CLIMATE CHANGE: THE BURNING ISSUE
An International Tanka Contest for Australian Wildlife Rescue
All proceeds will be donated towards Koala rescue, conservation, and rehabilitation in Australia.
The world has been recently horrified by the extreme devastation of unprecedented bushfires raging through all Australian states and territories. And it has fueled an ongoing debate about the impact of climate change and severe weather events on flora and fauna of the world’s ecosystems.
It has been estimated that over one billion animals have lost their lives in Australia due to wildfires raging non-stop since September 2019. And the fire tragedy continues as the fire season gets longer with each passing year. It is estimated that up to 30% of the NSW koala habitat has been wiped out by fires. On Kangaroo Island in South Australia, it is closer to 80%. The koala, an iconic and unique Australian mammal, may well sit on the brink of functional extinction due to these fires.
Given this dire situation, we ask for your support. Enter our tanka competition where all entry fees (and eventual book sales from an anthology) will be donated to a worthy Not-for-Profit organization to support their sterling work in saving and rehabilitating injured koalas. If you do not write tanka or do not wish to enter the competition, please contact Amanda (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) on how you may support this fundraiser.
The tanka contest is being administered through Mandy’ Pages, and it is here you will pay your entry fee. Submissions are open from 01 February 2020 to 31 March 2020. Entries are $5 per tanka or three tanka for $12, and you can enter as many times as you like. The competition will be blind-judged in April 2020 by Australian tanka poet, David Terelinck. Results will be announced no later than 30 April 2020.
Theme: Climate Change: The Burning Issue
Duration: February 01, 2020 - March 31, 2020
Judge: David Terelinck
Entry: US $5 per single entry /US $12 for three entries You may submit as many times as you like. (Please note, all transactions are to be in US Dollars.)
Language: English
Subject Line for email: Climate Change Entry (Your Name).
Please add your location/country in the body of the email, below your name.
All tanka should be unpublished (not already in print or on social media), and only quality tanka will be selected for the anthology.
Send entries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Payment via PayPal: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Open PayPal separately and send the amount. This site does not provide a PayPal payment gateway.)
Prizes: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes - Australian Photographic Books
In the second half of 2020, an anthology of the best tanka will be published by Christine Villa under the imprint Velvet Dusk Publishing, in collaboration with Mandy's Pages, and will be available for purchase on-line. The anthology will be edited by Amanda Dcosta, David Terelinck, and Christine Villa.
Please feel free to share the links to this competition on your own Facebook pages, in a poetry group, on your blog, or in an email with friends and colleagues.
Prizes: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd placed tanka will receive book awards. The books will be Australian photographic books that showcase this beautiful region so recently devastated by the fires. Books will be donated by the competition conveners. If you wish to donate towards the prize pool for the competition entrants, please contact Amanda Dcosta via Facebook or email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
In due course, an anthology will be produced, including the winning and commended tanka, and other quality poems selected for publication.
Submission to the competition does not guarantee publication in the anthology.
At each stage of this project, regular updates will be given about the funds raised and donated to the Port Macquarie Animal Hospital.
Please submit your best poems that meet the theme of:
* this current fire situation in Australia
* global warming anywhere in the world
* weather events worldwide, be they hurricane, tornado, drought, flood or other
* climate change
* man’s impact upon his environment
* the challenges of our world today
*political scene in preserving wildlife / combating global warming
Your tanka need not be cynical or bleak. There is immense scope for hopeful poems that address what resilient, compassionate, and dedicated people are doing to tackle this issue. Tanka can reflect man's redress of this situation or hopes for a more positive outlook for the generations ahead.
Mandy’s Pages also invites corporates to advertise with us. Your sponsorship will provide vital support to our endeavor to assist in Australian Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation following the recent fires. For more information, please contact Amanda Dcosta (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Competition Conveners
Amanda Dcosta
David Terelinck
Christine Villa
