Writing Home

'Writing Home', a series of readings by writers of, and about, Diaspora is hosted by the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies, University College Dublin, 2009. All readings to take place at 1pm at the Q014 Lecture theatre, Quinn Building.

Not much use to those among us who work...maybe people who are interested in the Diaspora don't.

2nd April Tess Gallagher
23rd April John O’Donoghue
7th May Joseph O’Connor

Trinity Workshop

The School of English at Trinity College Dublin is offering a free six-week creative writing workshop with its current Arts Council of Ireland Writer Fellow, Michael O’Loughlin, to start in April.

This workshop is run every year.

Though primarily a poet, Michael O’Loughlin has also published a collection of short stories, The Inside Story, and has written many screenplays, including Snapshots.

If you write both poetry and prose, I would submit poetry.

Submissions are currently being invited for places on the weekly two-hour workshop. Samples of work of 1,500-2,500 words of prose are being sought, or four to six poems.

As Writer in Residence in Galway City in 2007, Michael edited an anthology of writing by immigrants, called Galway: City of Strangers. He is particularly interested in receiving submissions for this workshop from immigrants of any background.

does that mean me?

All submissions should be sent by post to Writer Fellow’s Workshop, Oscar Wilde Centre, School of English, Trinity College Dublin, 21 Westland Row, Dublin 2, by Friday 17 April.

The workshops will be held on Wednesday evenings between 7pm-9pm.

Orange Prize longlist

Read any of these longlisted for the Orange Prize?

Debra Adelaide's The Household Guide to Dying;
Lissa Evans's Their Finest Hour and a Half;
Bernadine Evaristo's Blonde Roots;
Ellen Feldman's Scottsboro;
Laura Fish's Strange Music;
VV Ganeshananthan's Love Marriage;
Allegra Goodman's Intuition;
Samantha Harvey's The Wilderness;
Samantha Hunt's The Invention of Everything Else;
Michelle de Kretser's The Lost Dog;
Gina Ochsner's The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight;
Preeta Samarasan's Evening is the Whole Day;
Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife;
Miriam Toews's The Flying Troutmans;
Ann Weisgarber's The Personal History of Rachel DuPree.
Gaynor Arnold's Girl in a Blue Dress was longlisted for the Booker and is a first novel
Toni Morrison's A Mercy
Deirdre Madden's Molly Fox's Birthday,
Marilynne Robinson's Home,
Kamila Shamsie's Burnt Shadows.

The judging panel - which also includes entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, journalist and academic Sarah Churchwell, writer Bidisha and the Guardian women's editor, Kira Cochrane - will name a six-novel shortlist 7th April 2009. The £30,000 winner will be announced in June.

Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2009

21st – 26th April 2009

Here are some of the highlights of this wonderful sounding festival. I wish I knew someone in Galway so I could crash on their couch and go to some of these.

PROSE READINGS

Joseph O’Neill and Timothy O’Grady
Tues 21 April 8.30pm Town Hall Theatre
Admission €12/€10

Colm TóibÍn and D.R. MacDonald
Wed 22 April 8.30pm Town Hall Theatre
Admission €12/€10

Petina Gappah and Helen Simpson
Exploration of the short story form.
Thurs 23 April 1pm Town Hall Studio
Admission €8/€6

Blake Morrison and Janice Galloway
The memoir has experienced a renaissance in recent times and both these writers have painted unsparing portraits of family life in Britain.
Fri 24 April 1pm Town Hall Theatre
Admission €10/€8

Louis de Bernières and Tim Parks
This lunchtime event promises a feast of contemporary prose writing from the UK.
Sat 25 April 1pm Town Hall Theatre
Admission €10/€8

Claire Keegan and Gerard Woodward
Two of the most exciting short story writers will read from recent collections.
Sat 25 April 6.30pm Town Hall Theatre
Admission €10/€8

—————————————————————————————————————————————

POETRY READINGS
Thomas Lynch and Leanne O’Sullivan
Wed 22 April 3pm Town Hall Studio
Admission €8/€6

