Open Thread Chapbook Contest

PITTSBURGH, PA – Pittsburgh-based arts organization Open Thread and artist collective Encyclopedia Destructica are accepting manuscripts for their new Tri-State Chapbook Contest, now supported in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund.

The Tri-State Chapbook Contest will produce one winning chapbook from each state in Open Thread’s target region – Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – and package the three chapbooks as a collection. The goal of the contest is to promote emerging writers with a connection to the region and engage them with both a regional and national audience.

THE CONTEST
Open Thread will read manuscripts of poetry and prose until June 1st, 2009, officially ending the first round of reading. At that point, finalists will be announced on our website, and the finalist manuscripts will be sent to our final judges: Claire Donato for Pennsylvania, Tyler Meier for Ohio, and Isaac Pressnell for West Virginia.

THE PRIZE
The three prize winners will be announced later in June, and Encyclopedia Destructica will produce the chapbooks for release in July. Each winner will receive 20 free copies of her/his respective chapbook, the opportunity to read at the release event, and distribution through Open Thread's website and book fairs such as SPF 2009 in Pittsburgh and AWP 2010 in Denver.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE
Eligible writers are either natives or current residents of the tri-state area and must not have previously published a full-length book of creative writing. Poetry and prose manuscripts will both be considered, though there will be only one winner per state, regardless of genre.

HOW TO ENTER
Entrants should upload manuscripts on our website before midnight on June 1st. Poetry manuscripts must be at least 15 pages and no more than 35 pages long. Prose manuscripts must be at least 10 pages and no more than 20 pages long.

THE ORGANIZATIONS
Open Thread, known for its “Variety Variety Variety!” cabaret events at the Brillobox, was formed in early 2007 by co-directors Scott Andrew and Adam Atkinson. They just released their first volume of the Open Thread Regional Review, a compilation of regional art and writing.

Encyclopedia Destructica, an artist collective founded in 2005 by Chris Kardambikis and Jasdeep Khaira, has just released its 20th book and celebrated its 4th anniversary. They will manufacture each chapbook at their studio in Lawrenceville.

Images available:
Tri-State Chapbook Contest: http://www.openthread.org/press
Encyclopedia Destructica books: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16927442@N03/sets/
Open Thread Regional Review Vol. 1: http://www.openthread.org/press