Rolling the dice

This last week, I've been looking into the huge number of annual contests out there for single poems (or small groups of poems) and I've narrowed it down to ten I hope to enter this year: 

1. A Room of Her Own: Orlando Prize in Poetry ($1,000 award): due 1/31/14 + $15 entry fee
2. New South ($1,000 award): due 4/30/14 + $3 entry fee
3. Boulevard: Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets ($1,000 award): due 6/1/14 + $15 entry fee
4. Salt Hill Journal: Philip Booth Poetry Prize ($350 award): due 9/1/14 + $15 entry fee
5. Black Warrior Review Poetry Contest ($1,000 award): due 9/1/14 +$15 entry fee
6. Red Hen Press Poetry Award ($1,000 award): due 9/30/14 + $20 entry fee
7. Dogwood Poetry Contest ($1,000 award): due 10/15/14 + $15 entry fee
8. Mid-American Review: James Wright Poetry Contest ($1,000 award): due 11/15/14 + $10 entry fee
9. Bayou: Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry ($500 award): due 12/31/14 + $15 entry fee
10. Cream City Review Poetry Contest ($1,000 award): due 12/31/14 + $15 entry fee

I'm no gambler, so it's hard for me to spend on something that may not see any return. If I enter all ten of these contests over the next year, I'll end up spending a total of $138 on entry fees, which breaks down to $11.50 per month. In that light, it doesn't seem all that expensive a venture. Here's hoping one of them pays off.

I'm also planning to re-apply for the Ruth Lilly Fellowships this year (if I can get ten pages worth of unpublished poems together before the manuscripts are due--I need to write some new material!). Luckily, this one is free.