Open Call for the International Academic Award for Contemporary Literature LA Seneca – IX ed.

The Academy of Arts and Philosophical Sciences of Bari,  International academic center for the free creation of thought, for the study and training on philosophical and artistic language and for the teaching of contemporary Sciences, Letters and Arts  promotes the VIII edition of theL UCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC PRIZE FOR CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

Unpublished poetry and narrative (short story) – newspaper article – published book of poetry, narrative and essay – poetry and published book of poetry for residents abroad aimed at the meaning and valorization of the creative expressions of the human, which opens to the participation of works in prose and poetry, published or unpublished, by authors of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities.

The Prize was awarded in 2023 with the Medal of the Chamber of Deputies.

In previous editions, the initiative has enjoyed the patronage of the European Parliament , the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Senate of the Republic, the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Department for Culture and Education, the Ministry of University and Research, the University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, the University of Foggia, the Presidency of the Regional Council of Puglia, the Department of Culture, Tourism, Participation and Implementation of the program of the Municipality of Bari, the Municipality of Sannicandro di Bari and numerous International Academies. 

REGULATION

ART. 1 – PRIZE SECTIONS

The VIII Edition of the Award includes the following sections:

Adult categories

Section A: single poem on a free theme Section B: collection of poems (anthology) Section C: narrative (short story) on a free theme

Section F: journalistic article

Section G: published book of poemsSection H: published book of narrative

Section L: published book of non-fictionSpecial Prize Epistulae morales: Themed essay: (philosophical reflection on the Seneca quote:  Be a servant of knowledge, if you want to be truly free )

youth categories (university students and secondary schools)

Section Sp: single poem on a free themeSection Sn: narrative (short story) on a free theme category  reserved for residents abroad

Section S: single poem on a free theme in a foreign languageSection Sep: published book of poems (in Italian)

ART. 2 – ADMITTED COMPOSITIONS

Participation is open to all candidates of any nationality who intend to compete with poems, short stories, theatrical texts, journalistic articles and publications. Prizes will be awarded to compositions that stand out for their linguistic quality, literary style and content.Members of the Academic Senate, members of the Commission and anyone involved in the organization of the Prize, including their first-degree relatives, are not permitted to participate.

Section A: maximum 3 (three) poems of no more than 36 lines eachSection B: maximum 10 (ten) poems of no more than 36 lines each, to be sent in a single file. The collection must be given a titleSection C: a story of no more than 3 editorial pages in lengthSection F: a free-form article of no more than 4000 charactersSection G: a published book of poetry, with an ISBN code, published from 2014 onwardsSection H: a published book of fiction, with an ISBN code, published from 2014 onwardsSection L: a published book of non-fiction, with an ISBN code, published from 2016Special Prize Epistulae morales: a themed essay of no more than 3 editorial pages in length

Section Sp: maximum 2 (two) poems no longer than 36 lines.Section Sn: a story no longer than 3 editorial pages.

Section S: maximum 3 (three) poems of no more than 36 lines each. Candidates must send the compositions in the official language of their country of residence with an attached translation into Italian or English.

Sep Section: a published book of poetry exclusively in Italian

All compositions may be PUBLISHED or UNPUBLISHED, even if awarded or winners in other competitions, prepared anonymously (with the exception of sections G, H, L, Sep), under penalty of exclusion, and accompanied by a title.

Declaration of authorship of the compositions

Each candidate assumes full responsibility for the content of the compositions sent and declares their paternity and intellectual and creative property. To this end, it is necessary to fill out and sign this declaration of responsibility in the participation form attached to this regulation. Furthermore, the organization declines all responsibility in the event of plagiarism or forgery by the candidates, and reminds that this offence is punishable under the special law of 22 April 1941, n° 633 on “Copyright”.

