The Hudson Valley Writers Guild hosts an annual contest that rotates among the genres of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Cash prizes are awarded. Winners and honorable mentions read their work during a Community of Writers program.
2012 Submission Guidelines
This year’s contest is in poetry. Winners will be awarded cash prizes ($100 first prize, $75 second prize and $50 third prize) and invited to read their winning poem at a special Guild program in the fall of 2012.
Eligibility: All contestants must be residents of New York State. Current members of the HVWG Board of Directors and their families are not eligible. Current or past students, as well as family, of the judges are also not eligible. Judges this year are: Cecele Kraus, Dawn Marar, Thom Francis and Phillip Levine.
Submission: Entries must be postmarked between April 2 and August 31, 2012. Identification/contact information must not appear anywhere on the submission. Cover letter should include the following: name, address, phone number, email address, title of poems. 3-5 poems per submission.
All submissions must be typed, 12-pt. type, 50-line limit. Please include title and stanza breaks in your line count. Send three hard copies by mail, no e-mail submissions. Poems must be previously unpublished. Quality of the poem is the most important consideration. We are looking for poems that are well-crafted, have an excellent lyric quality and contain a strong emotional core. Any style is considered, including prose poems.
Entry Fee: $15 for non-members of HVWG, $10 for members. Make checks payable to HVWG and send with submission. Mail submissions and entry fee to The HVWG Non-Fiction Contest, c/o Mimi Moriarty, 3180 New Scotland Road, Voorheesville, NY 12186. For more information, please contact Mimi Moriarty at winterview@earthlink.net.
Results: Submissions will not be returned, but if you would like hard copy results of the contest, please send SASE. All entrants will be notified of winners by email and/or SASE. Results will also be posted here on our website.
2011
The 2011 contest, in non-fiction, recognized the following winners:
Personal Essay
Winner ($100)
Fran Yardley, Tupper Lake / “Roots”
Finalists
Kathleen Anne Smith, Loudonville / “Why I Can’t Write”
Pamela Clements, Albany / “Tuna in Truro”
Faye Silton, Albany / “Muse, Mystery and Music”
Memoir
Winner ($100)
Judy Staber, Old Chatham / “My Baby Docs”
Finalists
Chloe Caldwell, Hudson / “Who the Others Were”
Francine Dempsey, Albany / “Confessional”
Jean Venable, Poughkeepsie / “Sounds Remembered”
Jean Van Dyk, Delmar / “Black Tight Pants”
Humor
Winner ($100)
Sandra Powley, Loudonville / “Friday Night at the ‘Vent”
Finalists
Christina Pultzer, Phoenicia / “Safe!!”
Rodney L. Aldrich, Troy / “Mozart’s Rest”
Christa Holder Ocker, Newburgh / “Sister Bernadette”
Honorable Mention for HVWG Member
Mary Murphy, Albany / “Beauty Secrets”
2010
The 2010 contest, in short fiction, recognized the following winners:
First place ($150) to Ken Holland, Fishkill, NY, for “Hubcaps”
Second place ($75) to Jo Salas, New Paltz, NY, for “The Very Large Array”
Third place ($50) to Carol Derfner, Kinderhook, NY, for “Birds of a Feather”
Honorable Mentions ($10) to John Velie, Albany, NY, for “Whitey,” David Sylvester, Watervliet, NY, for “Cat People” and Susan Clements, Buffalo, NY, for “Manatee Mornings.”
2009
The 2009 contest, in poetry, recognized the following winners:
First place ($150): Cecele Allen Kraus
Second place ($75): Will Nixon
Third place ($50): Kathleen C. Elken
Honorable mentions ($10): Marie-Elizabeth Mali, Kathleen A. O’Brien & Susan E. Oringel.
