our entry portal, you will be able briefly to describe the ideas behind your illustrations. You must keep this description to no more than 400 characters of text. The description must not include your name or any identifying details. You may not add a text description within the body of the portfolio.

Can my illustrations be text?

No, your illustrations will sit alongside the winning poems and must not themselves be poetry nor prose text. Text characters may form a small part of your illustrative works but each illustration must be primarily an image and not a text.

I don’t save my illustrations as PDF files. Can I submit a different file type?

No, to be eligible, your portfolio must be a PDF of no more than 2MB. The winner will send high resolution files when they have learnt that they have won.

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