Golden Pen Poetry Competition

The Golden Pen Poetry Competition is inviting poems of no greater than 70 lines. 

The first prize for the competition is €100 and with consolation prizes as well and the winning entry to be published in the Festival magazine. 

There is a junior section as well for primary schools with a first prize of €50 and no word limit. 

Fees for entry are €5 per poem senior and €3 for juniors. 

Send your entries to: The Golden Pen, Gurteen, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway and for further info contact: John Corbett at  corword@yahoo.com 

Also info on the Poetry Ireland website. 

Deadline: 1st April

The Philip Larkin Society & East Riding Poetry Prize 2015

Bridlington Poetry Festival 19–21 June 2015

The Philip Larkin Society and East Riding Poetry Competition is now open for entries.

Shortlisted entries will be judged by the poet, Jean Sprackland.

That means the entries are filtered, possibly by committee.

Poems are submitted anonymously so each entry is judged on its own merits.

Winners and commended poets will be invited to read their poems at the Bridlington Poetry Festival (19-21 June 2015) in the company of some of the UK’s finest poets.

Each poem must be no longer than 45 lines and maybe on any subject or in any style.

£4.00 entry fee per poem.

Deadline: 10 April 2015

Snailmail with a cheque only so I'd guess the number of entries will be lower. Link here

For more information visit
www.bridlington-poetry-festival.com
Twitter @bridpoetryfest
Facebook /bridlingtonpoetryfestival

Granta is Accepting Unsolicited Submissions

After a long hiatus Granta, one of the world’s most prestigious literary magazines, is again accepting unsolicited submissions.

Granta publishes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. There are no strict word limits, though most prose submissions are between 3000 and 6000 words and the editors advise they are unlikely to read more than 10,000 words of any submission.

Alongside the print edition, the online New Writing program publishes stories, poems, essays, interviews, animations and more from established Granta alumni as well as new voices.

All submissions will be considered for both the print and online editions (unless otherwise stipulated in the cover letter). Selection is extremely competitive and only a very small fraction of submissions will be chosen for publication. Reading recent editions of Granta will help you assess whether your work is likely to be a good match.

Writers must submit their work via Submittable and there are no reading fees. For further information visit the Granta website

Deadline: 1 April 2015.

As usual, do read a few copies of the magazine, paper and online to see what shakes their tree. It's very classy and quite highbrow. Fantastic opportunity.

Bristol Short Story Prize

The Bristol Short Story Prize is an annual international writing competition open to all published and unpublished, UK and non-UK based writers. They publish an annual anthology of the winning stories as well as presenting cash prizes.

Closing date is midnight on 30th April. 

20 stories will be published in our 7th anthology, 
1st prize £1000, 2nd prize £700, 3rd prize £400. 17 further prizes of £100. 

Sara Davies leads the judging panel with literary agent,Rowan Lawton, and celebrated writers, Sanjida O’Connell and Nikesh Shukla.

The maximum length of submissions is 4,000 words (does not include title)

There is an entry fee of £8 for each story submitted. 

Entry can be made online or by post. Please click here for more details.

Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition

Hurry Hurry.
During this introductory year only the first 500 entries will be accepted for the competition. All writers are therefore urged to send in their stories at the earliest opportunity.  When we get close to this number we will post an alert on the front page of the Scottish Arts Club web site www.scottishartsclub.co.uk .
You are therefore encouraged to send in your entries well before the deadline.

Chief Judge: Alexander McCall Smith

First Prize of £300
Presented during the Scottish Arts Club Annual Garden Party
Saturday 16 August 2014 
Travel and accommodation during the Edinburgh Festival

To enable the winner to attend the award ceremony, the Scottish Arts Club will provide travel for 2 people from any UK location to Edinburgh and accommodation for 2 nights for 2 people sharing on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 August. This will allow the winner some free time to enjoy the Edinburgh Festival.

Publication of the winning story in the Scottish Arts Club Magazine
Signed copies of a novel by Alexander McCall Smith awarded to writers of the top ten stories
Top ten stories will be placed on the Scottish Arts Club website.

The Scottish Arts Club, located in Rutland Square, Edinburgh is delighted to announce our first Short Story Competition with celebrated author Alexander McCall Smith as the chief judge. Those familiar with McCall Smith’s work will know that the historic Scottish Arts Club, located in Rutland Square, has featured several of his popular novels.

Stories entered for the competition do not have to be associated with Scotland. The stories must not have been previously broadcast on radio, read aloud as part of a commercial performance or published in any format including on a web site that is open to the public. Previously published and unpublished authors may submit entries.
All entrants should be over 16 years and submit stories in Microsoft WORD via email.

