Caketrain Journal and Press is proud to announce our 2009 Caketrain Chapbook Competition,
the fifth installment of our annual creative writing contest. As we
return to the poetry genre (following 2008’s fiction foray), we look
forward to another year of intensive reading and fine work.

Each year, we bring a special guest into the selection process, a
writer whose work we hold in very high regard, and this year, we may
have a reached a “personal best”: in addition to being our favorite
poet, Michael Burkard is the author of My Secret Boat, Entire Dilemma, Unsleeping, Pennsylvania Collection Agency, and Envelope of Night.
He has received fellowships from FAWC, NEA, and the New York Foundation
for the Arts. He has worked as a psychiatric aide, a creative arts
therapist, a proofreader for Bloomingdale’s catalogues. He will talk
about the part of him that disappears. He do this to night too, unto
night. His verbs are weak; don’t tell his heart.

The winner of the competition receives a $250 cash prize and 25
copies of their chapbook. The chapbook will be published in a 200-copy
run on sixty-pound, acid-free text stock bound with a full-color cover.
To get a sense of what the final object looks like, please check out
our previous winners, Elizabeth Skurnick’s Check-In (2005), Tom Whalen’s Dolls (2007), Claire Hero’s afterpastures (2008), and Tina May Hall’s All the Day’s Sad Stories
(2009). In 2009, sales of our journal and catalog titles afforded us
the opportunity to expand the imprint with a deluxe reissue of Check-In and the publication of 2008’s Runner-Up, Matt Bell’s The Collectors;
we are dedicated to long-term relationships with our chapbook authors
and hope to expand these operations ever-further in the future.

Eligibility and Reading Fee (Print and Electronic Formats):

This competition is open to poetry manuscripts written in the
English language. While previously-published poems or excerpts of poems
may be included in the manuscript, the manuscript as a whole must be an
unpublished work. Translations and previously self-published works are
ineligible. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable; please note,
however, that reading fees are non-refundable, and Caketrain is to be
notified as soon as possible if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
Manuscript revisions will not be considered during reading period.
Please do not include cover artwork or photographs with your
submission. Author must not have a close personal or professional
relationship with Michael Burkard or any Caketrain Journal and Press
staff member; if an author is unsure whether this policy applies to him
or her, Caketrain will gladly address inquiries.

Entrants may choose between two reading fee amounts: either $15 for consideration only or $20 for consideration and a copy of the winning chapbook upon its release. ($20 option applicable to domestic U.S. entrants only.)

Print Format:

Print entries must be postmarked no later than October 1, 2009.
Please submit 20 to 50 pages of typed poetry. Include page numbers,
table of contents, and, if necessary, an acknowledgments page.
Submissions should include two cover pages: one with the manuscript’s
title, the other with the title, author’s name, address, telephone
number, and e-mail address. The author’s name should not appear
anywhere else in the manuscript. Please do not send original
manuscripts; print manuscripts will be recycled at competition
conclusion. Please submit manuscripts through the United States Postal
Service. A reading fee of either $15 or $20 (entrant’s choice,
as detailed above) must accompany each submission, made payable to
Caketrain Journal and Press. Submissions may include an SASE for
notification of competition results. If an SASE is not included,
notification will be sent via e-mail. A list of winner and finalists
will also be announced at www.caketrain.org. Submit print entries to Caketrain Journal and Press, Box 82588, Pittsburgh, PA 15218.

Electronic Format:

Electronic entries must be received no later than October 1, 2009. Please submit 20 to 50 pages of typed poetry as an e-mail attachment in either DOC, PDF, or RTF format.
Include page numbers, table of contents, and, if necessary, an
acknowledgments page. Submissions should include two cover pages as the
first two pages of the attached document: one with the manuscript’s
title, the other with the title, author’s name, address, telephone
number, and e-mail address. The author’s name should not appear
anywhere else in the manuscript. Once the manuscript has been sent, the
reading fee of either $15 or $20 (entrant’s choice, as detailed above) can be paid by credit card through Paypal by using this link.
A reply e-mail will be sent once the manuscript is downloaded and
verified as readable and functioning. Notification of contest results
will sent via e-mail, and a list of winner and finalists will be
announced at www.caketrain.org. Submit electronic entries to caketrainjournal@hotmail.com.

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