Haiku Canada established this biennial competition in 2020 in memory of Marianne Bluger (1945–2005), past member and officer of the society. The contest is open to Canadian and non-Canadian members of Haiku Canada. Two categories are recognized: the best book in English and the best chapbook in English.
The Call for Entries for the first Marianne Bluger Awards laid out the guidelines for the contest in the following language (taken directly from the Haiku Canada website):
The biennial Marianne Bluger Book and Chapbook Awards have been established in memory of the late Marianne Bluger. The goal of the awards is to recognize and encourage excellence in published haiku and related forms (tanka, renga, senryu, sequences, haibun, and visual haiku) in English.
The first Bluger Awards will be presented in 2020, and every second year thereafter.
There will be two (2) categories:
(i) Best English-language book
(ii) Best English-language chapbook**A chapbook is defined as less than 50 pages and in the event that the publisher (author) would like to have it be considered as a book, they will have the right to do so.
1) Three (3) copies of the chapbook must be included along with the entry; three (3) copies of the book must be included for books.
2) The submission deadline will be January 15th, of the year in which the awards are given. To be eligible, books and chapbooks must have been published during the 2 previous calendar years, as evidenced by the date on the copyright page.
3) A “short list” of 3 books and 3 chapbooks, chosen by the judges, will be made from all the eligible books and be announced on the website and social media by March 15th of the year in which the awards are given.
4) Entry forms can be found on the Haiku Canada website, in the Awards section.
5) There is no entry fee.
6) The names of the award winners will be announced at that year’s Haiku Canada Weekend and printed in the fall edition of the Haiku Canada Review.
7) Books may be submitted by the publisher or the author. Publishers/authors may submit more than one book and/or chapbook per two-year period. Books are to be sent to the Administrator, who will then forward the books to the awards judges.
8) The competition is open to Canadians and to non-Canadians who are members of Haiku Canada.
9) Individuals on the Haiku Canada executive are eligible to submit books or chapbooks for the award. It is only closed to the Administrator and the judges for that year.
10) Haiku Canada reserves the right to not award prizes in any of the categories if there are insufficient submissions or if they deem the quality of the submissions lacking in merit for that particular 2-year period.
11) As compensation for their services, judges will be entitled to keep the books they are judging. The same individual may not serve as judge twice in a row. The third set of books will be deposited at the new Haiku Canada Archives.
12) (i) Books may be haiku or other Japanese-related short form poetry. i.e. tanka, renga, senryu, sequences, haibun, and visual haiku. Definitions of each of these poetry forms may be found on the Haiku Canada website.
(ii) Books may contain other forms of poetry, but at least 50% of the total pages must consist of Japanese-related short form poetry.
(iii) Books may have more than one author.
(iv) Edited collections and anthologies are not eligible.
(v) Translations from other languages into English are eligible, in which case the author and translator will share in the prize (50/50). (While the author must be a Haiku Canada member, it is not necessary for the translator to be a member.)13) The winners will receive: $250.00 for the best English-language book and $125.00 for the best English-language chapbook.
Book entries are to be sent to:
Angela Leuck
Marianne Bluger Awards Coordinator
122, rue Main
Hatley, QC J0B 4B0
Marianne Bluger Book and Chapbook Awards, 2020
| Judges | Robert Piotrowski and Jan Draper |
| Number of entries | Not stated |
| Awards coordinator | Angela Leuck |
| BOOKS | |
| First Place (2)— Can$250 | Marco Fraticelli. A Thousand Years: The Haiku and Love Letters of Chiyo-ni. Carleton Place, Ont.: Catkin Press, 2018. |
| Connie R. Meester and Valorie Broadhurst Woerderhoff. Tsugigami: Gathering the Pieces. Winchester, Va.: Red Moon Press, 2018. | |
| Honourable Mention (4) | Chuck Brickley. Earthshine. Ormskirk, U.K.,: Snapshot Press, 2017. |
| Marjorie Bruhmuller. Back Porch Haiku (2013–2019). Ottawa: Éditions des petits nuages, 2020. | |
| LeRoy Gorman. Goodwill Galaxy Hunting. Windsor, Ont.: Urban Farmhouse Press, 2019. | |
| Hans Jongman. Shift Change. Carleton Place, Ont.: Catkin Press, 2017. | |
| CHAPBOOKS | |
| First Place— Can$125 | Marianne Paul. Body Weight: A Collection of Haiku and Art. Edited by Robin Anna Smith. Wilmington, Del.: Human/Kind Press, 2019. |
| Honourable Mention (2) | Gary Hotham. 23. West Brattleboro, Vt.: Longhouse Publications, 2019. |
| Mike Montreuil. Long Ago in a Small Logging Town: Haibun. Carleton Place, Ont.: Catkin Press, 2018. | |
COMPILED BY: Angela Leuck
RELATED HAIKUPEDIA ARTICLES:
Haiku Canada
Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards