Our Newest Contest!!!

  Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night! 

If you like to write poems and you love the horror genre, then get out your ink pens or search through those desk drawers, because here is your chance!

Dark Moon Books (an imprint of Stony Meadow Publishing) is sponsoring it's first annual "Scary Poetry" contest. The contest is open to all writers, whether published or unpublished, and we are looking forward to reading some great (and scary) poetry!

RULE #1: (And this is perhaps the most important rule) Your poem must of the horror variety!

The poem style does not matter. It can be a true poem or free verse. There are no limits on the length of the work, but we are not looking for any "epic" literature. (In other words, no poetry or prose that rambles on for page after page.) The important part is to make the poem "scary". Something that will make the reader shiver after reading it. We are especially looking for poems that target a specific breed of monster (i.e. poems about vampires, zombies, werewolves, mummies, banshees, hellhounds, the boogeyman, etc.) But entries are not limited to that category.

Here are the rest of the rules:

• All poems must be submitted by the author holding the copyright. (If your poem is not copyrighted, don't worry. Copyright laws protect your work from the moment you started writing it.)

• Contest Deadline: July 1, 2010.

• Your poem must be previously unpublished in print format unless you still hold the copyright. (Online publication is okay as long as you hold the copyright and are not bound by exclusivity to any person, party or website.)

• By submitting your poetry, you authorize us to use the work as promotional content as needed. You also give Stony Meadow Publishing and Dark Moon Books First North American Serial Rights if we decide to publish your poem in the anthology. (Check here for more information on copyrights.) All other rights remain yours. We only desire single time use rights.

• There is no limit to the number of poems you may submit.

• You may withdraw your poem(s) from consideration at any point before the contest end date, but this request must be made in writing.

• Entrants selected as finalists for the contest will be notified within 60 days of the contest's end.

• Submit all entries via e-mail to scarypoems@gmail.com either as an attachment in Word (.doc) format or rich text format (rtf) or simply include it in the body of your e-mail (probably the easiest).

• Include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

Winners of the First Annual Dark Moon "Scary Poetry" Contest will be announced within 60 days after the contest closes.

Prizes are as follows:

• 1st Prize: $50 and publication as the winning entry in Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night!

• 2nd Prize: $25 and publication in the Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night!

• 3rd Prize: $10 and publication in the Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night!

All other poems selected will appear in Poems of Monsters, Mayhem and Madness: Poetry To Keep You Awake At Night! with author credit. (All entries will receive a PDF copy of the finished anthology. No other remuneration will be provided, but copies of the book will be available from the publisher at 35% off the retail price.) We expect to include at least 100 poems in the collection.

All prize money will be awarded upon publication of the book.

Please send all entries, questions and inquiries to www.scarypoems@gmail.com. We will also accept questions and queries by snail mail (Dark Moon Books, Stony Meadow Publishing, 1690 Dunn Avenue #619, Daytona Beach, FL 32114.

A COUPLE OF SAMPLES:

Banshee  

by Jaqueline West

Within my voice is the sound of bones
snapping, torsion of dry joints
grinding cupped sockets.
A fine ear may hear the high pitch of tension
bent before the relieving snap,
or like dice against dice
nubs crushed in a jaw
where wet teeth crack
as the tarsals split.
A mere whisper flays skin
paper-thin from hot flesh.
In my voice is the sound of valves
clogged in thickening drubs
of blood; the drowning fight
to force the silt slugging
dense as lead in the heart.
My scream stops birds dead in midair.
Crows fall to the ground like stones.

Zombie Cowboy Haiku

by Stan Swanson

Zombie cowboys dance

In herky-jerky motion

Howling at the moon.

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