The Maine Postmark Poetry Contest, a statewide competition, is happening again this year in conjunction with the 14th Annual Belfast Poetry Festival, to be held Saturday, October 13, 2018. Maine residents and everyone with access to a Maine post office or mailbox this summer are invited to enter. Citizens, residents, and visitors to our great state are all welcome, the only rule is that all entries must bear a Maine postmark.

ENTRY GUIDELINES:

Poems entered into the Maine Postmark Poetry Contest must be original and previously unpublished.

To enter, submit one poem of up to two (2) total pages in length, accompanited by a $5 reading fee, to:

Jacob Fricke, Belfast Poetry Festival
Attn: Maine Postmark Poetry Contest
P.O. Box 911
Belfast, ME 04915

by August 1, 2018. Only submissions received with a Maine postmark dated August 1 or earlier will be read.

Checks should be made payable to the Belfast Free Library. Proceeds are used to support the festival. Entrants may submit more than one poem, but each additional poem is an additional $5.

Poems should be sent without the poet's name on the poem and must include a cover letter listing the poet's name, contact information (address, email, and phone), and the title of the poem(s) submitted so that poems can be read anonymously. Cover letters need not include biographical information.

Poems sent without a cover letter or entry fee will be disqualified. Poems will not be returned, so please do not send originals or a SASE. Simultaneous submissions are accepted; please note on the cover letter and notify the festival immediately of acceptance elsewhere.

JUDGING AND PRIZE:

The Belfast Poetry Festival committee will screen entries and forward 10 finalists to an outside judge, poet Timothy Liu of New York City, who will choose first, second, and third place winners. These ten finalists will be notified by September 1, 2018.

The first-place winner will receive a $100 cash prize and publication in The Maine Review.

Winners will be invited to read the winning poem and be honored at the Belfast Poetry Festival in October, 2018.