Ingrid de Kok and Maura Dooley
Wed 22 April 6.30pm Town Hall Studio
Admission €10/€8

Pete Mullineaux and Colette Bryce
Thurs 23 April 3pm Town Hall Studio
Admission €8/€6

Patrick Deeley and Leontia Flynn
Sat 25 April 11am Town Hall Theatre
Admission €5

Poetry Grand Slam
The year-round activity of slamming culminates in the 7th Cúirt Poetry Grand Slam in which up to 20 performers have just three minutes to impress the judges under the gaze of MC Pete Mullineaux. The overall winner goes on to perform in Slovenia. Guest performer this year is Andrej Khadovich from Belarus, known for his lively performances.
Open submissions are invited for the Grand Slam and entry is open to all. Enter one poem, on any subject, in any style - lasting up to 3 minutes - on paper or on tape.
Please submit to Poetry Grand Slam, Galway Arts Centre,
47 Dominick Street by Friday 27 March.
Sat 25 April 3pm Róisín Dubh
Admission €5

Carol Ann Duffy, Don Paterson and Sean O’Brien
Sat 25 April 8.30pm Town Hall Theatre
Admission €15

SPECIAL EVENTS: THEATRE & DANCE
Mephisto Theatre
The World’s Wife
Adapted from the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy
With Caroline Lynch, Zita Monahan and Emma O’Grady
Sat 25 April 10.30 pm Town Hall Studio
Admission €8

SPECIAL EVENTS: SHOWCASE
Over The Edge
Co-organisers Kevin Higgins and Susan Millar DuMars (host) introduce five featured authors this year are Noel Harrington, Orla Higgins, Noelle Lynskey, Jenny McCudden and Val Nolan.

If you, or a writers’ group you belong to, would be interested in taking part in the Over The Edge Cúirt Showcase in the future, please contact: Over The Edge, c/o Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, Galway or see www.overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com for submission details.
Thurs 23 April 11am Town Hall Theatre
Admission Free

Poetry workshop
Renowned US poet Jane Hirshfield (see page 18 for more details) will lead participants in a discussion of their submissions. Please send two sample poems together with your contact details to:
Please email submissions to siobhan@galwayartscentre.ie by Friday 27 March.

Prose Workshop: Wed 22 April 10.30am - 12.30pm
Poetry Workshop: Fri 24 April 10.30am - 12.30pm
Galway Arts Centre, Dominick Street
Admission €15

Day by day

Mon 20 April
8pm Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
8pm Dance: The Word is Moving

Tues 21 April
11am Reading: Derek Landy
4.30pm Music: John Spillane
5.30pm Festival Opening
8pm Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
8pm Play Reading: Brian Friel at 80 - Faith Healer
8.30pm Prose: Joseph O’Neill and Timothy O’Grady

Wed 22 April
10.30am Workshop: Prose
11am Reading: Tim Bowler
11am Writers in the Community: Launch
1pm Prose: Sana Krasikov and Gerard Donovan
3pm Poetry: Thomas Lynch and Leanne O’Sullivan
5pm Launch: Anthology of Poetry from Canada
6.30pm Poetry: Ingrid de Kok and Maura Dooley
8pm Poetry: Lemn Sissay and Gearóid Mac Lochlainn
8pm Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
8.30pm Prose: Colm Tóibín and D.R. MacDonald

Thurs 23 April
11am Music/Storytelling/Live Art: An Rón Dall (as Gaeilge)
11am Showcase: Over The Edge
1pm Prose: Petina Gappah and Helen Simpson
3pm Poetry: Pete Mullineaux and Colette Bryce
4pm Film: John McGahern: A Private World
5pm Launch: Ropes 2009, Issue 17
5.30pm Music/Storytelling/Live Art: The Blind Seal (in English)
6pm Poetry: Peter Wessel and his Polyfonías Poetry Project
6.30pm Prose: Nadeem Aslam and Ma Jian
8pm Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
8pm Play Reading: Brian Friel at 80 - Molly Sweeney
8.30pm Poetry: Jane Hirshfield and Philip Schultz

