The Irving Campbell Chapbook Contest 2021
offered under the auspices of Denton Poets' Assembly
Purpose--This contest, which is under the auspices of Denton Poets’ Assembly, is designed to encourage professional writing partnerships between authors in a dialogue exchange of poems. In dialog poetry, each poem acts as an inspiration for the following poem, so that each new poem is both follower and leader in a continuing round of mutual exploration into the unknown. This process encourages both poets to venture into territory they might not otherwise discover. Each poem must contain a noticeable reference to some element in the preceding poem, i.e., mood, detail word, phrase, image, etc.
Prize—The winning entrants will each receive a cash prize of $50 and twenty-five copies of a market-ready, 6” by 9”, soft-cover book. This includes editing, cover design by KDP.com (Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing), pricing, and ISBN registration. The winners may assume the cost of additional copies.
Who may enter—The competition is open to all Texas residents and currently enrolled students of Texas colleges and universities, writing in English. One of the two persons in the writing partnership must qualify. The manuscript should be original work by pair of authors. The winners must agree to two public reading from their book. One reading is for (1) a monthly meeting of Denton Poets’ Assembly sometime during the months after winners are announced; (2) a third reading will be arranged by the authors. (The winners may be asked by Poetry Society of Texas to present a program from their collection during a regular PST meeting.) If winners are unable to present in person, a video which the authors produce and provide for large screen projection is acceptable. Entry acknowledges agreement with these stipulations. The winning pair is eligible again after five years. Furthermore, either one of those winners is eligible again before that, provided (1) he or she is writing with a different partner and (2) one of the pair is a Texas resident or currently enrolled in Texas college or university. The Irving Campbell committee will select a judge whose name will be revealed when the winners are announced. All rights revert to the winners after publication.
Deadline—Manuscripts must be postmarked between March 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021.
Previously published material—Because of the nature of the writing partnership, it is expected that the manuscript includes only unpublished poems, written specifically for the dialogue project. If a poem has been published within the time frame of the writing of the collaboration, the author must have first rights at the time of submission of the manuscript.
Entry fee--A check for $10 payable to Denton Poets’ Assembly for each manuscript. Multiple entries are allowed with separate fees.
Length--The submitted manuscript should contain between 24 and 30 poems for a total of about 40 pages of poetry, not including other matter.
Format--Submit a single copy of your manuscript. No line of poetry in the manuscript should contain more than 60 characters (that is, letters, spaces, and punctuation). Single space all poems. The manuscript must have a title page without authors’ identification. Number the pages. The table of contents will be divided by author. In the submitted manuscript, designate authors by letters; but the final book will show authors’ names.
Poet A Poet B
“Winning” page 1 “Second Place” page 2
“How to Start” page 3 “Blisters” page 4
“The Zone” page 5
The manuscript must be bound in some manner (manuscript clip is preferred). No identification may appear on the submitted manuscript. Include these items separate from the bound manuscript:
Send to Susan Maxwell Campbell 115 North Wisteria Mansfield, Texas 76063-1835
Judge and winners will be announced at the annual Poetry Society of Texas awards banquet in November, 2021.
Prize—The winning entrants will each receive a cash prize of $50 and twenty-five copies of a market-ready, 6” by 9”, soft-cover book. This includes editing, cover design by KDP.com (Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing), pricing, and ISBN registration. The winners may assume the cost of additional copies.
Who may enter—The competition is open to all Texas residents and currently enrolled students of Texas colleges and universities, writing in English. One of the two persons in the writing partnership must qualify. The manuscript should be original work by pair of authors. The winners must agree to two public reading from their book. One reading is for (1) a monthly meeting of Denton Poets’ Assembly sometime during the months after winners are announced; (2) a third reading will be arranged by the authors. (The winners may be asked by Poetry Society of Texas to present a program from their collection during a regular PST meeting.) If winners are unable to present in person, a video which the authors produce and provide for large screen projection is acceptable. Entry acknowledges agreement with these stipulations. The winning pair is eligible again after five years. Furthermore, either one of those winners is eligible again before that, provided (1) he or she is writing with a different partner and (2) one of the pair is a Texas resident or currently enrolled in Texas college or university. The Irving Campbell committee will select a judge whose name will be revealed when the winners are announced. All rights revert to the winners after publication.
