Procedure

1. Submissions are invited for the following categories: Choice, Recommendation, Special Commendation, Recommended Translation.
   
2. The publication date of all submissions must fall within the relevant PBS quarter: Spring (January - March), Summer (April - June), Autumn (July - September), or Winter (October - December). Publication must not subsequently be brought forward or delayed.
   
3. Books may be submitted in manuscript, pageproof, typescript or fully finished form. Three copies of each submission (two copies for Recommended Translations), together with a completed submissions form must be received at the PBS office on or before the date announced in the publicised timetables.
   
4. Any publication for which the poet or poets has paid, in part or whole, is not eligible for any category apart from the Pamphlet Choice.
   
5. A book shall be defined as having at least 48 pages. Publications shorter than this may be submitted to the Pamphlet Choice category or included in the Bulletin’s Pamphlet listings.
   
6. Posthumous collections are eligible for the Choice or Recommendation categories only if published within one year of the poet’s death. They may, however, be eligible for the Special Commendation category.
   
7. Submitted work must be first published in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. This includes simultaneous publication (within 8 months) in other countries.
   
8. No carriage costs or small order surcharges should apply.
   
9. The PBS sells books to its members at discounts of at least 25%.

The Choice

1. The Choice must be a new book of poems in English by one author, although books jointly written by two poets will also be eligible. Such books must have been conceived and produced as a collaboration or unified collection by the two poets.
   
2. Books which contain more than 20% translations (or versions, imitations or any poetry inspired by the work of one or more other writers) will not be eligible for the Choice. Percentages should be calculated on the total number of lines of poetry in a book.
   
3. The publication price of the Choice cannot be less than £5.95.
   
4. Copies of the Choice must reach the PBS distributor early enough for PBS members to receive their copies on or before publication date.
   
5. The PBS purchases between 1600 and 2100 copies of the Choice at an agreed price of £2.25. Subsequent orders of the Choice will be made at the standard minimum 55% discount.
   
6. The publisher agrees to print the words Poetry Book Society Choice on the outside cover of all editions.

Recommendations

1. Recommendation can be a new book of poems in English by one or more authors, an anthology of contemporary poetry or a volume of collected or selected work.
   
2. Books which contain more than 20% but less than 80% translations (or versions, imitations or any poetry inspired by the work of one or more other writers) will be eligible for Recommendations. Percentages should be calculated on the total number of lines of poetry in a book.
   
3. There is no lower limit on the publication price of a Recommendation but Recommendations should not normally exceed £10.00 in price. If this is the case manuscripts should not be submitted without prior consultation with the PBS office.
   
4. At least 20% of the poems in the collection must not have been published before in book form. Percentages should be calculated on the total number of lines of poetry in a book.
   
5. The PBS purchases copies of the Recommendations at an agreed minimum discount of 55%. The same discount applies to reorders.
   
6. The publisher agrees wherever possible to print the words Poetry Book Society Recommendation on the outside cover of all editions.

Special Commendations

1. The Special Commendation category is intended to reflect the outstanding merit of a particular book not eligible for other categories and can include volumes of selected or collected poems of an author born within 100 years preceding the current PBS quarter, critical works, collections of letters, anthologies, translations, essays or biographies relating to a poet born within that period. New books of poems by one or more authors, anthologies of contemporary poetry or volumes of collected or selected work are also eligible. Publishers may like to discuss informally with the PBS whether or not it is worthwhile submitting a particular work.
   
2. There is no limit on the publication price of books awarded the PBS Special Commendation.
   
3. The PBS purchases copies of the Special Commendations at an agreed minimum discount of 55%. The same discount applies to reorders.
   
4. The publisher agrees wherever possible to print the words Poetry Book Society Special Commendation on the outside cover of all editions.

The Recommended Translation

1. The Recommended Translation category is for new translations into English by one or more translators. Selections and collections are equally eligible.
   
2. This category may be awarded quarterly or it may be an occasional award reflecting the outstanding merit of a particular book.
   
