[Updated 15 August 2018: At the time this post was written in 2014, the Melita Hume Prize was free to enter and Eyewear Publishing did not charge any submission fees. In 2018 Eyewear Publishing now charges writers to submit work. Please note that at the time Leilanie Stewart was longlisted for the Melita Hume Prize in 2014, and Joseph Robert longlisted for the Melita Hume Prize in 2015, there were no submission fees to enter. Furthermore, there were no submission fees when ‘A Model Archaeologist’ was published in 2015.]
My debut poetry pamphlet, A Model Archaeologist (available from my publisher Eyewear Publishing and from my online store Meandi Books) now has a scheduled publication date of June 2015. It’ll be the 8th publication in the Eyewear Publishing 20/20 pamphlet series. The pamphlets are beautifully produced and available for £5.
How did I find out about Eyewear Publishing?
By entering the Melita Hume competition that Eyewear run every year for poets under 35 (in the UK and Ireland) with a debut full-length collection. My work didn’t reach the 2014 shortlist, but because it was longlisted I then had the opportunity to select 25 poems for consideration by the editor of the 20/20 series, Les Robinson. It all went from there.
So, what’s my advice to any aspiring poets out there? Write prolifically, read widely and critically, accept constructive feedback for your work and keep submitting to magazines and competitions. And most of all, don’t give up in the face of rejections.✔
Leilanie Stewart 