Halcyon
Poetry
Prize
Halcyon, the 14 days of winter encompassing the Winter Solstice. The the first 7 days prior to the Winter Solstice is associated with the metaphors of nest-building ... the 7 days after with the metaphors of laying and hatching of eggs. The halcyon is also known as the kingfisher. The kingfisher is associated in Greek myth with the Winter Solstice. She mourns her dead mate, carries him on her back, builds a nest, lays and hatches eggs, a metaphor of the creative process if ever there was one. You've woven your life into words, and it is time for them to hatch.
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Deadline: CLOSED
Two-Month Submission Window Open:
September 1st - October 31st, 2024
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2018 Lynne Goldsmith for Secondary Cicatrices
2019 Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer for hush
2020 Laura Grace Weldon for Portals
2021 Anne Haven McDonnell for Breath on a Coal
2022 Matthew Cooperman for Wonder About The
2023 Linda Russo for the verdant and Sarah Giragosian for Mother Octopus
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We are looking for quality poetry, literature of human ecology, eco-poetry, nature-poetry, spiritual rather than religious, works based in our humanity, conscious, mindful, deep. We look for works which show connection between people and nature, people and people, people and their stories, dreams, and sacred moments, whether wild or domestic.
Halcyon Poetry Prize winners whose manuscripts are accepted for publication will have the opportunity to enter into a publishing contract making them eligible for 5 free initial author copies of the work, a comparatively generous percentage of royalties on future retail sales at regular MSRP, and author copies. discounted at 40% - 50%.
All submissions must be received no sooner than the submission window opening date and no later than midnight of the closing date, October 31st, 2022.
Manuscripts must meet the following minimum requirements:
No limitations on length or style other than it should be longer than 40 pages of poetry. For spine text we will need over at least 100+ pages.
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If the end product is envisioned to contain colored text on the interior, images, odd typesettings of mixed sizes, etc, please send a query letter first with samples, etc, but certainly let us know ahead of time. Manuscripts should be sent to us as closely resembling their end result as possible so that we know what we are agreeing to publish or pursue publishing.
Manuscript must be of original works (including title pages, table of contents, author bio or acknowledgment pages). Please acknowledge any previous publication of individual stories or pieces or any source material quoted.
No artwork aside from drawings or maps or charts that can be rendered either in b&w or a few simple colors. Our financial ability to print and reproduce color photographs or detailed artwork in a cost effective marketing ability does not match our quality standards at this point, although we would love to expand into lovely quality photo books one day. Baby steps.
Artwork for covers etc will be discussed later and we will always consider your art or work with an artist whose work you feel compliments your writing. We also love creating our own covers and will retain the right to steer the quality and content in a way we feel is best for the publication.
Electronic submissions only please. Submit your file in an email with a memo line of "HALCYON SUBMISSION: [title of your work]" to editor@middlecreekpublishing.com
Manuscripts should be in English, to include translated works, bilingual or multilingual script.
Manuscript content should be in a simple font common to MS Word, with a preference for Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma or Verdana set at either 12 or 14 pt. If your manuscript has alternative stylings to font size or placement of words on the field of the page, please send it to us in that format so we can see it before we commit to accepting it for publication.
Manuscripts may be submitted via email to Editor@middlecreekpublishing.com (with a subject/ memo line title starting with the words "HALCYON SUBMISSION" and as an attached Word or MS Word file.
For more of our editors articles about creating, editing, formatting and submitting manuscripts to publishers, check out our MCP Editor's Blog on Medium.