1,500 words (stories over the word limit will be disqualified)
Every story entered carries a £10 fee
Link here

22nd National Student Poetry Competition 2014

 

 

Better hurry if you are a student and have and entry for this competition.

Deadline: Friday 18th April 14

Windows Publications in association with Cavan Crystal present the 22nd National Student Poetry Competition 2014.

Judges Heather Brett and Noel Monahan.

€100 1st Prize in each category
With several runner-up prizes and over 50 highly commended certificates.

Entry to the competition is free and no entry form is needed. Entrant details (name, age, school and contact number) must be clearly marked on the back of each entry if posting work or at the end of the work if sending by email.

Poems must not have been published or won a prize in any other competition, and must be the student's own work.

Email entries, please send to: heatherbrett22@gmail.com
By post to: Windows/Cavan Crystal Poetry Competition, Cavan Crystal Hotel, Dublin Road, Cavan, Co. Cavan on or before Friday 18th April 2014.

 

Arts Office & Public Library Service  

Call for Writer in Residence  

June 2014 - May 2015

  

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council invites applications for a writer in residence for the period June 2014 to May 2015. The writer in residence is a partnership between the Library Service and the Arts Office of the County Council, grant-aided by the Arts Council. 

  

The residency seeks to support writers in all genres. The residency is envisaged as a part-time position which will allow time for the writer's own work in addition to engagement and interaction with both the general public and, more specifically, with those with an interest in writing themselves. 

The writer in residence will focus on working in both the refurbished Blackrock Library and the new Central Library and Cultural Centre (CLCC) in Dún Laoghaire, due to open later in 2014

  

Closing date: 12 noon on Wednesday 30 April 2014

  

Full details: http://www.dlrcoco.ie/library/news/2014/writer_in_residence_brief.pdf

Which Short Story Competition to enter?

Bath Short Story Award 2014 offers £1k, £200 and £100 plus publication in an anthology. Entrants must be over 18. Send up to 2.2k words on any theme or subject. Entry fee: £8. Deadline: 31 Mar

Short Fiction Journal, International Short Story Prize offers £500 plus publication for up to 5k words on any theme. Online entries only. Entry fee: £5. Deadline: 31 Mar

Brighton Short Story Prize offers £400 and the chance to read your story at Brighton Festival Fringe show. Send 1-2k words on any subject or genre. Entry fee: £6. Deadline: 1 Apr

Berkhamsted Writing Competition offers cash prizes and raises money for the Hospice of St Francis. Send stories up to 1k words on the theme ‘beginnings’.  Entry fee: £5. Deadline: 4 Apr

Flash 500, Flash Fiction Competition offers £300, £200 and £100 for encapsulating a story with just 500 words. Any subject or genre. Entry fee: £5 for one story or £8 for two. Deadline 31 Mar

SI Leeds Literary Prize 2014 for unpublished fiction of over 30k words by Black or Asian women writers resident in the UK. Prizes: £2k, £750, £250. Winner also gets a place on a 2015 Arvon Foundation course and all three finalists will receive manuscript feedback from The Literary Consultancy. Deadline: 31 Mar
Bristol Short Story Prize offers £1k, £700, £400 for a story up to 4k words, any theme, subject or style, including graphic and verse. Entry fee: £8. Deadline: 30 Apr

Almond Press Short Story Competition offers £100 plus publication for vivid and imaginative dystopian portrayals of mankind’s future, up to 5k words. Entry is free. Deadline: 1 May

Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition offers £500 plus publication in Fiction Desk anthology for stories of 2-5k words. Entry fee: £7. Deadline: 30 May

Frome Festival, Short Story Competition offers £525 in prizes. Winning stories will be read by a leading London literary agent. 1-2k words, any theme or genre. Entry fee: £5. Deadline: 31 May

Bridport Prize Short Story Competition offers £5k, £1k, and £500 as well as the opportunity for your story to be read by leading London literary agents and submission to the BBC National Short Story Award. Entry fee: £9. Deadline: 31 May

Golden Pen Competition

Enter your Poems and Stories in the 15th. Annual Golden Pen Competition

First Prize: €100 for adults €50 for students
Prizes for 2nd & 3rd placed writers plus publication in our Festival Magazine

Entry fee: ADULTS €5 : (£4 or $5, UK/USA) STUDENTS: €3 or £2

Stories limited to 2000 words
Poems 70 lines

Put your name and details on a separate sheet

Send your poems and stories to:
The Golden Pen,
Gurteen,
Ballinasloe,
Co. Galway.