3. There is no limit determining the publication price of books awarded the Recommended Translation.
   
4. The PBS purchases copies of the Recommended Translation at an agreed minimum discount of 55%. The same discount applies to reorders.
   
5. The publisher agrees whenever possible to print the words Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation on the outside cover of all editions.

Other Books Featured in the Bulletin

1. We feature about a dozen books of literary significance in each Bulletin’s ‘Other New Books’ pages, and list details of all books submitted on the ‘Listings’ pages.
   
2. ‘Other New Books’ appear on the order form of the Bulletin, and need to be purchased at the agreed minimum discount of 55% so they can be sold to members at a discount of 25%. The same discount applies to reorders. We will confirm that you are happy for us to feature your books on these pages during the Bulletin production process.
   
3. PBS members sometimes wish to order books from the Listings pages. We make it clear that their 25% discount may not always be available, if publishers cannot supply to us at their agreed minimum discount of 55% in certain cases.

Pamphlets

Please contact the PBS office for details of the Pamphlet Choice submission / listing process.

Children's Poetry Bookshelf

Please contact the PBS office for details of the Children’s Poetry Bookshelf scheme, which promotes poetry books suitable for 7-11 year olds.

T S Eliot Prize for Poetry

Please contact the PBS office for details of the T S Eliot Prize submission process.

Reproductions of Poems

Where space allows, a poem from each of the Selected books is printed in the relevant quarterly Bulletin. Poems from some of the Selected books are reprinted on A3 poster blanks and sent, with teaching tips and discussion ideas, to our Education members. Poems from Selected books are included in the books’ listings on the PBS website, www.poetrybooks.co.uk. Poems from some Selected books are sent in email form to our members. Reproduction of these poems is directly linked to the marketing of relevant books. If you do not wish us to feature your poems in this manner, please notify us. When we need to reproduce poems for all other purposes – eg on postcards or T S Eliot Prize print - we will approach you individually.

Late Arrival of Books

The Choice - publishers must guarantee that our initial order of the title (1600 min) will be delivered to our mailing-house by the 20th day of the middle month of the relevant quarter at the very latest ie 20th February, 20th May, 20th August or 20th November.

Failure to deliver the books on time will necessitate an extra mailing to our Full members, so that they can order other books despite the late arrival of the Choice. The Choice will be sent on to them as soon as it is available. The publisher of the late Choice will then be invoiced for the difference between what our usual single mailing would have cost and what the two mailings actually cost.

Recommendations - publishers must guarantee that our initial order of the title will be at our office by the 5th day of the final month of the relevant quarter ie 5th March, 5th June, 5th September or 5th December.

Failure to deliver the books on time will necessitate an extra mailing to our Charter members and again, the difference between our usual mailing costs and the two mailings added together will be charged to the publisher. If more than one publisher is late the costs will be shared between them.

Early Publication

If we discover that a title submitted for one quarter has been published in the preceding quarter we will automatically remove it from our listings information, remove it from the pack of submissions we send to our Selectors if there is time to do so, and we may also withdraw a selection award (Choice, Recommendation etc.) in some circumstances. This would evidently be upsetting for the poet, so it is imperative that publishers are clear about which quarter they are submitting books for.

Without wishing to penalise publishers unnecessarily, we do feel that some formal agreement of dates will avoid problems and enable our members to have as long as possible in which to select and purchase books from all featured publishers. If one tardy title holds the entire operation up then a charge for extra mailing is the fairest way of ensuring this does not adversely affect everybody else.

In submitting manuscripts for consideration by the PBS Selectors, publishers agree to be bound by the above guidelines. Updated June 2006.

All enquiries to the

Poetry Book Society
Fourth Floor
2 Tavistock Place
London
WC1H 9RA

Tel: 0207 833 9247
Fax: 0207 833 5990
Email: sian@poetrybooks.co.uk

 

PBS Selection Schedule