Deadline—Manuscripts must be postmarked between March 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021.
Previously published material—Because of the nature of the writing partnership, it is expected that the manuscript includes only unpublished poems, written specifically for the dialogue project. If a poem has been published within the time frame of the writing of the collaboration, the author must have first rights at the time of submission of the manuscript.
Entry fee--A check for $10 payable to Denton Poets’ Assembly for each manuscript. Multiple entries are allowed with separate fees.
Length--The submitted manuscript should contain between 24 and 30 poems for a total of about 40 pages of poetry, not including other matter.
Format--Submit a single copy of your manuscript. No line of poetry in the manuscript should contain more than 60 characters (that is, letters, spaces, and punctuation). Single space all poems. The manuscript must have a title page without authors’ identification. Number the pages. The table of contents will be divided by author. In the submitted manuscript, designate authors by letters; but the final book will show authors’ names.
Poet A Poet B
“Winning” page 1 “Second Place” page 2
“How to Start” page 3 “Blisters” page 4
“The Zone” page 5
The manuscript must be bound in some manner (manuscript clip is preferred). No identification may appear on the submitted manuscript. Include these items separate from the bound manuscript:
- A manuscript title page with your names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.
- Separate statements from both authors on the experience of the writing partnership and its impact on your work. These will be included in the printed book.
- One copy each of two sequential poems from the manuscript (that is, one from each author). If your manuscript wins, these poems will be read at the Poetry Society of Texas awards banquet in November. These copies should have your authors’ identification and a notation that they are a part of your Irving Campbell manuscript.
Send to Susan Maxwell Campbell 115 North Wisteria Mansfield, Texas 76063-1835
Judge and winners will be announced at the annual Poetry Society of Texas awards banquet in November, 2021.
The Deb Davis Memorial Award
Debra S. Davis was a charter member of DPA, treasured DISD teacher, and member of the Denton community.
The Denton Poets’ Assembly is proud to sponsor a student award honoring Deb through the Poetry Society of Texas:
THE DEB DAVIS MEMORIAL AWARD (grades 3-5)
Offered by the Denton Poets Assembly for a poem about Nature. No more than 24 lines. First place winner also receives a one-year student membership in Poetry Society of Texas.
For more details about how to enter, please visit PST's website.
Past Contests
In 2011, the Denton Poets’ Assembly sponsored a local contest in Deb’s
memory: the Debra S. Davis Memorial Award. The age categories were adult, teen, and children, and a total of $350 in prizes were awarded.
The award winners were:
Children's category
1st place: “A Sardine's Point of View” by Amadea Wilhite
2nd place: “Debbie,” by Tori Kelly
3rd place: “Colors are Everything” by Sara Casner
Teen category
1st place: “The Prairie Burns Red” by Caleb Miller
2nd place: “A Storm is Brewing” by Shanna Clark
3rd place: “To Run and Never Stop for AnythinG” by Meilo Zaborowski
Adult category
1st place: “Portrait of Werner Heisenberg” by Michael Lawson
2nd place: “Limestone Butterflies” by Daphne Glasgow
3rd place: “Pink Ribbon Blues” by Gayle Sulik
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all who entered!
memory: the Debra S. Davis Memorial Award. The age categories were adult, teen, and children, and a total of $350 in prizes were awarded.
The award winners were:
Children's category
1st place: “A Sardine's Point of View” by Amadea Wilhite
2nd place: “Debbie,” by Tori Kelly
3rd place: “Colors are Everything” by Sara Casner
Teen category
1st place: “The Prairie Burns Red” by Caleb Miller
2nd place: “A Storm is Brewing” by Shanna Clark
3rd place: “To Run and Never Stop for AnythinG” by Meilo Zaborowski
Adult category
1st place: “Portrait of Werner Heisenberg” by Michael Lawson
2nd place: “Limestone Butterflies” by Daphne Glasgow
3rd place: “Pink Ribbon Blues” by Gayle Sulik
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all who entered!
