Free Poetry Submissions for International Poets

Introduction

I have always wondered about ways to get my work out there. I mean garner readership and hopefully, a fan base that will appreciate my particular brand of aesthetics. I had surfed the internet for a bit, looking for poetry submissions, contests, journals that cater to not just my style or genre but also to my culture and my geographical location. Most submission sites will take anyone, so I didn't have a problem there. My problem was poetry contests.
Most of the poetry contests, I saw at first were mainly for the American or European community. By American I mean both North and South America. But after some dedicated surfing of the internet, I discovered poetry contests that allowed international writers to submit and awesomely with no entry fee.

Submitting your work

Now some of us would be a bit worried about putting the child of your inspiration, out there for public consumption but I tell you, no creation is made to be left in a hard drive piling virus or in a dusty cupboard as dust catcher. When God created the earth, as Jewish history says, he saw that it was beautiful and he created man to partake in the beauty that was the world. So do not hesitate, get the site that suits you and start submitting.

Contests

1.      Eldritch Press:

  The first contest and my favourite on the list is handled by Eldritch Press, an Independent horror Publisher. Poets and writers are invited to enter its 1st Annual Dark Poetry Contest which will award the best manuscript of dark poetry with a cash prize of $1,500 and a three year publishing contract. The second winner gets $1,000 and a two year publishing contract; and the third winner will receive $500 and a one year publishing contract.
Writers should not have had a full length book or collection of poetry published in any genre. This also includes self published books.
The poems must be original, unpublished and written in English. Any style is accepted as long as it is dark. The deadline for submission is September 30, 2015.
Submission Address: poetry@eldritchpress.com
The winning Poetry Collections will be published in February of 2016.
For further information: www.eldritchpress.com   

2.      The Ansfield-Wolf Book Awards:  

This award recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the cultural diversity.  Awards are given for fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Submissions will be accepted beginning September 1. The submission deadline is December 31. The winners are announced in the spring.To submit a book for consideration, send five copies with a completed copy of the Entry Form to:

Karen R. Long,
c/o Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards,
The Cleveland Foundation,
1422 Euclid Avenue,
Suite 1300, Cleveland, OH 44115,
Phone: 216.685.2018,
Email: Submit@Anisfield-Wolf.org
Upon receipt, the books will be forwarded to the jury. All submitted materials become the property of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards and will not be returned. 

For further information: http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/about/the-awards/  

3.      Blue Mountain Arts: 

 is doing its Twenty-sixth Biannual Poetry Card Contest. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2015. 1st prize: $300 * 2nd prize: $150 * 3rd prize: $50. In addition, the winning poems will be displayed on their website,  sps.com.
Some of the poetry contest rules include: 

•  All entries must be the original creation of the submitting author.  
•   All rights to the entries must be owned by the author and shall remain the property of the author. 
•     The author gives permission to Blue Mountain Arts, Inc. to publish and display the entry on the Web (in electronic form only) if the entry is selected as a winner or finalist.  
•   Winners will be contacted within 45 days of the deadline date. Contest is open to everyone except employees of Blue Mountain Arts and their families. Void where prohibited.

How to Submit:

Simply complete the contest form on the website, or if you prefer, you may send your submission via snail mail to:

Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Card Contest,
P.O. Box 1007,
Dept. E, Boulder, CO 80306.
For further information: http://www.sps.com

4.       Reward Publishing:

  2015 Poetry Competition is now open. The theme for this year’s contest is, Global Social Justice. 
Contest Deadline: August 31st 2015
Opening Date: February 1st, 2015
This poetry contests is searching for ten poets for one cause--to bring awareness to injustice around the globe. From Cambodian work factories to the forgotten orphans in Uganda, we are aiming to shed light and compassion through the poetic voice.  
Reward publishing is all about powerful images and a consistent flow of rhythm. Poets are advised to submit only unrhymed poetry. 
Where to send your poems: Please send your poems to rewardpublishing@hotmail.com. Make sure to paste the poem in the body of the email as well as send a word document.  Please include your contact information and make sure that each poem is formatted on a new page. Also include a short biographical statement with any publications you have received.  Lastly, there are many issues of human rights and social justice, please take the time to write a sentence or two about the issue you are bringing to light in the poem. 
 You can submit three poems maximum. If we are interested we will ask for more poems.  Poems must NOT be published elsewhere and Reward Publishing will hold the rights. 
Prize: This will be used as a non-profit awareness fundraiser. Poets will receive one copy of the book, and a chance to read at an opening event (to be announced)
For further information: http://www.rewardpublishing.info/about-us-.html

5.      James Laughlin Award:  

Offered since 1954, the James Laughlin Award is given to recognize and support a second book of poetry forthcoming in the next calendar year. The award was endowed in 1995 by a gift to the Academy from the Drue Heinz Trust. It is named for the poet and publisher James Laughlin (1914-1997), who founded New Directions in 1936.
The winner receives a prize of $5,000, an all-expenses-paid week long residency at The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, and distribution of the winning book to approximately one-thousand Academy of American Poets members.
Submissions will be accepted January 1 through May 15. Postmark deadline: May 15.
For further information: http://www.poets.org/academy-american-poets/james-laughlin-award-guidelines   

