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Grove Music announces its third Spoof Article Contest

It’s that time of year again! We invite you to submit your entry for Grove Music’s Spoof Article Contest, and as usual the winning entry will be announced on April Fool’s Day.

Spoof articles have been part of Grove’s history for several decades; it seems that our authors have always had an inclination toward humor. The most recent winning entry (“Henderson, Lucas John”) was written by Joanna Wyld, and it was published on the OUPblog alongside the other top entries.

If you think you have what it takes to fool the Grove editors, here are the rules.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Articles must be no longer than 300 words, including any bibliography or works lists you might choose to include. There is no minimum length. Entries that do not adhere to the length limit will be folded, spindled, and rejected.
  • Articles will be judged by a mix of staff and outside judges including Grove Music’s Editor in Chief Deane Root, Editor Anna-Lise Santella, and a guest to be named later.
  • Judges will consider the following criteria:
    • Does the article adhere to Grove style?
    • Is it entertaining?
    • Could it pass for a genuine Grove article (maybe if you forgot your glasses and you were squinting at it)?
  • Submissions must be sent by email sent to editor[at]grovemusic.com as follows:
    • Subject must read “Grove Music fake article contest-[title]” (e.g., Grove Music fake article contest-Ear flute).
    • Body of the email must include the title of the article and your full name and contact information (street address, email, phone)
    • The article must be included in an attached document. It must not include your name. This is to facilitate blind judging. Use your article’s title as the document name (if your article includes punctuation that can’t be in a document title, replace the punctuation with a space). You may send as many as three articles, but please send each submission separately. No more than three entries will be accepted from a single author.

All submissions must be received by midnight on 29 February 2016. Manuscripts received after that time will not be considered.

  • The winning article(s) will be announced on 1 April 2016 on the OUPblog.
  • The winner will receive $100 in OUP books and a year’s subscription to Grove Music Online. The winning entry will be published on the OUPblog and also at Oxford Music Online where they will appear NOT as part of the dictionary, but alongside the historic spoof articles on a special page.
  • Fine print: We reserve the right not to award a prize if we feel the submissions do not meet our criteria. All submissions become the property of Oxford University Press. Additional terms may apply.

Headline image credit: Sara Levine for Oxford University Press.

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