$$ Poet = Poor it? Question: How did I afford the contest fees to submit?

Ann, my very good friend just reminded me of something in regards to manuscript submissions that I should share... much of the reason I was able to submit to these contests was that I received two grants from Artist Trust to help with submission costs such as contest fees and postage.

I received an Artist Trust GAP grant this year for $1500. Here's my listing for this year:

Kelli Russell Agodon, Kingston, Kitsap County, ($1500) to assist in finding a publisher. Kelli is currently completing her second poetry manuscript titled “Letters from the Emily Dickenson Room.” In these poems she tries to explore how and if people can find calmness in a chaotic world. Many of the poems were created during her visit to the Sylvia Beach Hotel where she stayed during a writing retreat.

Artist Trust is the most wonderful organization created to help Washington State Artists (writers, dancers, visual artists, photographers, etc.) It's a remarkable organization and I owe them a ton of thanks for helping me have the resources to find a publisher.

If you're in Washington State, you should definitely sign up for a membership to them and apply for their grants.

If you're not in Washington State, then find out what organizations support your local artists.

I think this is another piece of the puzzle that also needs to be mentioned. Had I not had this grant and an earlier grant, I probably wouldn't have been able to submit to so many places. Also, knowing that other artists found my work valuable and validated it by supporting me, made it easier to submit when the rejections rolled in.


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P.S. If I couldn't have afforded the contest fees, I would have dropped cable TV. Priorities!


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