Sorry for the sparse blogging. We have just under 290 submissions left to evaluate ... pretty much on schedule. Hang in there.

We ended up with nearly 1,300 total submissions this year, each one with 1-2 poems in it, most of them with 2. We've reached decisions on almost 700 submissions. A lot done, but a long way to go ...

Our apologies if this somewhat vague information just raises more questions than it answers. Our goal is to be as transparent as we reasonably can. Target date for final decisions remains mid to late July.

If you have trouble getting your entry completed today, please do not panic. Just do your best to complete it, but if something goes amiss, there's time to fix things over the coming days. But, to be fair to other entrants, you do need to make an attempt by the deadline at midnight. You can e-mail the series editor (editor [at] bestnewpoets.org) and yourself to document when you tried.

The most confusing thing about ManuscriptHub is that it handles submissions for multiple magazines. This means you have to go through two steps to complete a submission. The first is where you upload your manuscript files to the ManuscriptHub.com system. The second is where you specifiy which contest/project you are submitting to, and attach your files to that submission.

If you get turned around, there are some new Flash help files on the ManuscriptHub.com system.

This one details how to prepare your files for upload.

This one shows you how to upload files and submit them to Best New Poets. This second help file is a little large. Hang in there while it downloads.

We're down to the last few days of Open Competition submissions. A few reoccuring questions and answers:

Q: Should my name appear anywhere on the submission?

A: No. Not even the file name or the poem's title. Our system links your manuscript to your account but keeps that link blind as far as our readers are concerned. Help us keep them in the dark by leaving your name off the submission. This is pretty standard practice as far as contests go ... so please, no names/addresses on the poems. If you've already uploaded one with contact info in it, just leave it be.

Q: I uploaded my poems to ManuscriptHub but nothing else seemed to happen? Did they go through?

A: You can always log in to ManuscriptHub and check your submission status by clicking on the blue "Submission Status" icon at the top of the screen. If your submission shows up with a status of "Open," it went through; if not, you need to click on the "Submit Work" icon, select "Best New Poets 2008" and attach your poems. Remember that ManuscriptHub uses a two-step process because multiple magazines/contests take submissions through it. First, you upload your work to the system. Second, you have to select which magazine/contest to submit to ... in this case, Best New Poets 2008.

Q: When will you have results?

A: We'll send the poems off to the judge by the end of June, though we may get done faster than that. He'll send results back to us by July 15 or so. We'll notify you shortly after that--and we notify everyone at once.

Q: Can a magazine or writing program still nominate me?

A: No, that nomination period closed April 15, and we have already e-mailed all of those nominees on how to submit their work. There's no technical reason why we couldn't keep taking new nominations, but it would really complicate life on this end ... and there is not enough funding to have staff to process lots of exceptions. The bottom line is that we're only taking Open Comp entries with the $3.50 fee now. Program and magazine nominees should already have an e-mail with instructions and second with a coupon code, which they can use to submit their work. We don't mean to be inflexible, but if we're not systematic, problems tend to creep in.

It is with great sadness that I post the news that George Garrett, the first editor of the Best New Poets series, died at home last Sunday. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with George here at U.Va., and I am a better person for it. He was a wonderful man who will be missed by so many people, especially new writers, for whom he always found time amidst a very busy schedule. The kindness of George and his wife, Susan, is legendary, and it's hard to overstate the debt we owe them. 

A short bio and interactive blog about George Garrett here.