Poetry.com
Encyclopedia
Until recently, the domain name Poetry.com was owned by New Catalyst Fund. On March 7th, 2009, Lulu.com
purchased that domain from NCF. Publish Today and Noble House Publishing, the branches of Poetry.com that managed the publishing and printing of their books, have gone out of business.
According to their press release, Lulu has aggressive plans to completely revamp Poetry.com and bring it under the Lulu brand. The site will be renamed to Lulu Poetry, and will be targeted to poets who want to connect with their peers and have access to resources to receive reviews and feedback on their poetry as well as recognition, contest prizes and helping them publish their work.
Poetry.com was previously run by a Maryland-based company called The International Library of Poetry, also known as the International Society of Poets and the International Poetry Hall of Fame, This company was considered by many to be a vanity publisher. Poetry.com claimed to coordinate monthly poetry contests and other services through its website, though the actual competitive nature of these contests was disputed. The site's ostensible primary purpose was publication of poetry anthologies
submitted by aspiring authors, and invitations to poetry conventions hosted by the group. The Better Business Bureau
of Greater Maryland classified the business as a vanity publisher, and notes that the quality of the poetry submitted to them "does not appear to be a significant consideration for selection for publication."
The Better Business Bureau
comments that it has received "hundreds" of complaints concerning ILP, and that it considers their business to be vanity publishing. In 2004, the New York State Consumer Protection Board
launched an investigation into ILP, which it said "takes advantage of people both emotionally and financially," but suspended the investigation due to a shortage of complaints.
Lulu.com
Lulu is a company offering publishing, printing, and distribution services with headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since their founding in 2002, Lulu has published over 1.1 million titles by creators in over 200 countries and territories and adds 20,000 new titles to their catalogue a month...
purchased that domain from NCF. Publish Today and Noble House Publishing, the branches of Poetry.com that managed the publishing and printing of their books, have gone out of business.
According to their press release, Lulu has aggressive plans to completely revamp Poetry.com and bring it under the Lulu brand. The site will be renamed to Lulu Poetry, and will be targeted to poets who want to connect with their peers and have access to resources to receive reviews and feedback on their poetry as well as recognition, contest prizes and helping them publish their work.
Poetry.com was previously run by a Maryland-based company called The International Library of Poetry, also known as the International Society of Poets and the International Poetry Hall of Fame, This company was considered by many to be a vanity publisher. Poetry.com claimed to coordinate monthly poetry contests and other services through its website, though the actual competitive nature of these contests was disputed. The site's ostensible primary purpose was publication of poetry anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
submitted by aspiring authors, and invitations to poetry conventions hosted by the group. The Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
of Greater Maryland classified the business as a vanity publisher, and notes that the quality of the poetry submitted to them "does not appear to be a significant consideration for selection for publication."
Criticism
Critics of the International Library of Poetry's business model describe their practices as "deceptive and misleading" in that they misrepresent their activities as a contest based on the quality of poetry submitted, whereas in fact the quality has little or no influence on the outcome. They are also accused of portraying the anthologies they publish as a "real literary credit that poets can be proud of" while simultaneously producing anthologies that are available on special order only and which are full of poor quality poetry. Other critics point out that standard industry practice is for winners of poetry contests to receive gratis copies of any publication of their work, and that ILP fails to follow this protocol.The Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
comments that it has received "hundreds" of complaints concerning ILP, and that it considers their business to be vanity publishing. In 2004, the New York State Consumer Protection Board
New York State Consumer Protection Board
The New York State Consumer Protection Board is a government agency of the State of New York that is responsible to "protect, educate and represent consumers". , the Chairperson and Executive Director of the Consumer Protection Board is Mindy A...
launched an investigation into ILP, which it said "takes advantage of people both emotionally and financially," but suspended the investigation due to a shortage of complaints.