Fri 24 April
10.30am Workshop: Poetry
11am Multimedia Event: An Táin
11am Poetry Slam: All-Ireland School Slam
1pm Prose: Blake Morrison and Janice Galloway
3pm Poetry: Micheál Ó Conghaile and Juan Carlos Mestre
5pm Film: Michael Hartnett – A Necklace of Wrens
6.30pm Prose: Gene Kerrigan and Bateman
7pm Theatre: Stories of a Yellow Town
7.30pm Launch: The Atlantis Collective
8pm Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
8.30pm Discussion: Joseph O’Connor in conversation with Philip King
9pm Theatre: Stories of a Yellow Town
9.30pm Music: Buck 65
10.30pm Theatre: Stand-up Theatre

Sat 25 April page
11am Poetry: Patrick Deeley and Leontia Flynn
12 noon Reading: Joe O’Brien and Brianóg Brady Dawson
1pm Prose: Louis de Bernières and Tim Parks
2pm Film: Frank O’Connor – The Lonely Voice
3pm Discussion: Aidan Higgins in conversation with Neil Donnelly
3pm Poetry: Poetry Grand Slam
3pm Exhibition & Publication Launch: Mervue Portraits
3.30pm Film: Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill – Taibhsí i mBéal Na Gaoithe
4pm Theatre: The Science of Flann O’Brien
5pm Discussion: Anne Kennedy Memorial Lecture
5pm Film: Keeping Time
5pm Launch: Keith Hopper
6.30pm Prose: Claire Keegan and Gerard Woodward
7pm Theatre: Stories of a Yellow Town
8pm Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
8pm Play Reading: Brian Friel at 80 - Dancing at Lughnasa
8.30pm Poetry: Carol Ann Duffy, Don Paterson and Sean O’Brien
9pm Theatre: Stories of a Yellow Town
10.30pm Theatre: The World’s Wife

Sun 26 April
12 noon Poetry & Food: The Bardic Brunch
5pm Theatre: Stories of a Yellow Town
7pm Debate: Leviathan
8pm Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
8pm Theatre: Stories of a Yellow Town
9pm Music: Scullion


Writers in the Community
20 - 26 April Poems for Patience
The Cat’s Cradle

Visual Exhibitions
16 April - 23 May Lee Welch
20 - 26 April FABER 80
Jim Clancy
Poetry Manuscripts

Franco Irish Literary Festival

This year's Franco Irish Festival is 03-05 April 2009.

Friday 03 April
14:00 Opening of the festival by H.E. Mr Yvon Roé D'Albert, Ambassador of France to Ireland
14:15-16:15 Panel discussion "Passion" with Moderator: Jean-Michel Picard and Colette Fellous, Alain Fleischer, Joseph O'Connor, Beatriz Preciado
16:30-17:45 Café Littéraire with Moderator: Joe Woods and Presentation of their latest work by: Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Dennis O'Driscoll, Álvaro Uribe
18:00-19:30 Readings - Introduced by Sinéad Mac Aodha and with: Noëlle Châtelet, Olga Flor, Joseph O'Connor, Maike Wetzel

Saturday 4th April
10:30 - 12:00 Panel discussion First Love Moderator: Dominique Le Meur With: Olga Flor, Deirdre Madden, Dairena Ní Chinnéide, Lucy Vincent
12.15 to 1.15pm An hour with… Moderator: Frédéric Ferney Interview with: Assia Djebar
3.15 to 4.30pm Panel discussion Forbidden Love Moderator: Johnnie Gratton With: Nicole Brossard, Noëlle Châtelet, Alain Fleischer, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
4.45 to 6.00pm Café Littéraire Moderator: Jean-Philippe Imbert Presentation of their latest work by: Hugo Hamilton, Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, Maike Wetzel
6.15 to 7.30pm Readings Introduced by Éamon Ó Ciosáin With: Colette Fellous, Claire Keegan, Dairena Ní Chinnéide, Álvaro Uribe

Sunday 5th April
12.00 to 2.00pm Literary brunch The End of Love Moderator: Lara Marlowe
With: Nicole Brossard, Assia Djebar, Frédéric Ferney, Claire Keegan, Dennis O'Driscoll

All free.
Simultaneous translation in English and French.
I went last year and the simultaneous translation was awesome!