Sending the compositions

Candidates must send their compositions exclusively in electronic format (Word or PDF format – Times New Roman, font 12, single line spacing) to the email address

Accademia.asf.seneca@gmail.com

attaching, in separate files

a) participation form, duly completed, with a declaration of authorship of the compositions and authorization to process personal data (form attached below);b) compositions with which you intend to participate, without signature or any other identifying mark.For sections G, H, L (published), send a hard copy of the book in addition to sending the PDF version including the cover  (*) by email;c) copy of the receipt proving payment of the participation fee referred to in the following Art. 4;d) short artistic biography (no more than 15 lines, otherwise it will not be taken into consideration);e) photograph in jpg format, in color, of good quality.

(*) For the published sections G, H, L, also send a paper copy, together with the membership form, to:Academy of Philosophical Arts and SciencesVia Orazio Flacco 28/B – 70124 Bari

Each candidate will receive from the secretariat, within 3 days of receiving the material, a confirmation email with the confirmation of admission to the Award and correct registration. Registrations that do not comply with the provisions of this regulation and are not regularized within the indicated deadlines will not be taken into consideration and will not give the right to a refund of the participation fee. It is kindly requested to send the compositions possibly in advance, with respect to the deadline, to facilitate the organization in cataloguing them.

The works will not be returned in any way. As regards the published sections G, H, L, the books will remain the property of the Academy Library.

The organization reserves the right to exclude from the Award, without any notice and without obligation to return the participation fee, all compositions deemed offensive to public morality and civic sense, towards people and institutions, or containing racist, xenophobic, blasphemous, pornographic elements or incitement to hatred, violence, discrimination or that serve as ideological, party and political proclamations. Participation in multiple sections is permitted by paying the relative contributions cumulatively, with the methods indicated in Art. 4.

Furthermore, all registrations received without the personal data sheet, illegible or incomplete, without a copy of the proof of payment of the participation fee or of the compositions with which the participant intends to participate, in a manner not compliant with the provisions of this regulation or after the deadline, are grounds for exclusion.

ART. 3 – TERMS OF SUBMISSION

The compositions must be sent by midnight on 31 May 2025 (the date of sending the email will be considered valid).

ART. 4 – PARTICIPATION FEE

To participate in each section, a contribution and support to cover the costs of organization, secretarial and promotion must be paid in the amount of €20.00.

It is possible to participate in more than one section by paying, for the subsequent ones, the additional fee of €10.00.

There is no contribution for the youth categories.

For candidates of any nationality RESIDENT abroad:

Section Sp: single poem – no contribution is expectedSection Sep: published book of poetry – a contribution of €10.00 is expected

Payment can be made by bank transfer to:

Academy of Arts and Philosophical Sciences IBAN: IT14Q 07601 04000 001057617977

Reason: registration fee for the SENECA Prize VIII edition – Name of the Candidate – section

In very exceptional cases, for any method other than Bank Transfer, ask for information by sending an email to  accademia.asf.seneca@gmail.com

ART. 5 – COMMISSION (composition evaluation committee)

All the compositions (with the exception of sections G, H, L, Sep) will be submitted anonymously to the evaluation of the members of a Technical Commission appointed by the organization of the Prize, composed of authoritative personalities and exponents of the cultural, information and university teaching scene, poets and literary critics whose judgment is final and irrevocable. The work of the Commission will be carried out in full compliance with the guidelines of the Academy.

The minutes drawn up by the Commission, with the ranking and special prizes for each section, will be published by July 2024 on the Academy's website www.accademia-asf.it.

All candidates will also be promptly informed of the results of the Award by email, with subsequent telephone communication only to the winners. The Commission has the right to not assign some qualifications, if the compositions are not considered worthy. No follow-up will be given to requests regarding positions and scores obtained, aesthetic-evaluative analyses or critical comments on the works presented.

ThereCommission, chaired by  Pasquale Panella , Rector-Dean of the State Colleges, former Expert in the Subject at the Chair of Glottology and Linguistics of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, University of Bari.

