Magma Poetry Competition 2012 is launched

Following the launch of the Magma Poetry Competition in 2011, Magma Poetry is delighted to announce that the competition will now run each year.

 This year's competition will open for entries on 16th October 2012, and as before the competition will have two contests.

 The Judge's Prize is for a poem of 11 to 80 lines. All poem entries of 11 to 80 lines will be entered for the Judges Prize which this year will be judged by award-winning poet Gillian Clarke.

The First Prize £500
Second Prize £200
Third Prize £100

The Editors' Prize celebrates the short poem and is open to poems of up to 10 lines. The Magma Editors' Prize reflects the magazine's unique rotating editorship and poems of up to 10 lines will be judged by a panel of Magma Editors who will select a variety of poems for 'special mentions' as well as choosing first and second prize winners.

First prize £500
Second Prize £200
plus 10 Special Mentions £10 each.

As part of the prize, all 15 winners will have their poems published in our Spring Issue 2013 and be invited to read alongside Gillian Clarke at Magma's prize-giving event early next year.

Here are some details: The entry period for poems opens on 16 October 2012 and closes on 16th December 2012. Entry fee is £5 per poem or £15 for four poems, except for Magma Poetry magazine subscribers who pay £3 per poem or £10 for four poems.

Full Rules are here, and information will be found on Magma's website at www.magmapoetry.com/competition.

 Magma is excited that its competition is now an annual event and the team on the Editors' Panel is looking forward to reading your 10-line poems, as well as receiving your poems of 11 to 80 lines for the Judge's Prizes. The entry period does not open until 16th October, so plenty of time for the poets among you to get some great poems written.

For further information please contact Magma directly at news@magmapoetry.com.

Want to influence Magma's development and have a chance of winning a year's subscription?

Want to influence Magma's development and have a chance of winning a year's subscription?
by Julia Bird

Magma board member and editor Julia Bird writes ...

"On the train home from Norwich last week, I ricocheted my way towards the buffet down a carriage that looked like a Curry's showroom. Every passenger who was reading, was reading a screen - laptops, netbooks, Kindles, iPads, smartphones - there wasn't an unwieldy broadsheet or a chunky hardback to be seen.
   
At Magma, we love poems on pages - there's nothing like the smell of print when you open up a box of new issues. But we're also excited about how we could make Magma more readily accessible by going digital, so we are making plans to publish the magazine in an e-reader version or versions. This will be in addition to the print issues: those who love bookmarks and marginalia will still be able to flick through paper pages, but if you prefer to travel light with your Kindle (or whichever) in your bag, e-editions will bring you the same Magma mixture of poems, articles and reviews but in a digital format.

The views of poetry readers are important as Magma develops its digital plans. The Magma board will be making key decisions about digital versions after views from readers have been received via Magma's online questionnaire found here. If you have opinions about digital magazines you'd like to share do please take a few minutes to complete the survey. Questionnaires need to be returned by midnight on 30th April 2012.

Also, if you add your email address at the bottom of the questionnaire, you will be entered into a draw to receive a year's subscription to Magma poetry. (Please be assured, we will never share your email address with third parties.)

Thank you!"

You can subscribe to Magma Poetry on an annual basis - from as little as £15.95. Visit www.magmapoetry.com.