Submissions are now officially closed for The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective’s Emerging Poets Prize & Editor’s Choice Award (2016). Thanks to all for spreading the word & supporting our efforts. We received close to 90 submissions this year. If you’ve missed our deadline, please see our guidelines below and consider submitting next year! We look forward to reading your work. Winners will be announced by August 2016.

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Guest Judge: Arundhathi Subramaniam

Guidelines for The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective’s Emerging Poets Prize & Editor’s Choice Award

The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective is a mentorship model literary press, bringing new poetic voices from India to the world. We are a not-for-profit, shared work literary press publishing and promoting poets with a connection to India/Indian diaspora. The Emerging Poets Prize will help nurture and bring out new poetic voices from India, the diaspora and those that have a meaningful connection to India.

Up to three manuscripts will be chosen for publication, one by our guest judge and the other two by the founding Collective poets.

Manuscripts are judged anonymously and all finalists will be considered for publication.

***Please read the complete guidelines before submitting your manuscript.***

Winners will receive:
• A cash prize of Rs. 15,000 (or equivalent in local currency)
• Publication of manuscript, with a minimum press run of 250
• 20 author copies
• A book launch
• Membership in The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective for two years

About the Contest

The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective will select up to three manuscripts for publication. At least one of the manuscripts will be by a poet who lives and writes in India. We reserve the right to publish no manuscript from the submission pool.

The best way to become familiar with our press is to see our books.

You may also read an interview with the Collective poets here.

About the Judge

Arundhathi Subramaniam’s most recent book is When God Is a Traveller, which won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry in 2015. She is also the author of Where I Live: New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe), Sadhguru: More Than a Life (Penguin) and Book of Buddha (Penguin). She is the editor or co-editor of several anthologies: Eating God: A Book of Bhakti Poetry (Penguin Ananda), Pilgrim’s India (Penguin), Another Country: Post-Independence Indian Poetry in English (Sahitya Akademi), and Confronting Love: Poems (Penguin). Her work has been translated into several languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Italian and Spanish. She received the Raza Award for Poetry (2009), the Charles Wallace Fellowship at the University of Stirling (2003); the Visiting Arts Fellowship of the U.K. Poetry Society (2006), and the Homi Bhabha Fellowship (2012). In 2004, she was invited to edit the Indian domain of the Poetry International Web, which grew into a significant web journal of contemporary Indian poetry.

How the Collective Works

Under our peer mentorship model, new poets are paired with published poets to hone and fine-tune their manuscripts through a rigorous editorial process, leading to publication. Once a manuscript is ready, the poet is involved in all aspects of layout and design, working with talented graphic designers and artists. Poets who join the collective are never asked to fund the printing of their books. They give back what they have received in terms of time – one year of mentorship to a new collective member and participation in the shared work of the press.

Eligibility

We publish first and second books only. Unpublished writers, poets who have published one full-length book, or chapbooks (30 pages or less), are eligible. Poets who have published two or more poetry books, whether through a press or self-publication, are not eligible.
• Poets must have a substantial connection to India or the Indian diaspora.
• Manuscripts must be in English. Translations are not eligible.
• Poets must be available to be fully engaged Collective members for two years, including participation in the shared work of the press.

How to Submit

During the open reading period ONLY, send us the following in the body of the email to greatindianpoetry@gmail.com:

Name
Title of your manuscript
Email address
Mailing address
Phone number
Bio — 250 words or less
Your publishing history, including previous publications of poems in the manuscript, if any
Statement of Purpose: Up to 500 words in which you share why you would like to publish through the Collective and what skills, expertise, and activities you would like to contribute to the Collective. (See the FAQ below for more about what should be in the Statement of Purpose.)
After we receive this information, we will send you a link to upload your unpublished, full-length manuscript. Please see below for manuscript formatting guidelines.

Since this is a collective press, we consider the whole package: both the merit of the work and the poets themselves and what they can bring to the Collective.

