About two weeks ago I posted up details of the Donjong Heights Russian Sonnet challenge which I'm running for deviants here, as well as on facebook and as far out as I can spread the message. The full story for that, with rules and other details, is here:

[link]

The good news is that Eggbox, the publishers behind the book that inspired the contest, have put their hands into their pockets and are now offering a £50 cash prize to the best Russian sonnet, as picked by Ben Borek himself and managing editor Nathan Hamilton, as well as a copy of Donjong Heights to two runners up.

This is in addition to me publishing my favourites in the January/February issue of the roundtable review.

Also, Ben has very quickly dashed off a new Russian sonnet of his own to encourage and inspire you. Have a read:

It’s been an age since my last straining
Of tetrametric sinews, so
It’s time that I got back in training
And gave the form another go.
It’s late (or early, all depending
On how you see things, is night ending,
The witching hour’s magic lost?
Or is the first crack of the frost
Beneath the postman’s size elevens
A sign that day is joining us
And all the fun and noise and fuss
Is just beginning?) Oh, good heavens!
Parentheses that so extend!
It’s late, it’s early. It’s the end…