2020 Peach Gold in Poetry
WITH GUEST JUDGE
ALOK
ALOK is an internationally acclaimed writer and performance artist. They are the author of the poetry book Femme in Public (2017), a meditation on anti-trans harassment, and Beyond the Gender Binary (2020), a clarion call for a new approach to gender in the 21st century. In 2019, they were honored as one of NBC's 30 LGBTQ changemakers and one of Out Magazine's Out100.
Gist
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Deadline: April 20, 2020
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Judge: ALOK
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Awards: $500 (Gold), $100 (Silver), and $50 (Bronze) + publication
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All entries considered for publication
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Longlist, shortlist, and winners announced in June
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Entry fee: $10; $5 for additional entries; waivers available (see instructions)
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Previously unpublished poems only
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No theme; no length requirement
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Entries from all ages and countries welcome
Financial Transparency
Entry fees help to fund the Gold, Silver, and Bronze cash prizes, as well as the honorarium for our guest judge. Any remaining funds are channeled back into Peach Mag’s programming budget, which funds our online journal, print anthologies, Buffalo-based reading series, and administrative and operating costs. At this time, all Peach Mag editors, designers, and staff are volunteers and do not personally profit from any sales, donations, or fees paid to Peach Mag. Though we currently rely on entry fees to fund this award, we are working on finding ways to subsidize the cost of future awards so that we can move toward a pay-what-you-want fee structure in the coming years.
Instructions
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Purchase $10 entry fee from our online shop. Optional: Purchase additional entry fees for $5 each. Note: If you cannot afford the entry fee—for any reason whatsoever—just let us know by email at peachmgzn@gmail.com. No questions asked.
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Send entries as Word documents to with the subject line GOLD. To submit additional entries, attach multiple documents with one poem per document. Do not include your name or any identifying information on the documents.
Process Transparency
All entries are read anonymously. Peach Mag’s editor in chief and managing editor will read the initial round of entries and make a preliminary set of selections. Then Peach Mag’s poetry team will narrow the selected entries to a longlist, and then a shortlist. From the shortlist, ALOK will select the winners of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze.