Please note: We've got a bunch of submissions to catch up on, so we're closing the regular submission window temporarily so we can do just that. Please note that contest submissions will be accepted through May 14 of 2012.
We're looking for quality work in pretty much any form. We like formal poetry and free verse, prose poems and short shorts, and pretty much everything in between. We're primarily looking for poetry, but we're open to short non-fiction and fiction pieces too (three pages, tops). As always, Knockout is as GLBT-friendly as ever.
Keep the following in mind:
IMPORTANT: Please put ALL your work into ONE file when uploading it. (So if you have five poems/short shorts, what have you, put them into ONE Word file.)
(1) Submissions are free.
(2) No previously published work (even if it occurred online).
(3) Please send only 3-5 poems, and only send one batch of work at a time.
(4) Please don't submit more than three times a year.
(5) Simultaneous submissions are just fine, but let us know pronto if your work is accepted elsewhere.
(6) Payment is publication, and one copy of the issue.
(7) We'll try to respond within three months, but don't query unless it's been six or so. Email us at knockoutpoetry AT gmail.com
2012 The International Reginald Shepherd Memorial Poetry Prize - $15.00
We're pleased to announce that the International Reginald Shepherd Prize is back in action! The contest, which seeks to honor the memory and work of Reginald Shepherd, who passed away on September 10, 2008, was first held in 2009, and then went on hiatus. Now, however, the contest is back. Here are the details:
The 2012 contest will be judged by C. Dale Young.
The submission deadline has been extended to Monday, May 14.
The first-place winner will receive a $200 gift certificate to Powell's books, publication in Knockout, and five contributor's copies.
The second-place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Powell's, publication, and two contributor's copies.
The third-place winner will receive a $50 gift certificate, publication, and two contributor's copies.
The entry fee is $15. All contestants will receive a copy of the issue in which the prize-winning poems appear. The entry fee entitles contestants to enter as many as six previously unpublished poems per submission, provided that the entire submission doesn't total more than 15 pages. All non-winning poems submitted will be considered for publication in Knockout. Proceeds from the contest will be dedicated to prize money and will also help produce future issues of Knockout.