Free to Enter: Black Country Living Museum Newcomen Poetry Competition 2012 - £100 top prize

Deadline: 22 June 2012

In partnership with the Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Library Service, we are welcoming entries to the Newcomen Poetry Competition.

We will be looking for poems exploring the significance of the Newcomen Steam engine. This can be anything from its dramatic appearance and innovative methods of operation, to the impact it had on working conditions in the mines and key role it played in the development of automated mechanical power and the industrial revolution.

Closing date for receipt of entries is 5pm on Friday 22nd June 2012

ELIGIBILITY

• The competition is organised by the Black Country Living Museum Trust, a registered charity, No. 504481.

• The Competition is open to individuals and groups. There are three categories:

- Children’s Poetry: aged up to 11 years old
- Young People’s Poetry: aged between 12 and 18
- Adult Poetry: ages 19 and over
(Ages as of 1st September 2011)

HOW TO ENTER

• All entries to be posted to the following address:

Newcomen Poetry Competition
Black Country Living Museum
Tipton Road
Dudley
DY1 4SQ

• Entries must be accompanied by a fully completed and signed entry form. Further copies of the entry form are available from our website www.bclm.com or from reception at the Black Country Living Museum. For all entrants under the age of 16 an adult will be required to approve the entry and agree to these Terms and Conditions. The adult may be the entrant’s parent, guardian or teacher. The adult must provide their own contact details (not the child’s). The personal data provided will be used for the purposes of administering the competition.

• Poems must not exceed 40 lines and must be typed on one side of A4 white paper. (Except in the Children’s Category which may be handwritten)

• Entry is limited to one poem per person/group. Entries are judged anonymously, and the name and address of the poet should not appear on the manuscript.

• All entries must be the original work of the entrant(s) and should not have been previously published. The Black Country Living Museum accepts no responsibility if entrants ignore these Terms and Conditions and entrants agree to indemnify the Black Country Living Museum from any breach of these Terms and Conditions.

• Please keep a copy of your poem as manuscripts cannot be returned, and may be archived or destroyed at the discretion of the Black Country Living Museum. The winning and short-listed entries will be published on the Museum website.

• No acknowledgement of entry will be sent unless the competitor sends an SAE marked “Acknowledgement”

• Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted in respect of their entry and no feedback on any entry will be provided.

JUDGING

• Entry closes at 5pm on Friday 22nd June 2012

• Judging will be by a panel, including representatives from Dudley Library Services, Black Country Living Museum and Local Poets. There will be one Prize Winner and two runners-up per category.

• The Judges will be looking for high quality poetry that celebrates the world’s first successful steam engine, the Newcomen Engine, and its impact on life and industry.

• The 9 winners and runners-up will be published on the Museum website and exhibited at the Museum in a Poetry Trail as part of the Poetry Festival on 14th July

• The 9 Winners and Runners-up will be invited to an Awards Ceremony at the Black Country Living Museum as part of the Newcomen Celebrations and Poetry Festival on 14th July 2012.

• The Winning Poet from the Adult Category will win £100 and 1 year free membership to the new Museum Membership Scheme

• The Winning Poets from the Children’s and Young People’s categories will win Book Tokens of £50, an annual family passport ticket to the Museum and a Museum Goody Bag

• The 6 Runners-up will win Book Tokens of £25 and a Museum Goody Bag

• The Judges’ decision is final and no individual correspondence will be entered into. Judges are unable to comment on individual entries.

• The Black Country Living Museum reserves the right to disqualify any entry which breaches any of the Terms and Conditions.

FUTURE USE

• Copyright remains with the poet. However finalists’ poems may be used by competition organisers (Black Country Living Museum, Dudley Library Service and Writing West Midlands) free of charge in promotional material, display, presentations or press for up to four years

Download: entry form

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries: info@bclm.com

For submissions: Newcomen Poetry Competition, Black Country Living Museum, Tipton Road, Dudley, DY1 4SQ

Website: http://www.bclm.co.uk/