Deadline: 1st April 2014. Winners will be notified before June 9th, 2014

Terms and conditions here

The Colour of Saying

A Creative Writing Competition in Celebration of Dylan Thomas

Responses are sought to Dylan Thomas’s poem‘The Hunchback in the Park’ can be in poetry, prose-poem, prose, diary form, and letter form.

Rules: Poetry, Prose-poem, Prose, Diary form, and Letter form

1. Entries can be submitted in any language or dialect
2. Entries must be accompanied by an English translation of the work (if possible)
3. Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on a website or broadcast before 27 October 2012
4. All entries must be sent to colour@dylandowntheups.org.uk as a word attachment, which should include the age of the entrant and contact details or posted (see below)
5. All entries are judged anonymously and the writer’s name must not appear on the work itself
6. The competition is open to people of all countries, nations, and religions

Rules: Fees, Prizes and Winners

1. There is no fee to enter this competition. There is a limit of FIVE entries that a single entrant can make
2. The best of the submissions will be judged by international writers/translators and published in an anthology which will appear on 27 October 2014, the centenary of Dylan Thomas’s birth, co-published by The Seventh Quarry Press, UK, and Cross-Cultural Communications, USA
3. All other entries will appear in phases on the Dylan Down the Ups website www.dylandowntheups.org.uk
4. Authors of the winning work, by entering the competition, grant Dylan Down the Ups the right to publish and/or broadcast that work for one year from 2014. Use of the work elsewhere during this time is subject to permission from Dylan Down the Ups
5. There will be anthology launches in the U.K. and beyond, to which successful entrants will be invited

Categories:

1. 10 – 12 years of age at time of submission of entry
2. 13 – 16 years of age at time of submission of entry
3. 17 – 20 years of age at time of submission of entry
4. 21 – 24 years of age at time of submission of entry
5. 25 years of age and over at time of submission of entry
The closing date of the competition is midnight (UK time), 27 April 2014

Judges:

English-language: Peter Thabit Jones and Anne Pelleschi of Wales; Hannah Ellis Thomas of England (Dylan’s granddaughter); Stanley H. Barkan, Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, and John Dotson of America

Welsh language: Jim Parc Nest (Archdruid of the Bards) and others to be announced

Other-language judges will be chosen by Stanley H. Barkan and Peter Thabit Jones

Postal submissions to: Dylan Down the Ups, 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Uplands, Swansea SA2 0RA, Wales, U.K.

Electronic submissions to: colour@dylandowntheups.org.uk

Link here

14th International Poetry on the Lake Competition

Deadline: 28th April 2014 

Theme 'Weather'    max 50 lines

“Poets are always taking the weather so personally.” J.D. Salinger 

Be inspired by weather, good or bad, or just make a reference to (e.g. 'a sunny disposition' , 'he stormed in' )  

Prizes:
Silver Wyvern & €500 to winner;     2nd €200
Prize for best sonnet €100
plus other prizes.

Guidelines
CHOOSE A PEN NAME (Name, phrase, number, whatever)
Entrants must be over 16 years old. Poems must be in English.
Poems must be unpublished and not have won a prize previously.
Maximum lines - 50
No separate categories this year, except for sonnets

All results will be on this website in July, winners and commended will be notified.

Postal entries: £6 per poem (£15 x 3, then £5) or €10 (€20 x 3 ). 
2 copies of each poem, both with pen name only; put contact details, titles, fee in sealed envelope with just pen name & poem titles on outside.

Only UK cheques or (crossed) POs accepted (payable to G.Griffin-Hall), 

Euro/dollars: pay Paypal (Donation button below) or send euro/$ notes (wrap in silver foil).

SEND TO:  Poetry on the Lake, Isola San Giulio, 28016 Orta NO, Italy


Email entries: first pay by Paypal (Donations button here - you do not need a Paypal account, you can pay with a credit card), note transaction ID and send in attachment with contact details, titles of poems, pen name.

Send poem/s marked with pen name, all poems preferably in one file, as second attachment. Fees: £8/€11/$12 per poem. 

Email to cict@occam.org, subject line: 2014 comp/Paypal ID transaction number

Results by July

Link here

Skylight magazine is looking for submissions

Skylight is a Galway based publication that's well worth a look.

The closing date for submissions to the next edition is 1^st April 2104 to skylightpoets47@gmail.com.

Link here 

The third edition of Skylight 47 - 'possibly Ireland's most interesting poetry publication' - was launched in Galway on 23rd January, featuring:

• New poetry and artwork
• An interview with Kay Ryan, former U.S. Poet Laureate and Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
• Reviews of new poetry collections by:

                         Richard W. Halperin,

                         Susan Millar DuMars

                         Kimberly Campanello

• A Masterclass with Drucilla Wall
• Spotlight on the Donegal Garden Room Writers
• Comment:  Poets for Sale by Kevin Higgins

cornwall contemporary poetry festival

This competition is judged anonymously and all poems are read by the judge, Imtiaz Dharker, which is admirable. Also note that only postal entries are accepted, which I imagine means fewer entries. Also only UK cheques.

