Common Good Books Poetry Contest Update
Garrison Keillor and Common Good Books in St. Paul, MN, wrapped up their poetry contest yesterday, hosting a celebration of poetry at which the winners were announced. One winner and four runners-up were selected from more than 1000 entries submitted by writers across the country. I caught up with David Enyeart, assistant manager and event coordinator at Common Good Books, who gave me an overview of the poetry contest from the bookstore perspective.
It really was pretty easy as far as staff time. We had a big leg-up as far as publicity, of course, but any store could easily run a smaller contest. I “stole” a release form from Minnesota Public Radio. It’s probably overkill, but I’m happy to share it with bookstores. The hardest part is probably finding a judge who can review all the entries.
Enyeart also worked with the book editor at the Pioneer Press, and received coverage from their hometown paper.
The number of entries received was “way beyond our expectations,” Enyeart said. “Prompting a thousand people to pick up a pen and write a poem counts as a very good day’s work in my book.”
Agreed.
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Image: Contest winner Kristal Leebrick and Garrison Keillor at yesterday’s celebration of poetry, hosted by Common Good Books, in St Paul.
