New $5,000 poetry prize - the Blake Poetry Prize

From http://www.nswwriterscentre.org.au

The Blake Poetry Prize 2008

$5,000 prize for new national poetry competition on the theme of 'Bliss, blasphemy and belief'

The NSW Writers' Centre is delighted to announce that it is joining the Blake Society, Leichhardt Municipal Council and Wet Ink magazine in sponsoring a new national poetry prize to be known as the Blake Poetry Prize, which calls for entries on the theme of 'Bliss, blasphemy and belief'.

The Chairwoman of the NSW Writers¹ Centre, Máire Sheehan,said: 'The aim of the competition is to give Australian poets another opportunity to achieve national recognition and a financial reward for their efforts.'

This new competition was made possible by the generosity of Leichhardt Municipal Council, which has a strong commitment to supporting the arts, and especially writing through the NSW Writers' Centre.

"This grant of $5,000 continues our longstanding commitment to the NSW Writers' Centre and the development of arts through the written and spoken word," Mayor of Leichhardt Council Cr Alice Murphy said.

The NSW Writers' Centre is pleased to develop this partnership with the Blake Society which awards the annual Blake Prize for Religious Art. Blake Chairman, the Reverend Rod Pattenden, said: 'This exciting new initiative links visual art and literature, and offers new possibilities for poets to explore the nature of spirituality in the twenty-first century.'

Australia's newest literary magazine Wet Ink will join the partnership by providing the judges for the competition and publishing the winner and commended entries in Wet Ink, which is distributed nationally and internationally. Co-managing Editor of Wet Ink, Dominique Wilson, said: 'We are very excited to be part of this important new prize. Wet Ink is dedicated to promoting new writers, and this prize enables us to further support emerging poets through recognising their talents and exposing their work to a broad audience, both within Australia and overseas.'

Download an entry form and conditions at the NSW Writers Centre link above.

Entries close Friday 27 June 2008
Entry fee: $15