The WASHINGTON
PRIZE
In 1981, Karren
Alenier, Deirdra Baldwin, Jim Beall, and Robert Sargent
created the Washington Prize, a United States national literary
competition awarding $1000 to an American poet. In 1999
the prize award was increased to $1500. From 1981 to 1987
winning poems were published in a full-page ad in Poets
& Writers magazine. In 1988, the prize progressed from
a single poem competiton to a book-length manuscript award.
Washington area poets read and judge contest entries blind.
Literary merit is the sole criterion. As a book publication
award, the Washington Prize has given The Word Works national
recognition and has increased distribution.
In 1999, The
Word Works published WINNERS: A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE
WASHINGTON PRIZE, an anthology of poems, anecdotes,
essays, and photos of and by the winners and judges of the
prize from 1981 to 1999. This collection of work by 80 poets
tells the complete story of the Washington Prize. Entrants
to the competition should consider this book a reference
for how to win this prize.
All queries about
the Washington Prize are answered with a graphically attractive
brochure that describes the organization, provides the Washington
Prize contest rules, profiles our books, and solicits orders.
Typically, distribution is through booksales at readings
by the author and mail orders to The Word Works.
WASHINGTON PRIZE
GUIDELINES
In 2008, The
Word Works will award a living American or Canadian poet $1,500 and book publication for
a volume of original poetry in English. To enter:
- Submit a manuscript
of 48 to 64 pages.
- Include
a title page with name, address, phone number, email
address and signature. Author's name should appear
on the title page only.
- Repeat
the title of the manuscript on the table of contents
page.
- Include
an acknowledgments page and brief bio. Attach acknowledgments and bio to title page with a staple.
- Use a
binder clip to fasten the manuscript. No manuscripts
will be returned.
- Kindly indicate the information source where you learned about the Washington Prize. For example, AWP newsletter, Poets & Writers Magazine, the Word Works web site.
- Enclose entry
fee: $25 US drawn on a US bank only, payable to The WORD
WORKS.
- Enclose a
self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for contest results.
Early in 2008, all entrants to the 2007 Washington
Prize will receive the winning publication.
- Between
January 15 and March 1, 2008, inclusive, mail manuscript
by first class postage, entry fee, and business-sized
SASE to:
- Steven
B. Rogers , Director
- WORD WORKS
Washington Prize
- 3201 Taylor
Street
- Mt. Rainier,
MD 20712
The winner will
be selected by July 2008. Book publication is planned for
January 2009.
Direct questions
to Miles Moore, Washington Prize Administrator, electronically or by regular mail to
The Word Works, PO Box 42164, Washington, DC 20015. Include
a self-addressed stamped envelope with all regular mail
inquiries. Many questions are answered in
WINNERS: A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE WASHINGTON PRIZE
.
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2007 WASHINGTON
PRIZE WINNER
The Word Works
is pleased to announce that Prartho Sereno, of San Anselmo, CA, won the 2007 Washington Prize for her full-length poetry manuscript,
Call from Paris .
Ms. Sereno is a California Poet in the Schools and a watercolor artist whose work appears on book and CD covers. She is the author of a chapbook of poems, Salt (Finishing Line Press, 2005), and a book of essays, Everyday Miracles (Kensington, N.Y., 1998). Her illustrated book of poems, Causing a Stir: The Secret Lives and Loves of Kitchen Utensils, will be issued by Browser Books in September 2007. She won a Marin Arts Council Individual Artist Grant in 2003. Her individual poems have appeared in Atlanta Review, Comstock Review, Runes, California Quarterly, and other journals.
Call from Paris was chosen the winner from 257 manuscripts submitted by American poets. Two additional manuscripts were named honorable mentions: Balloon Animals, by Donald Illich, Rockville, MD, and The Fat Sheep Everyone Wants, by Bern Mulvey, Ekuserento Beru, Japan
Final judges in this year’s contest were Karren L. Alenier, J.H. Beall, Bernadette Geyer, Miles David Moore, and Steven B. Rogers. First readers were Cliff Bernier, Doris Brody, Angelyn Donahue, W. Perry Epes, Michael Gushue, Erich Hintze, Tod Ibrahim, Sydney March, Mike McDermott, Ann Rayburn, Martha Sanchez-Lowery, Jill Tunick, and Doug Wilkinson. Second readers were Mark Dawson, Brandon D. Johnson, and Judith McCombs.
The Washington Prize has been awarded annually since 1981.
In 2008, The WORD WORKS will again offer publication and
a $1,500 prize to a volume of original poetry. Submissions
will be accepted from January 15 to March 1, 2008, and the
entry fee will be $25. For further information and guidelines
(available December 2008) send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope to The WORD WORKS Washington Prize, P.O. Box 42164,
Washington DC 20015.
Advance orders
for Call from Paris are
available for $10 plus $3.50 shipping and handling from
WORD WORKS Books, P.O. Box 42164, Washington, DC. 20015.
We expect publication of the book in January 2008.
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WASHINGTON PRIZE
WINNERS 1981-2007
- 1981 - Barbara
Goldberg for "Nee Maggie Malone"
- 1982 - Susan
Gubernat for "To the Close Friend Most Unlike Me"
- 1983 - Judith
Steinbergh for "Initiation at Bish Bash Falls"
- 1984 - Lindsay
Knowlton for "Flight"
- 1985 - Enid
Shomer for "Stalking the Florida Panther"
In 1987 Word works published Enid Shomer's full-length
book
STALKING THE FLORIDA PANTHER as the first Washington
Prize book
- 1986 - Renee
Ashley for "Crow"
- 1987 - Lisa
Ress for "Setting the Table, Eating What is Served"
- 1988 - Christopher
Bursk for THE WAY WATER RUBS STONE
- 1989 - John
Bradley for LOVE-IN-IDLENESS
- 1990 - Barbara
Moore for FAREWELL TO THE BODY
- 1991 - Elaine
Magarrell for BLAMELESS LIVES
- 1992 - Nancy
White for SUN, MOON, SALT
- 1993 - Fred
Marchant for TIPPING POINT
- 1994 - Jay
Rogoff for THE CUTOFF
- 1995 - Linda
Lee Harper for TOWARD DESIRE
- 1996 - George
Young for SPINOZA'S MOUSE
- 1997 - Ann
Rae Jonas for A DIAMOND IS HARD BUT NOT TOUGH
- 1998 - Nathalie
F. Anderson for FOLLOWING FRED ASTAIRE
- 1999 - Peter
Blair for LAST HEAT
- 2000 - Charlotte
Gould Warren for GANDHI'S LAP
- 2001 - Michael
Atkinson for ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN WAITING FOR A TRAIN
- 2002 - Miles
Waggener for PHOENIX SUITES
- 2003 - Ron
Mohring for SURVIVABLE WORLD
- 2004 - Carrie
Bennett for BIOGRAPHY OF WATER
- 2005 - Richard
Lyons for FLEUR CARNIVORE
- 2006 - John
Surowieck for THE HAT CITY AFTER MEN STOPPED WEARING
HATS
- 2007 - Prartho Sereno for CALL FROM PARIS
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WASHINGTON PRIZE
ANTHOLOGY
WINNERS: A
RETROSPECTIVE OF THE WASHINGTON PRIZE was published
December 1999 as part of The Word Works 25 year celebration.
This anthology of poetry by Washington Prize winners, readers,
and judges includes anecdotal material about winning or
judging the prize since the competition was started in 1981.
Winners‹A Retrospective of the Washington Prize
is a reference for anyone who enters the competition for
the prize.
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