How to Format Your Manuscript

DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME OR IDENTIFYING DETAILS IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Start each poem on a new page. Number every page.
Use 12-point font in a simple, readable typeface such as Times, Times New Roman, or Arial. Please no fancy fonts for submissions.
Include a Table of Contents.
Send your manuscript in a single .rtf, .doc, or .docx file with no identifying information.
Do not attach your manuscript to the email. Wait for the link that we will send you.
Name the manuscript document the same title as your manuscript.
We suggest 48 to 80 pages of poetry, but no manuscript will be rejected simply because of length. Individual poems may have been published elsewhere (in journals, magazine or part of an anthology), but the manuscript as a whole collection must be unpublished.

Notification

Results will be announced via email by August 2016 as well on our website and FB page.

Disqualification

Please read the above guidelines very carefully. Incomplete submissions will not be read.

FAQ

What does being a Collective member involve?

All poets who publish through us serve as a Collective Member of The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective for twenty-four months. The first 12 months are spent in peer mentorship with another Collective member, working on your own manuscript and bringing out its fullest potential. The second twelve months are spent peer mentoring a new member of the press.

Collective poets also work on projects of their choice such as curating poems for our inPoetry app, teaching workshops, organizing and appearing at events, social media, and administrative work for the Collective. Your Statement of Purpose should give a sense of your interests and potential contributions.

Are simultaneous submissions allowed?

Yes. Please notify us immediately to withdraw your manuscript if it is accepted elsewhere.

Is this a vanity or self-publishing enterprise? What is your business model?

We are not a vanity press. Poets who join the collective will never be asked to fund the printing of their books or to buy a minimum number of books. We believe that writers deserve to be paid, and our budget for each book includes author payment. We choose manuscripts through a competitive process, and we rigorously edit and mentor each writer to create the best book possible. Our press is sustained by seed money from the founders, individual donors, workshop fees, and book sales and subscriptions.

What should I say in my Statement of Purpose?

Your Statement of Purpose should tell us what excites you about publishing with the Collective and what you would contribute as a Collective member. For example, activities of current members include designing and holding workshops, mentoring poets, raising funds for the press, organizing community poetry events, social media, finances, administration, and curating poems for our inPoetry app. Please don’t limit your ideas; we look forward to new energy and hearing how you would contribute. The Statement of Purpose is a critical part of your submission. We encourage you to spend time on it, become familiar with our press, and consider why you want to be part of the Collective beyond publishing your own book.

You may include relevant background about your experiences in the Statement of Purpose, but it is primarily forward-looking. Do not use your Statement of Purpose to describe your manuscript.

Are poets from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, elsewhere eligible?

We publish books by poets with a substantial connection to India or the Indian diaspora. The connections between countries in the region run deep; you are welcome to submit if you feel you meet this criteria.

Do submissions have to be by a single author?

We welcome manuscripts that are collaborations between writers. We are open to manuscripts that include artwork, but manuscripts will be judged on the basis of the quality of the poetry first.

May I submit individual poems for consideration for the inPoetry app?

No. This contest is for book-length manuscripts only.

Inclusion in the inPoetry app is by invitation only at this time. Poems are excerpted from books that are already published (not self-published). Publishers or authors of published (not self-published) collections are welcome to send a note of introduction through our Contact page for further information.

May I submit a Haiku/Tanka/Haibun manuscript?

No.

May I submit translations and/or poems in languages other than English?

No.

Can you give me any feedback on my poetry?

There are two ways to work with us to receive feedback on your poems: through one of our workshops, or through a manuscript critique during our open critique periods. Please join our mailing list to learn about future opportunities.

We cannot give feedback on manuscripts that are not chosen for publication. We do not review published books.

Can I edit a manuscript after I submit it?

No edits can be made to the manuscript after you submit it; we cannot review multiple versions of the same manuscript. However, chosen manuscripts will go through a process of peer mentorship, and changes can (and should!) be made prior to publication.

Author agrees that the decision of The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective and/or the judges will be final as to all matters, including eligibility, timeliness of submissions, and compliance with these Entry Rules and the Awards.