Does anyone know if the Live Poets Society of NJ Poetry Contest is legitimate? I recently got accepted for publication in one of their anthologies. This is what the email says:
"We want to thank you for entering your poem into the judging for this year’s scholarship poetry contest.
From all of the entries we received in the previous few months we selected about 20 to 30 National Winners to appear in “AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL POETS, JUST POETRY!!!, the NATIONAL POETRY QUARTERLY”, and from which the scholarship prize winners will be selected. More information on how the scholarship winners are selected can be found at www.highschoolpoetrycontest.com/our_standards
In addition, we selected about 100 Topical Winners for publication in our upcoming topical anthology entitled “My World”. Although your poem was not one of those selected as a National Winner, we are pleased to say that your poem was among the works selected for this publication.
“My World” will be a meaningful study of introspective poems written by teenagers for teenagers, which explores how today’s teens view their world and where they see themselves fitting into today’s complex moral and social issues. It is scheduled for publication in mid October.
We would also like you to know that less than 2% of all of the poems we will receive this year will be published in this anthology. We found in your poem a passion and sincerity that we feel others will also find worthwhile experiencing. Our goal is to share that passion and sincerity with others and to experience their passion as well."
I didn’t have to pay an entry fee and I don’t have to pay for publication, but I’m just not sure if the 2% statistic is legitimate. Just wondering if anyone else knows anything about this contest.