On the plus side, it's supported by the Brit poetry establishment, and it's good to see them showing an interest in form. Also it's user-friendly, with clear and simple guidelines and email submission. Furthermore, they've come up with a good solution to the "no previous pubs" issue: they simply say, if you've been paid for it don't submit it, but everything else is OK. Cracking idea. Don Patterson is the best Brit judge I can think of.
On the minus side, it's supported by the Brit poetry establishment, who collectively don't have much of a clue what a sonnet (or any other formal poem) might be. Therefore I expect the top prizes will go to fashionable free versers who submit fourteen-liners rather than sonnets.
David
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