Everything you need to know about submitting your haiku to the IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award 2016

The IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award 2015 attracted a record number of over 400 entries of brilliantly high standards, and now in its sixth year it is on track to be its most prolific yet.

Now open for submissions, the IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award 2016 (VDHA2016) welcomes haiku from all over the world, in a variety of forms. The international award seeks to encourage the global practice of haiku, and therefore treats both modern and traditional haiku as equal; Japanese syllabic patterns can not be reflected by all languages, nor do all climates mirror the four clear seasons expressed in classical haiku. It is with thanks to this welcoming of diversity that last year’s award attracted entries from 54 countries.

VDHA2016 is not concerned with narrow limitations, divisions, formal rules or restrictions on syllables, but asks that the following simple points are considered:

  •  The haiku must be previously unpublished
  • Only one haiku must be submitted per person
  • Submissions must be made before March 1, 2016

Submissions will be judged by distinguished poet, Croatian Ambassador to Brazil and founder of the award, His Excellency Dr. Drago Štambuk. The winner  of VDHA2016 will be announced during the Plenary Session of IAFOR’s Asian Conference on Literature, Librarianship & Archival Science 2016 (held concurrently with The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2016), to take place in Kobe, Japan, Thursday April 7 to Sunday, April 10 2016.

Commended entries, runners up and the winner of the Grand Prize will be published online and in the IAFOR haiku anthology, which authors will receive a copy of. Winning authors will also be invited to attend the LibrAsia2016 plenary day on April 8, 2016 in Kobe, Japan. This will include entry to the Plenary Session, award ceremony and haiku reading, and haiku workshop with Hana Fujimoto and Emiko Miyashita of the Haiku International Association.

Speakers at the conference, including Dr. Patrick Lo, of University of Tsukuba, Japan, Dr. Dickson Chiu of the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, and Mr. Andrew J. Stark of The Southport School, Australia, will invite attendees to explore the conference theme of “Justice”.

Watch the Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award 2015 award ceremony here.