{"id":6872,"date":"2014-11-05T19:19:19","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T19:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fourwaybooks.com\/site\/?page_id=6872"},"modified":"2026-01-06T17:17:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:17:23","slug":"levis-prize","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fourwaybooks.com\/site\/levis-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Levis Prize Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2022 FOUR WAY BOOKS LEVIS PRIZE IN POETRY<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Judge: Jericho Brown, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Awarding publication of a book-length collection, a Four Way Books sponsored reading, and $1000.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Submission Dates: January 1 \u2013 March 31, 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Eligibility: Open to any poet writing in English\u00a0regardless of publication history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Submissions accepted online only.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Please read the following instructions carefully.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">GENERAL GUIDELINES (for all submitters)<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript, in English.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 Material in your manuscript may have been published previously in a chapbook, magazines, journals or anthologies, but the work as a whole must be unpublished.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022You may include a list of acknowledgments if you wish.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 Please use a legible 12 point font.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 Do not include art work.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 Translations and previously self-published books are not eligible.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 There are no length requirements save that book-length collections of poetry usually run between 48 and 80 pages of text.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 You may submit multiple manuscripts, but each must be treated as an individual submission, submitted separately, and each requires an entry fee of $30.00 per submission. Each must have complete contact info, etc.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 If you pay the entry fee but fail to submit your manuscript by the deadline, your fee will not be returned.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 Please let us know immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022<strong>Your work will be disqualified if your name or contact info appears on the manuscript. Our online form via Submission Manager will capture your contact information.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022<\/span>We consider using AI to generate your manuscript, in whole or in part, disqualifying. Such manuscripts will be rejected outright and no refund will be offered.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the event of a condition beyond our control (website down, internet down, power outage,\u00a0 or other extreme circumstances), the deadline will be extended and notice will be given along with the reason for the extension.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Online submissions<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2022 <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/fourwaybooks.com\/submissions\/index.php\">Click HERE for our submission manager.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">NOTIFICATION<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The winner will be notified by email or phone no later than Labor Day. Submitters will be notified by email only. The result will also be posted on our website and on social media by Labod Day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We do not offer editorial feedback to submitters.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our Reading Policy<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Each manuscript is delivered to our readers as a blind submission. That is, it is stripped of identifying material. Only the manuscript, inclusive of any text notes, is sent to the readers and, if chosen as a finalist, to the judge. We do not give a list of submitters or titles to the judge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Please do not submit to this contest if you are close enough to Jericho Brown that his integrity, your integrity, and the integrity of Four Way Books would be called into question should you be selected as the winner. You may query us if you have questions regarding this matter. Please query by email to <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:editors@fourwaybooks.com\">editors@fourwaybooks.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our preliminary readers for the contest are selected by the director of the press and are published poets, experienced editors, and\/or poets who have received a graduate degree in creative writing or literature. Each manuscript is read by at least two readers. We rotate our readers seasonally so that those writers who wish to re-submit to Four Way Books can be assured that their manuscript(s) will receive fresh \u201creads.\u201d We do not employ students to read manuscripts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our readers select approximately 50 manuscripts as finalist selections. They look for work that is beautifully crafted, manuscripts that feel whole and well-shaped. They do not try to second-guess a judge&#8217;s preference. Rather, they look to present a wide range of excellent work to the judge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On occasion, a judge may ask to see more work but the judge is not allowed to ask for specific work by a specific writer but may ask to see a wider sampling of strong work. If that is the case, the press reviews the submissions again and more manuscripts are sent to the judge as finalists. Therefore, we do not inform the public of finalist selections since that list may grow after the first culling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The judge is instructed to notify the press of any indiscretions. If a submitter contacts the judge regarding the contest, that person will be disqualified. If the judge does not select a winner, the press&#8217;s director, and senior editors will select a finalist&#8217;s manuscript to publish.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2022 FOUR WAY BOOKS LEVIS PRIZE IN POETRY Judge: Jericho Brown, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry Awarding publication of a book-length collection, a Four Way Books sponsored reading, and $1000. Submission Dates: January 1 \u2013 March 31, 2022.\u00a0 Eligibility: Open to any poet writing in English\u00a0regardless of publication history. Submissions accepted online only. 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