MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State University, in a publishing partnership with The Jesse Stuart Foundation, Inc., has announced Year 2 of its First Book Award.

The award will be given to the author from the Southern Appalachian region whose book-length collection of poetry is deemed to be the best in a competition. The competition is open to all authors from the regions who have not previously published a full-length book of poetry. Online publication or a publication with a run of fewer than 300 copies does not apply to this requirement.

The winning manuscript will be published in 2007 by the JSF under its standard contract. To enter the competition, authors must submit a book-length manuscript of at least 80 pages of original poetry on a diskette or CD. The author must not be identified on the manuscript. Authors are advised to send a separate page with their name, contact information and title of the manuscript.

While a manuscript may be under consideration elsewhere, Morehead State and the Jesse Stuart Foundation must be notified if it is accepted for publication. All submissions must be accompanied by a $20 non-refundable entry fee, with checks made payable to the MSU Foundation, Inc.

Entries must be postmarked before Dec. 1, and should be mailed to: The Morehead New Writers Award, Morehead State University, UPO Box 630, Morehead, KY 40351. Authors may submit one manuscript only.

A panel of judges appointed by MSU and the JSF will choose the winning manuscript. Current employees of MSU or Jesse Stuart Foundation, Inc., are disqualified.

The winner will be announced in May, and all authors entered in the competition will receive a copy of the published winning entry.