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Graybeal-Gowen Poetry Contest for Virginia Writers

Virginia writers are invited to participate in the annual Graybeal-Gowen Prize sponsored by Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review

The contest is open to writers born in or with a current established resident of at least one year in Virginia. The writer who submits the best poem will win the $500 prize.

Past winners have been Kevin Hart of Charlottesville, Va., for “March”; Jennifer Key, currently of Dallas, Texas, for “Jefferson’s Daughters”; and Elisabeth Murawski of Arlington, Va., for  “Emma Hardy Speaks from the Grave,” which will appear in the next issue of Shenandoah. Past judges have included Betty Adcock (winner of The Poet’s Prize) and Brendan Galvin (finalist for the National Book Award).

The Graybeal-Gowen Prize is dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Priscilla Gowen-Graybeal’s father, Howerton Gowen, a 1930 Washington and Lee alumnus and a lifelong lover of poetry. The prize is donated by Mrs. Graybeal and her husband James, a member of the Washington and Lee Class of 1949.

Entrants are invited to submit up to three previously unpublished poems. Two copies of each poem, one with name and address and one without, should be submitted withe a self-addressed stamped envelope and a brief biographical note, which should confirm the basis for eligibility. Entries must be postmarked between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15, 2011. There is no entry fee.

Entries should be sent to:
The Graybeal-Gowen Prize
Shenandoah
17 Courthouse Square
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA 24450-2116

For more information contact
R.T .Smith
E-mail: rodsmith@wlu.edu
http://shenandoahliterary.org/graybeal-gowen