6.  TLR PROSE POETRY CONTEST: 

The Lindenwood Review has announced its free Prose Poetry Contest for Issue 6 of The Lindenwood Review. Please carefully read and follow the guidelines below in order to have your work considered for the contest:  

•  Winner receives $50, publication in Issue 6 of The Lindenwood Review, and three contributor copies. Issue 6 will be published in spring 2016. 
•    Honourable Mentions receive publication and three contributor copies of TLR6. 
•     Contest entries will be accepted from May 1 through August 1, 2015. Entries received before or after this submission period will not be considered for the contest 
•      Up to three prose poems may be submitted per writer, but they must all be included in a single Word document, with a document title that includes the author's last name. If separate documents are attached to a submission email, only the first document will be considered for the contest 
• We welcome submissions from both new and established writers. Please note that current Lindenwood University students and faculty are not eligible to submit work to The Lindenwood Review. (LU alumni are eligible to submit.)

·         Submissions should be emailed to TheLindenwoodReview@lindenwood.edu.

For further information:
 http://lumfa.blogspot.com,    http://www.lindenwood.edu/lindenwoodReview/index.cfm. 

7.      Fourteen Hills:  

Fourteen Hills is currently CLOSED for unsolicited submissions until September 1, 2015. During open submission periods, all submissions must be sent through Submittable.
We accept the following unpublished unsolicited submissions:

• 1 to 3 poems (ideally 30-35 lines with blank lines counted; maximum 70 lines
•  1 short story or novel excerpt (maximum around 25 pages)
• 3 pieces of flash fiction
• 1 piece of literary creative nonfiction
• Up to 10 pages of experimental or cross-genre literature (including graphic stories)
• 3 to 10 pieces of visual art 
• Writers may submit once per submission period. The submission periods are:   September 1 to December 1 for inclusion in the summer issue (released in May)  and  March 1 to June 1 for inclusion in the winter issue (released in December)

Once published in our journal, writers may submit again after one year. Please note that we are unable to provide financial compensation. If your submission is accepted for publication in the journal, you will receive two free copies of the journal issue that your work appears in, and a discount on additional copies of the issue.
For further information: http://www.14hills.net/awards

8.     Sentinel Nigeria:

Publishing and Submissions Cycle

Publication Dates	Submit by
February 15th	December 31st
May 15th	March 31st
August 15th	June 30th
November 15th	September 30th

*Submissions by e-mail only.
Submission Guidelines:
Poems: Submit up to 6 poems on any subject of 60 lines or less, or a long poem up to 200 lines plus 2 shorter poems.
Fiction: Submit Short Stories, or Excerpts from Novels on any subject or theme up to 5,000 words long.
Essays: Academic essays may be up to 6,000 words long.
Plays: Up to 5,000 words.
Reviews and Interviews: These may be up to 3000 words long.

All materials submitted must be in English Language. We encourage poems written in Nigerian languages as long as they are sent together with appropriate translations.

Sentinel Nigeria does not currently pay for work published. This will change in the future, and details of honorariums will appear here.
Submissions to Sentinel Nigeria must be sent to: submissions@sentinelnigeria.org

For further information: http://sentinelnigeria.org/online/submissions/

9.     The Russell Prize:  

Named after Gale A. Russell and Gloria Baker-Russell, the parents of Two Sylvias Press's cofounder Kelli Russell Agodon (who helped support her as a young poet), The Russell Prize was created to assist and support a poet who has not yet published his/her first full collection of poems or chapbook.  The prize consists of a $500 cash prize and vintage medal (sticking to Two Sylvias Press’ belief that poets deserve trophies and medals) and given to a poet of exceptional talent and merit who has not yet received recognition in the publishing world.  
This prize has been created for no other reason than to pass along some good energy (and money) to a poet without a first book or chapbook.  We know how hard the early stages can be for poets, and we want to tell you that we believe in you.
Note: Though the contest has not started for 2015, poets are asked to check back in September 2015 to learn more about the next Two Sylvias Press Russell Prize and the submission dates for it.

10. Wergle Flomp Humor poetry Contest:

 

 Now in its 15th year, this contest seeks today's best humour poems. No fee to enter. Submit published or unpublished work.

Contest Opens: Aug 15, 2015
Deadline: Apr 01, 2016
Results Announced: Aug 15, 2016
Theme: Humour
Length Limit: Submit one poem only, with a maximum of 250 lines
Entry Fee: No fee
Prizes: First Prize: $1,000, Second Prize: $250, Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each and Top 12 entries published online. All entries that win cash prizes will be published on the Winning Writers website and announced in the Winning Writers Newsletter (circulation 50,000+).
For further information: https://winningwriters.com 

This list will continue in a future post. These ones listed above are competitions that you can submit for now, today. Do not second guess yourself, put your work out there and if you do not win, at least you have taken the steps to sharing your thoughts, skill and creativity. Peace.