1st prize: £500    2nd prize: £150    3rd prize: £50 Judge: Imtiaz Dharker

Entry fee: £4 per poem, £2 per poem thereafter

Rules and instructions for entry

• The competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over.
• Poems should be in English, must not have been published either in print or on a website, nor be currently submitted or accepted for future publication. They must not have been awarded a prize in any other competition.
• Poems must be your own original work and may be on any subject.
• Poems must be typed and no longer than 40 lines.
• Each poem must be on a separate sheet of paper, which must not bear your name, or any other means of identification.
• On a separate sheet of paper, you should give your name and address and the title(s) of the poem(s) submitted. And please let us know where you heard about the competition.
• Any number of poems may be submitted on payment of the appropriate fee, which is £4 for the first poem and £2 for each additional entry. Cheques (in sterling only) should be made payable to “Falmouth Poetry Group”.
• Deadline: 30th April, 2014.  
• Results will be sent out in early June. 
• Eight finalists will be invited by phone or email to read their poems at the festival, where the winners will be announced.

Entries should be sent to:
The Competition Secretary, Cornwall Contemporary Poetry Festival, 33 Church Street, Helston, Cornwall TR13 8TD.

The judge will read all poems submitted to the competition. There will be no sifting of entries.

More info on the festival here

Write 4 Austism Competition

I know many writers who have first hand experience of the challenges of working with people on the autistic spectrum. You may want to consider entering this competition.

Run by the Autism Initiatives Group, this Short Story competition is an opportunity for writers to contribute to a great cause.

All entrants will have their work judged by the internationally acclaimed authors Colin Bateman, Declan Burke and Lucille Redmond.

The total prize fund for the 2013 competition will be one third of the entry pool up to a maximum of €4,500. The Prizes will be allocated as follows:
First Prize: 50%of the Prize Fund (€2,250 max)
Second Prize: 25% of the Prize Fund (€1,125 max)
Third Prize: 10% of the Prize Fund (€450 max)
Commendation prizes will be awarded from the remaining portion (15%) of the Prize Fund (18 prizes max of €35 each)

Each entry will be 7.50 Euro.

Deadline: December 31st  2013.

Please read all the terms and conditions before entering!

Maximum length for a story (excluding the title) is 1,500 Words.

The Prize Winners and commended stories may be published as an Ebook with proceeds going to ASDI.

Windows Publications Extravaganza 21st National Student Poetry Awards will be held in association with Cavan Arts Office & Culture Weekend on Sunday 22nd September 2013 in the Cavan Crystal Hotel, Dublin Road, Cavan.

This will include a Poetry Master Class by the poet and playwright, Noel Monahan from 12-2pm.

Topics Covered Include:
* Poetic Inspiration
* Responding To A Poem
* Finding A Form For Your Poem
* Arranging Your Work On The Page
* Rhythm, Line Breaks & Editing
* Getting Your Poetry Published

Two participants will be chosen to read their work at Windows 21st National Poetry Awards Ceremony at 5pm on the same day in Cavan Crystal Hotel.

Workshop costs €40 (includes coffee) and places are limited so please book before 6th September. All enquiries and booking to 0870534737.

21st National Student Poetry Awards will take place on the same day at the same venue at 5pm. Guest speaker will be Jack Keyes, Cavan County Manager. Guest poet Terry Mc Donagh (Hamburg).

Art exhibition with international artists James Brady (Monaghan), Elena Duff (Berlin) and Anne Petersen (Galway).

KBC Dalkey Book Festival Four Forty Story Competition

Competition for up and coming young writers

We urgently need some good stories, so we’re launching a terrific new short story competition in association with KBC. To celebrate 40 years of KBC in Ireland and 4 years of the Dalkey Book Festival, your story must be 440 words or less. If you are 13 or under (the best age for writers, we think) we desperately want you to enter. Please, please, enter as soon as you can; by next week we might be reduced to reading phone books and junk mail.

A prizewinner will be selected in each category (9 and under and 10-13yrs).
Each prizewinner will win book tokens to the value of €250, Dalkey Book Festival tickets, a festival lunch (with a chance to meet some of our children’s authors) and a two night family stay with dinner in the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney. Get writing!

Deadline: Monday 3rd June 2013 at 10.30am.

