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Magma open poetry pamphlet competition 2024

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Magma Open Poetry Pamphlet Competition 2024 

Judged by Niall Campbell 

Deadine: 1 July 2024 

Welcome to our 2024 pamphlet competition, now open for entries.   

“The pamphlet has allowed my words to find new lines of flight that I never dreamed possible.” 
 – Asim Khan, winner of the last Magma competition with Annihilation, PBS Spring Pamphlet Choice 2024. 

Magma invites you to enter our fourth pamphlet competition, now open for entries. We are delighted to have Niall Campbell as judge. 

  • Prize: publication of the winning pamphlet + launch reading 
  • Poets on the shortlist of 10 will each get a paragraph of feedback from the judge 
  • The winner and 3 others will have a poem published in Magma 
  • All shortlisted poets will have a poem published on our website 
  • Niall Campbell will read 50 entries selected by Magma board members 

Deadline: Monday 1 July 2024 

OUR JUDGE 

Niall Campbell is a poet from the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. His first poetry collection, Moontide, was published by Bloodaxe Books and won the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award and the Saltire First Book of the Year. Noctuary, his second collection, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. He lives in Fife. 

Niall says: “At a time when poetry publication is so challenging, I am excited to read your poems and ready to champion what has been made, crafted and laboured over. I want to read passion projects, things that just had to be written. I aim to be a sensitive reader to your poems of power or your quiet, intricate poems. With all of these what I want to see most are considered lines, new phrases – ways of saying things that couldn’t be any better.” 

and I would find that I had written 

about the grass to the drowned sand,
again; and to the sunken dark,
I had sent all the light I knew. 

 from ‘The Letter Always Arrives at its Destination’ by Niall Campbell 

JUDGING AND RESULTS 

  • Entries will be read initially by a panel of Magma editors, who will give the judge a longlist of 50 
  • The judge will choose the winning pamphlet from a shortlist of 10. He will provide a short paragraph of feedback to all 10 poets 
  • The winner and shortlisted poets will be contacted in October/ November 2024
  • The winning pamphlet will be published by Magma in 2025. Copyright will remain with the author. Magma will have the right to use any of the poems for publicity 
  • Magma will host a launch, either online or real-life 
  • A poem from the winning pamphlet and one each from three shortlisted pamphlets will be published in Magma magazine 
  • A poem from each shortlisted pamphlet will be published on our website. 

COMPETITION RULES  –  Your pamphlet 

  • Please send us 18-20 pages of poems 
  • Poems should be typed in single spacing and in 12 font (on one side of A4 if entering by post) 
  • Start each poem on a new page. Maximum 40 lines per page. If you include a poem sequence in which the poems are 14 lines long or less, then you may put two on a page 
  • All poems must be your original work. They may have been published in magazines (paper or online) and anthologies but not in a pamphlet or collection 
  • Poems must be in the English language or any of its dialects. They must be for adults and must not be translations of someone else’s work 
  • Your pamphlet must have a title which should appear on each page. Please do a front page with the pamphlet title and list of contents 
  • Entries must be anonymous: no name or contact details on any page 
  • The winner will be expected to take part in a launch for the pamphlet 
  • Anyone may enter unless they advise or work for Magma 
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed but please let us know straight away if your pamphlet has been accepted elsewhere. The fee is not refundable 
  • No changes can be made once you have submitted the pamphlet 
  • In case of unforeseen circumstances Magma reserves the right to change the judge 
  • We won’t return pamphlets on paper, so please keep a copy. 

 HOW TO ENTER 

  • Deadline: Midnight UK time on Monday 1 July. Postal entries postmarked on that date will be accepted 
  • Entry costs: £22, or £16 if you are a Magma subscriber. Non-subscribers may pay the subscribers’ rate if they take out a subscription when they enter: https://magmapoetry.com/buy-magma/  Payment must be in pounds sterling 
  • Concessions: We are offering a limited number of free entries, for those for whom the entry fee is unaffordable. Please apply early.  Email info@magmapoetry.com giving your full name and brief reasons for applying – just a couple of sentences please. Applications will be anonymised by our administrator and treated in confidence   Thank you to the poets who have applied for concessionary entry – we will let you know soon.  This opportunity is now closed.
  • Entering online: Follow the instructions at the web page above. Put the title of your pamphlet in the title box. You will be given the option to pay by credit card or PayPal 
  • Entering by post: Please include two copies of your front page. Both copies should show the pamphlet title and a contents list. One copy only should also contain your contact details: name, address, email, phone number. Send to: Magma (Pamphlet Competition), 3 Falkland Avenue, Finchley, London, N3 1QR, UK. Enclose the entry form (download link below) and a cheque to Magma Poetry. Please put enough stamps on! 
  • If entering online from outside the UK, PayPal will convert your fee to pounds sterling. Postal entries from abroad must include a cheque in pounds sterling 
  • You may enter more than one pamphlet. 

 Enter Online: go to Magma Poetry Submittable page 

 Enter by Post: download Magma-pamphlet-2024b and Magma-flier-24_1

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