[Alan Rain]

Lakeland Poetry Magazine have a comp advertised, but frankly it reads as unprofessional, with spelling, punctuation & formatting blips. They even give two different deadline dates, and two spellings of the judge's name:

http://lakelandpoetry.blogspot.co.uk/

Does anyone know about this comp, or the judge: Jayne Sykes (or is it Jane?)

I sent them an email last week, but have had no reply.

[Chris O'Carroll]

Does this new journal, which has yet to publish an issue, solicit submissions through any other channel? Or is paying a fee to enter the competition the only way of submitting? If so, interesting way of doing business. Unappealing, but interesting.

[Julie Steiner]

Typos in the publicity for a literary magazine or website are an absolute deal-breaker for me. If an editor can't even be bothered to make sure his or her own copy is proofread, what level of care and attention can I expect to be given to the presentation of my work?

[Michael Cantor]

All you have to do is google: http://www.jaynesykesauthor.co.uk/

That should tell you all you need to know, if Julie hasn't already.

[Brian Allgar]

I can't help thinking that there's something rather endearing about someone who writes:

"My ultimate dream is to one day be published by Mills & Boon."

[John Whitworth]

I once taught someone who was published (a lot) in 'The People's Friend'. Didn't Sylvia Plath try to write Mills & Boone stuff?

[Alan Rain]

Yes, I did the research when I first saw the comp. Yes, I agree that the 'googled' Jayne Sykes doesn't seem the type of 'author' who would judge a poetry comp, which led me to believe there could be another writer - even a poet - by the same name.

The comp is listed in The Poetry Library and the Poetry Kit. I assumed - maybe incorrectly - that inclusion in these listings implied the comp is genuine.

As I still haven't had a reply, I'm assuming this half-hearted enterprise is not one worthy of support.

Thanks for the replies.

[Ann Drysdale]

The bio page gives you all the sort of information you need to write a poem that will appeal to her. I think we can safely assume that she'll read all the entries.

I suspect she's hoping to raise a little capital to start the magazine. I wish her luck.

She sounds naive and appears to have a relaxed attitude to proof-reading (whoever is without sin...etc) but it doesn't come across to me as moneygrubbing or dishonest. There's enough information for each of us to decide whether to enter, and I think most of us have.

And it does say quite clearly in the rubric that "no correspondence will be entered into".

[Alan Rain]

Originally Posted by Ann Drysdale

And it does say quite clearly in the rubric that "no correspondence will be entered into".

Ah, but there's correspondence about the merits of submitted poems, and correspondence about the organisation of the comp itself. All I did was query the contradictions in the guidelines.

[Chris O'Carroll]

Originally Posted by Alan Rain

The comp is listed in The Poetry Library and the Poetry Kit. I assumed - maybe incorrectly - that inclusion in these listings implied the comp is genuine.

No cause to doubt its genuineness, as far as I can see. That is, I expect somebody really will win and the prize money really will be paid. However, quality and prestige are separate issues from authenticity. Whatever vetting of submitted listings may go on at the Library and the Kit (I have no idea what their procedures are), I'm not sure that a decision to publish a listing constitutes an endorsement of the comp. To paraphrase Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, they're probably not recommending the comps, just pointing them out.