• Entry to this competition is open to children aged 13 years and under on 3 June 2013 who are living in Ireland
• Entrants must write a fictional short story (no more than 440 words in length) Entry is via an online entry form available here

Dalkey Festival is

Paula Meehan in Maynooth

A Poetry Reading with Paula Meehan

All Welcome!

Venue: JHL3, John Hume Building, North Campus, NUIM
Date: Wednesday April 17, 2013
Time: 6.30pm

Paula Meehan is one of Ireland’s leading contemporary poets. Her six collections include: The Man Who Was Marked by Winter (1991), Dharmakaya (2000) and Making Rain (2009). Mysteries of the Home, a selection of her early poetry, was recently re-issued by Dedalus press.


DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH SEMINAR SERIES SPRING 2013


School of English, Media & Theatre Studies
NUI Maynooth

Revival Submissions

Revival Literary Journal No. 26 from Limerick is calling for submissions from local, national and international poets and writers for issue 26 which will be published in June 2013.

The deadline for submissions is:   Fri 26th April 2013

 

Poetry send to:  revival.lit@gmail.com

Prose/Reviews send to:   limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com

 

Link here 

Galway Film Centre / RTÉ Short Film Awards

Galway Film Centre, in association with RTÉ, is delighted to announce two cash awards of €9,500 each under their 2013 Short Film Awards. The awards will be given to the two best scripts submitted to Galway Film Centre.

Deadline is 12 noon on Friday, April 12th. 

The best scripts will be short-listed for interview and two winners will be awarded the prize money to produce a short film, as well as the use of equipment and facilities from Galway Film Centre, and a commitment from RTÉ to screen the finished film. Application forms are available on request from info@galwayfilmcentre.ie .

The submitted script should be as close to a final draft as possible. The winning script-writer will work with the assistance of a professional script editor to finalise and polish the script before shooting. €9,000.00 will be awarded towards the production costs and €500 will be used to hire the services of a script editor to work with the writer.

The Short Script Award competition, established in 1998, looks to provide an opportunity for new talent to emerge and gain exposure. Galway Film Centre Manager, Declan Gibbons adds “We’re delighted that RTÉ are supporting the Short Film Award again this year as it is a vital fund for aspiring film-makers and provides many with their first opportunity to make a short film. We work very closely with Jane Gogan, the Commissioning Editor, Drama in RTÉ, in selecting and supporting the final films which provide an essential platform to showcase the talent of upcoming writers, directors and producers.”

Recent short films have enjoyed much success on the film festival circuit both nationally and internationally. One of last year’s winner’s Scratch, directed by Philip Kelly was premiered last weekend at the Jameson Dublin International Festival. The 2010 winner, ‘Switch’ directed by Thomas Hefferon, was screened at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (USA) and was one of only a handful of shorts to be screened at last year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The 2009 winner, ‘Passing’ by David Freyne won the 2010 Kerry Film Festival Best Short Film / Best Director Awards and the Audience Award for Best Irish Short at the Cork Film Festival. This short was also screened at the 2010 Palm Springs International ShortFest and the 2010 Galway Film Fleadh.

Full details at www.galwayfilmcentre.ie

Poolbeg Write a Best Seller & The Virginia Prize for Fiction 2013

From writing.ie competition page

At a wild guess, I think they wouldn't say no to an Irish Fifty Shades, no?

Poolbeg Press are again running their Write a Best Seller competition in conjunction with TV3′s The Morning Show, and this year they are open to non-fiction as well as any genre of adult fiction.

‘The Morning Show with Sybil & Martin’ have teamed up once again with Poolbeg Press, Ireland’s leading publishing house, to offer aspiring writers the chance of a lifetime – to see your novel published and on bookshelves around the country.

Entrants must submit a previously unpublished work that is original to the author. This can be adult fiction or non-fiction.

Submissions must be between 100,000 – 120,000 words in length and must be accompanied by a 1 page synopsis of the novel and a completed application form.

Click here to download the Application form.

Only completed, printed manuscripts will be accepted. Please also submit a copy of the manuscript on CD in Word format.
Manuscripts must be unbound and typewritten.
Printed on one side of the page only, double line spaced and all pages must be numbered.
Do NOT send the original manuscript of your work as manuscripts will NOT be returned or acknowledged
Applicants can enter only once.

Deadline: Friday the 26^th of April 2013

The winner will be selected by Poolbeg Press and The Morning Show with Sybil & Martin.
The prize is a one-book publishing contract with Poolbeg Press
Winner will be announced on The Morning Show with Sybil & Martin in June 2013 and published by Poolbeg Press in Autumn 2013.
Click here for terms and conditions.