I don't know about this competition in particular
but it sounds typical.
The entry fee itself would buy you a couple of issues of a decent magazine
and even if the editors of such didn't publish your week, at least you would
have some [hopefully] decent literature to read.

Whilst I wouldn't pretend to tar all competitions with the same feathers
If all the fees to competitions were turned into subscriptions to magazines
a lot more very good poetry would get published as more magazines could
actually thrive rather than teeter.

In this media-obsessed world of course -- a magazine is not NEWS
whereas a competition is an EVENT and therefore attracts news coverage.

At this stage I'll dismount the soapbox
and get off for my morning cuppa and a biscuit

yours
Gerald


----- Original Message -----
From: "grasshopper" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2003 7:29 PM
Subject: OT - Poetry competitions


I am one of the world's great non-submitters, but months ago, I thought I'd
enter a poem for the Bridport Prize.
http://www.bridportprize.org.uk/
There is an entry fee (£6 for the next contest in June 2004) I registered at
the site, but somehow didn't manage to get back to the site until about 15
mins before the deadline, when I realised my poem was only 40 lines long,
and I couldn't squidge it down in time.
Okay, so I didn't enter, but a few days ago I had an email from them,
telling me that the winners had been chosen. So I went to the site,
naturally curious to see what had won. I couldn't find the winning poems, so
I emailed them about it. And yes, if you want to see what was won the
competition, the only way is to buy the annual anthology @ £12.
Am I unreasonable in expecting to see at least the poem that won first prize
published online? Is this the usual procedure?
Kind regards,
     grasshopper