Handy Hints on how not to handle an agent

Read 'em and weep. Sure fire ways to get ignored/rejected/laughed at by an agent.

- I know that I have attached a file, but please have a read even though it’s against your policy.
- I’M TYPING MY QUERY IN ALL CAPS SO YOU WILL BE SURE TO NOTICE IT.
- Including a creepy photo of you clearly taken about 20 years ago? You have just taken your first step on the road to QueryFail.
- Dear Agent, here are 25 books I’ve written, do you want any of them?
- It is not necessary to include a glossy 8×10 headshot. No, really.

(Which contradicts another piece of advice I read)

- My credentials for writing this book include: A divine mandate to speak the word of God.
- The best credentials I can share are the comments from my family and friends after they read my book.
- This is not representative of my best work.
- This is my first attempt at writing a fictional novel.
- Tragically initiated into a secret panther-worshipping society…
- It’s about unicorns. They’re the protagonists.
- My name is Maya and I’m an elf.
- I’ve been rejected by three other publishers who said my work was interesting.
- I’ve queried more than 50 agents and have gotten nowhere and now I’m querying you.

Grumptown Kildare

Had a grumpy day at work in a stuffy office. Came home with a headache and turned into this!

Cecil Day Lewis Award for Young Writers

Athy Heritage Centre organise this competition

Short Story
Poetry
&
One Act Play
Competition for Children and Young Adults 2009

Deadline: Friday 24th April 2009

Categories for Primary Level
Junior Primary Short Story & Poetry
Senior Primary Short Story & Poetry
Special Needs Short Story &Poetry
Categories for Second Level
Junior Cycle Short Story, Poetry & One Act Play
Senior Cycle Short Story, Poetry & One Act Play
Special Needs Short Story, Poetry & One Act Play

Another advert in Mslexia - Aesthetica

Aesthetica Creative Works Competition

Prize: £500 in each category.
Fiction, Poetry and artwork

Aesthetica is a nation arts magazine, looking for undiscovered talent.
Runners up published in an anthology available in Borders storys.
Deadline: August 31st 2009

US residencies

There are loads of residencies for artists in the US. All that I've seen charge an application fee. Lots are open to artists outside the US and some even offer residencies that fit in with artists who have families/other jobs i.e. they are two weeks or less. Here are two

Ragdale Foundation Illinois
DEADLINES (postmarked):

January 15 for June - 1st week of September residencies (Notification after April 1)
May 15 for September - December residencies (Notification after August 1)
September 15 for following January-May residencies (Notification after December 1)

They charge but they have quite a few bursaries/financial aid. I would imagine you can apply for a training and travel grant too though the timing would be tight.

VCCA Virginia Centre for Creative Arts

January 15 deadline for residencies from June to September; notification is mailed by March 31.
May 15 deadline for residencies from October to January; notification is mailed by July 31.
September 15 deadline for residencies from February to May; notification is mailed by November 30.

They say:

Artists are accepted at the VCCA without consideration for their financial situation. The actual cost of a residency at the Virginia Center is $180 per day per Fellow. We ask Fellows to contribute according to their ability.

Not sure what that means really.

They have an exchange programme with the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghamakerrig, Co Monaghan.

UCross Nebraska
deadlines are March 1 for Fall Session, which runs from August through early December, and October 1 for Spring Session, which runs from February through mid-June. Residencies vary in length from two to eight weeks.
There is no fee for a residency.

Yaddo sounds lovely.
Application deadlines are January 1 (for residencies starting mid-May of the same year through February of the following year), and August 1 (for residencies starting late October of the same year through May of the following year).
Non-refundable application fee of $30
There is no fee for a residency.

My Working Space

Win a box full of books from Penguin.

Do you work at a large mahogany desk lit up by an overhead chandelier or at a formica and plasterboard cubicle harshly lit by a fluorescent strip? (or like me, on the sofa) Whatever your workspace is like, take an artful snap of it and let the world admire its distinctive forms. After all, next to your bed, this is the corner of the world you spend most of your time in.

