2019 Goldstein Contest Guidelines

2019 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest Guidelines

The 20th Tanka Society of America Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest:

Call for Submissions

Learn more about Sanford Goldstein, for whom this contest is named.

Submission Window: April 1 through May 31, 2019 (in-hand deadline). DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 7, 2019.

Eligibility: Open to all, members and nonmembers alike, except Tanka Society of America officers and judges.

Entry Fees: $1.00 per tanka (unlimited entries), in U.S. funds only. Please pay via PayPal (preferred) or by postal mail.

• PayPal Payment (preferred): To pay by PayPal, please use the following PayPal button. In the “Price per item” field, enter the number of dollars that matches the number of poems you’re submitting (leave “Quantity” at 1). Note that PayPal charges a fee for online payments, which TSA is absorbing. If you wish to help offset these fees, feel free to include an extra dollar with your payment (with our thanks). If you receive a transaction or confirmation number when you make your PayPal payment, please include that number with your submission, whether using the online submission form or by email (see below). Don’t worry about the confirmation number if you don’t receive it when paying. Then submit your poems (see “Submissions” below).

[PayPal button removed]

• Postal Payment (only if you cannot use PayPal): Please send checks/money orders made payable to “Tanka Society of America” or cash in U.S. dollars (at your own risk). Mail to the contest coordinator at the address listed below (see “Postal Submissions”).

Submissions: NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS THIS YEAR (using an online submission form). Any number of tanka may be submitted. Entries must be original, in English, unpublished, and not simultaneously submitted for publication or to any other contest. Poems posted on public Facebook pages, blogs, or other websites are not eligible for submission. By submitting, you assert that your entries are previously unpublished and are solely your own original creations. If you submit using the online submission form (see below), please do NOT also email any submissions—use one submission method only (it’s okay for payments to come separately, though, if you can’t pay via PayPal).

• Online Form Submissions (preferred): Before submitting, please add up the number of poems you’re submitting, pay the entry fee of $1 per poem by PayPal (above), and make a note of your confirmation number (if you receive one). Then go to our online submission form and enter your name, address, email, phone number, PayPal confirmation number (if paying by PayPal), and your poems.

• Email Submissions: We strongly prefer that you submit using our online submission form, but if it does not work for you, you may submit by email. When submitting by email, please type or paste your previously unpublished tanka in the body of the message (no attached files) and write “Goldstein Tanka Contest Entries—[your name]” in the subject line. Include your name, address, email address, phone number, and method/date of payment above your tanka (include your PayPal transaction or confirmation number if PayPal provides one when you made your payment; please also indicate if you included any extra money to offset PayPal charges). If you are concerned about any special formatting characteristics, you may add a brief note after each applicable poem. Please do not number your poems. Send by May 31 [JUNE 7], 2019 to the contest coordinator, Susan Burch, at sehbtree@yahoo.com.

• Postal Submissions: If neither the online form or email submissions are possible for you, please submit your previously unpublished poems on 8.5x11-inch or A4 paper (multiple poems on one sheet is preferred, more than one sheet is acceptable; do not use other sizes of paper or index cards). Please submit one copy of each sheet with your name, address, email address, and phone number. There is no need to send another copy without author identification for anonymous judging because all poems submitted by postal mail will be incorporated into an electronic file and then “shuffled” for anonymous judging. Submit your entries with payment to “Tanka Society of America,” postmarked by May 31 [JUNE 7], 2019, to:

Susan Burch

9128 Cool Hollow Terrace

Hagerstown, MD 21740 USA

Awards: $100 for first prize, $50 for second prize, and $25 for third prize, plus honorable mentions.

Bonus: Through a random drawing, one person who enters the TSA tanka contest will receive a free year of TSA membership. A winner will be announced when contest results are announced.

Announcements: Winners will be announced at the Tanka Monday conference on August 12, 2019 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Winners, if not present, will be contacted personally if contact information has been provided. Winning tanka and judges’ comments will be published on the TSA website (see past winners and commentary), the TSA Facebook page, and in our journal, Ribbons.

Adjudication: The judges for this year’s contest are Michelle Brock and Hazel Hall (click to see bios and photos).

Rights: All rights revert to the authors after publication on this website, on Facebook, and in Ribbons.

We look forward to receiving your entries! If you have any questions, please contact the contest coordinator, Susan Burch, at sehbtree@yahoo.com, or website administrator, Michael Dylan Welch, at WelchM@aol.com.