ART. 6 – PRIZES

For each section, in addition to the first three classified, the following Special Prizes will be awarded:

Excellence Award from the University of Bari “Aldo Moro”Award from the Academic SenateAward from the President of the CommissionAward from the City of Bari (best composition among authors resident in the province of Bari)De Brevitate Vitae Award in memory of Cristina Conserva and reserved for the anthology section

and Special Awards relating to specific themes

– Quello che Caino non sa Award (gender violence)– Domus Award (affections, family)– Dafne Award (love)– Pegaso Award (childhood)– Centuria Award (conflicts)

All award winners will receive a  personalized trophy and  the  academic parchment  signed by the Award President and the Commission President, with relative critical significance.

The organization also reserves the right to award any additional special prizes to candidates who have distinguished themselves for the quality of their works and who will be awarded trophies and parchments.

ART. 7 – AWARD CEREMONY

The Award Ceremony will take place on Saturday 4 October 2025 at the Sala delle Scuderie of the Norman-Swabian Castle of Sannicandro di Bari, in the presence of well-known personalities from the world of culture, entertainment and the municipal administration. The artistic direction is entrusted to the writer Maria Teresa Infante La Marca, Director of the Department of Solidarity and Social Promotion of the Academy of Arts and Philosophical Sciences of Bari.The winners will receive communication on the outcome of the Award in due time and must confirm their presence at the event. Maximum publicity will be given about the event, through the press, web and local TV. The organization does not provide any reimbursement for travel expenses. The program will continue, compatibly with what is specified above, with the convivial dinner in the company of the members of the Commission, the Honorary Committee and representatives of the Academy.The awards must be collected personally by the interested party. In the event of proven inability to participate in the Ceremony, it is possible to delegate a trusted person by communicating with the Organization at the email address indicated below.Uncollected awards may be sent upon request with the recipient charged for the costs.

In the event that technical or organizational reasons or in the event of restrictions that prevent the performance of the Ceremony according to the methods and terms set out in this regulation, participants will be promptly notified by email or telephone. In this case, the organization will undertake to conduct the event via video conference in the presence of the Commission members and the entire organization. In this event, the prizes will be sent at the recipient's expense.

ART. 8 – AUTHORIZATION FOR PUBLICATION OF COMPOSITIONS

Participation in the Award implies tacit authorization for possible publication of the compositions, without further formalities, on the Academy website, on the advertising and information material of the Award, together with any photos of the award ceremony in newspapers, cultural magazines, social networks. Mention of the author's name is required in compliance with Art. 20 of Presidential Decree no. 19 of 01/08/1979.

ART. 9 – ACCEPTANCE OF THIS REGULATION

Participation in the Award implies tacit and unconditional acceptance of all the articles of this regulation that compose it, binding for all candidates, who waive any and all future claims against the Academy. For anything not foreseen, the resolutions of the Academic Senate apply.

ART. 10 – PRIVACY

By signing the participation form, each candidate expressly authorizes the Prize Organization to process and protect the personal data transmitted pursuant to Law 675/96 (Privacy Law) and subsequent amendments Legislative Decree 196/2003 (Privacy Code), information update pursuant to Art. 13 of EU Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) in force from 05/25/2018.

The organization guarantees that such data will be used exclusively for the performance of the obligations inherent to the VI Edition of the  Lucius Annaeus Seneca International Academic Prize for Contemporary Literature  and processed in accordance with the aforementioned European Union regulation on the processing of personal data, therefore they will not be communicated or disclosed to third parties for any reason.

ART. 11 – INFORMATION ON THE PRIZE

This regulation is available, electronically, on the website www.accademia-asf.it on which all official communications will be published (names of the members of the Commission, names of the guests who will speak during the Award Ceremony, rankings and any other information relating to the Award).

Any information and clarifications may be requested at the email address  accademia.asf.seneca@gmail.com  or at the Prize Secretary, available at 348 4097289 ( from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm) and 328 9674612 (from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm ) on all weekdays.

The organization, where necessary, reserves the right to make changes to this regulation and the prize plan. It is also not responsible for any consequences due to false information about the personal details provided. Failure to comply with any of the rules prescribed herein constitutes grounds for exclusion from the Prize. For anything not covered by this regulation, current legislation applies.