Each year we award the Dorothy Brunsman Poetry Prize ($1,000 and publication) to a writer living west of the central time zone. The contest also serves as our best pool for finding new voices. You need not enter the contest to submit to us, but our first allegiance is to manuscripts that come with a reading fee since they help to keep the press going. Like many small independent presses Bear Star is a labor of love. The editors do not make a salary from the contest. Women and writers of color are especially encouraged to submit.