13 Warning Signs of a Bad Literary Contest
The main goal of a bad literary contest appears to be extracting money from authors rather than honoring excellence. Bad contests typically show several of these warning signs. When in doubt, check with your local poetry society.
- Unusually large number and size of cash awards (e.g., $58,000/year)
- Contest sponsor tries hard to sell you products that incorporate your work, like anthologies
- Contest is free to enter, but 'winners' have to pay a high price for own copy of book
- Contest turns up on “Scam Warning” pages when you search for it with Google
- Hard to contact sponsor with questions - responses are slow or evasive
- Low standards - not choosy about who gets published
- Name is close to that of a prestigious contest but for a small difference
- Prize is not money or publication, but 'agency representation' or something you must pay for
- Hard to find the work of past winners to judge their quality for yourself
- Small prize relative to reading fee (e.g., $5 fee for a $50 top prize)
- Advertised in mass market magazines (Parade) and newspapers (Sunday comics) unrelated to poetry
- You win a prize - but have to pay to attend a convention to receive it
- Only short poems (30 lines or less) are accepted - the better to pack them into an anthology
