POETRY COMPETITION

‘Harnessing the Power of Dreams’ - Poetry Competition on the theme of realising dreams (max 40 lines).

Judge: performance poet and creative writing tutor, Crysse Morrison

1st Prize £50
2nd Prize £30
3rd Prize £20

This competition is a part of a fundraising initiative for Hazel Stewart’s trek to the Himalayas in Nepal, to raise funds for The Hepatitis C Trust Awareness Campaign.

The 100km trek at altitudes up to 4000m is organised by the Hepatitis C Trust (registered charity number: 1104279) in conjunction with Community Action Treks. All the would-be trekkers have, or have recently been treated for, the blood-borne virus Hepatitis C – and this is where the realising of dreams comes in. The commitment to train adequately for the trek is a huge undertaking – symptoms of the virus can include chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pains, fevers, chills, headaches, night sweats, blurred vision, dizziness and poor quality sleep. Other trekkers include a woman whose partner has hepatitis C, a hepatitis C specialist nurse and a woman who provides hepatitis C awareness training for agencies in the drug field.

If you are a poet, why not support this venture and take your chance at winning one of the small cash prizes on offer?

Anyone wishing to find out more about the trek, log on to http://www.hepctrust.org.uk/ and anyone wishing to sponsor Hazel can check out her donation page at www.justgiving.com/wychhaz .

Deadline 31st August 2006
Entry fee £5 per poem, £10 for 3. Entries must be in English, single-sided, single-spaced. Entries must be the work of the entrant and must not have been published.
Cover sheet required with name, address, email, telephone number, and title(s) of poem(s). No identification should appear on the manuscripts.

Critiques £10 per poem – enclose an sae and write ‘critique requested’ at the top of each poem you would like critiqued, and beside the poem title(s) on your cover sheet.
Please ensure correct postage on your entry – regretfully, we will be unable to retrieve entries which languish at the depot with inadequate postage. Only those entries being critiqued can be returned.

No corrections will be accepted, and no refunds will be given.

For acknowledgement of entry send an SAE marked ‘Acknowledgement’.

For a list of winners, send an SAE marked ‘Results’.

Entries not complying with competition rules will be disqualified.

Cheques should be made payable to The Hepatitis C Trust Awareness Raising Campaign, with your name and address on the back.

Post your entries, with cheques and cover sheets, by 31st August, to:

Harnessing the Power of Dreams Competition Secretary
H. Stewart
16 Marston Mead
Frome
BA11 4DU

No entry form required.

The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.