MERITAGE PRESS’ 2005 HOLIDAY POETRY CONTEST

Dear Filipino Poets:
You are invited to submit to a fun poetry contest. No submission fees. E-mail submissions. Details below:

FIFTH ANNUAL HOLIDAY POETRY CON TEST
Sponsors: Meritage Press and the NPA (New Poets Army)
Judge: Jean Vengua
Deadline: December 31, 2005

ABOUT THE JUDGE:
JEAN VENGUA lives in California. She is a writer, poet, and book editor. Her poetry has appeared in various print and online journals and anthologies including Proliferation, MiPOesias, Fugacity, Interlope, Babaylan, Returning a Borrowed Tongue, Moria and Sidereality. Her essays have appeared in Critical Mass, Our Own Voice, Behind the Blue Canvas, and Jouvert. She is co-founder of Tulitos Press, and co-editor with Mark Young of The First Hay(na)ku Anthology (Meritage Press, 2005). Jean’s blogs include Okir  Mood Ring , Mnemosyne’s Hem and The Nightjar . 

ABOUT THE CONTEST:
All poets are encouraged to submit by e-mailing 1 or 2 poems to MeritagePress@aol.com. (Send no more than 2 poems). Please present poems within the body of the email as we do not open attachments.) Please include your full name along with your e-mail address. However, the poems will be sent without your names to judge Jean Vengua, thereby allowing the poems to be read on their own merit. All poets are welcome to submit — it doesn’t matter whether you’re established or emerging as the work is read on its own merit.

There are no limitations to poetry styles or content. All types of poems are welcome. We are now taking submissions up to the deadline of December 31, 2005.

Only previously unpublished poems are eligible (you may, however, submit poems that you have featured on your own web sites or or blogs, or that have been published in limited edition chapbooks of no more than 250 copies).

PRIZES:
Meritage Press has asked Jean Vengua to choose one winner. However, Jean may choose other finalist-winners, depending on the quality of the submissions. The winner(s) will have their poems published in the February 2006 edition of “Babaylan Speaks” at http://meritagepress.com/babaylan/

The FIRST PLACE winner also will receive copies of:

THE FIRST HAY(NA)KU ANTHOLOGY, co-edited by Jean Vengua and Mark Young; for more information about the book, go to http://www.meritagepress.com/haynaku.htm

60 lv Bo(e)mbs by Paolo Javier; for information about the book, go to http://www.obooks.com/books/60lvboembs.htm

PINOY POETICS; A Collection of Autobiographical and Critical Essays on Filipino and Filipino American Poetics, edited by Nick Carbo; for more information about the book, go to http://meritagepress.com/pinoypoetics.htm

A COMMERCE OF MOMENTS by Sofia M. Starnes; for more information about the book, go to http://sofiamstarnes.com/

I TAKE THEE, ENGLISH, FOR MY BELOVED by Eileen Tabios; for more information about the book, go to http://marshhawkpress.org/tabios2.htm

THE ANCHORED ANGEL: SELECTED WRITINGS BY JOSE GARCIA VILLA; for more information about the book, go to http://www.kaya.com/aa.html

and the only single-poet collection published by Meritage Press this year, THE OBEDIENT DOOR by Sean Tumoana Finney; for more information about the book, go to http://meritagepress.com/obedientdoor.htm

Other finalist-winners besides the First Place winner, if any, will receive two of the above-listed books (the choice of books are up to Meritage Press).

PREVIOUS WINNERS:
2004: Joel H. Vega (Judge: Sarah Gambito)
2003: Luisa A. Igloria (Judge: Patrick Rosal)
2002: Naya S. Valdellon & Michella Rivera-Gravage (Judge: Oliver de la Paz)
2001: Carlomar Arcangel Daoana (Judge: Nick Carbo)

HAY(NA)KU SPECIAL RELEASE OFFER

THE FIRST HAY(NA)KU ANTHOLOGY, coedited by Jean Vengua and Mark Young is now at the printer’s. So Meritage Press is offering a SPECIAL RELEASE OFFER with a deadline of Nov. 30, 2005.

NEW SPECIAL RELEASE OFFER!!!!

If you are a poet who has written hay(na)ku (and that includes you contributors who may want more copies than your contributor copies), you can pre-order this ground-breaking anthology for $7.00 — more than 50% off the retail price of $14.95 and we’ll toss in free shipping/handling.

If you are interested, the offer is good through November. E-mail me at GalateaTen@aol.com or MeritagePress@aol.com if you are interested.

Eileen Tabios
Publisher, Meritage Press