GEOFF STEVENS MEMORIAL POETRY PRIZE 2023
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Geoff Stevens was born at West Bromwich 4th June 1942. He worked as an industrial chemist until 1995.
In 1976 he launched his own poetry magazine, Purple Patch, a successful and long-running magazine, called 'a national treasure' by The Guardian. The magazine closed with his death in February 2012. Geoff was also a successful poet in his own right being published in many magazines both in UK and overseas. We were lucky enough to be his friend and publisher, his last Indigo publication, Sleeping With You, being published just one month before he died. He saw it, he loved it, and wrote: "I’m glad that Indigo Dreams is so busy – it means the UK’s best poetry publisher is being successful." Totally over the top, but hey, who cares?
A great lover of poetry; a great man to know. We will keep his name alive through this competition in his honour.
Geoff Stevens 04/06/1942 - 02/02/2012
ABOUT GEOFF STEVENS
CLOSING DATE: 13th JUNE 2023
Two winners will have a 52-page collection published, plus 25 copies and a royalty contract.
POEMS: A selection of 20 poetry pages as one document. Poems should be 36 lines per page including space between stanza breaks.
SUBMISSION: Email or Post
ENTRY FEE - £20 per block of poems, £36 for two, £48 for three.
Queries to competitions@indigodreams.co.uk
1. Each poem in the selection should be typed in 10pt font size on its own sheet(s) and poems sent as ONE document. Please note it is 20 pages of poetry to 36 lines (from start of poem), not 20 poems. If any poem runs over to another page, it counts as 2 poetry pages. Winners will be decided from this selection of poems which must be your own work.
2. Entries are judged anonymously so poems must not bear any identifying mark.
3. Submitted poems may have been published online, in anthology or magazines but not as a complete collection (including self-published collections).
4. Email submissions: Email address competitions@indigodreams.co.uk ONLY. Please pay via PayPal before submitting. Subject heading Geoff Stevens Prize ONLY please for anonymity. Send one email with name, address, collection title and PayPal transaction number. Attach your submission including collection title as continuous Word Document or Rich Text File only, no pdf or alternatives please. No Contents page necessary, just poems.
5. Postal submissions: Enclose poems with collection title but no identifying marks. In a separate enclosed envelope, add a note with name, address and collection title. A cheque must be enclosed for the correct amount to ‘IDP’ only. Alternatively, PayPal transaction number as above. For receipt and/or results sheet, enclose SAE(s) marked RECEIPT / RESULTS. Send to: Geoff Stevens Prize 2023, 24 Forest Houses, Halwill, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5UU.
6. Winning collections will be up to 52 pages in length and published early 2024.
7. More than one entry may be submitted provided it is accompanied by the correct entry fee.
8. All entries will be treated as copies and cannot be returned.
9. Copyright remains with the authors and by submitting to this competition you are agreeing to details of winners to be displayed on our website, social media and elsewhere.
RESULTS will be published on the Indigo Dreams website by 23rd JULY 2023
THE PRIZE
GUIDELINES
On Bryher with Richard Pearce by Geoff Stevens
Rushy Bay and the shadows run indigo
like diluted paint making bladderwrack shapes
on the beach by the deserting sun
the whole scene viewed as though
through a car windscreen wet with rain
and cissing cat's eyes on the glass
while the sky is chalked and weather cracked
with time-diluted sunshine
A dinghy's sailpost is stuck at 15 degrees
like a dysfunctional metronome
Richard who has an old gig-boat shed as studio
brushes in upon the horizon Samson isle
pushing red and ochre up close together
for a hint of gorse upon its rim
He paints most of all in shades of blue and sand
as he completes another of his acrylic dreams
It is a summer day and he works late
painting until the light gives in