While you're at it, tell us one pleasure and one sorrow that comes from being at work all day (or all night). And if you're feeling competitive, we will be awarding a prize to the most interesting workspace sent in. So do visit and cast your vote from 1st April.

More UK Poetry Magazines

Here is a site New Hope International that has reviews of lots of poetry magazines. It is a little out of date so do check the website before submitting but it gives a good idea of the standard and expectations of each magazine it reviews.

Do consider buying a copy of one or more of these magazines. They rely on your money to keep them in business and wouldn't it be a shame if they all popped out of existance.

Shearsman Magazine read 1-31 March and 1-30 September only. Snailmail and email submissions. There is an interesting paragraph on the male-female submission and acceptance rate.

Chanticleer Magazine
6/1 Jamaica Mews, Edinburgh, EH3 6HN
Editor: Richard Livermore

Edinburgh Review snailmail submissions. Founded in 1802 but the website seems to stop in 2007.

Hanging Loose (US)

Shortlist for Strokestown

I was convinced this was my year for Strokestown. I even drove through the place on the way to buy a car. It was not to be

The poets shortlisted for the English language prize are, in alphabetical order:
Juliet Akroyd, Somerset;
Louise C. Callaghan, Dublin;
John Wedgwood Clarke, North Yorkshire;
CB Follett, California;
Angela France, Gloucestershire;
Stephanie Green, Edinburgh;
Hazel Mutch, Lancashire;
Padraig Rooney, Switzerland;
Pat Winslow, Oxfordshire;
Mary Woodward, Hertfordshire.

John F. Deane, Penelope Shuttle and Joe Woods were judging the English language section.

Are all these international poets going to travel to Roscommon for the weekend? 1-3 May 2009. Seriously, if you're short, give me a call Strokestown organisers.

The poets shortlisted for the Colmcille Irish/Gaelic poetry prize are, in alphabetical order:
Aonghas Pádraig Caimbeul;
Celia de Fréine;
Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa;
Seán Ó Curraoin;
Peadar Ó hUallaigh;
Pádraig Breandán Ó Laighin.

How come we don't find out where the Gaelic poets live?

Malahide Library 100 year Celebration Competitions

Writing fever has hit Malahide.

Deadline: Friday 27th March.

Anonymous. Please put your name, address and phone number on a separate page.

For Adults - Short Story Competition

1500 to 3000 words
Entry is open to anyone over the age of 16 years.
Stories can be posted or dropped into Malahide Library, Malahide, Co Dublin

Copyright: Worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the author, but Fingal County Council and Malahide Library will have the unrestricted right to publish the winning stories in booklet form or as they see fit.

Winners will be notified by phone call or post by April 20th

A list of winners will be displayed on the notice board in Malahide Library from April 23rd. Prizes will be awarded at a prize giving on April 23rd

4 - 7 year olds, draw a picture of what you imagine Malahide would have looked like 100 years ago. At the bottom of your picture tell us what your picture is about in no more than 3 lines! Olwyn Whelan illustrator of The Barefoot Book of Pirates amongst many, will judge this competition. Entry forms can be picked up in the Library

Short story competition for 8 - 12 year olds. Write your story on what you think Malahide will be like 100 years in the future! Entries to be aprox 800 words in length. Joe O'Brien who wrote the Alfie stories will judge this competition:

Short story for 13 - 18 year olds. You must start with the sentence 'Clara wondered what her new life would be like as she stepped onto the platform in Malahide. She didn’t know if she was more excited or anxious. Perhaps a mixture of both....' You can set your story in the past, present or future. Entries to be aprox 800 words in length. This competition will be judged by Oisin McGann who wrote the Mad Grandad and Archisan Tales series.

No mention of the prizes though...

Go Explore

Happy Paddy's Day. Why not spend some free time exploring the big wide cyberworld?

Alexandra Sokoloff is a horror genre writer who has plenty to say that's relevant to all genres.

The poet Annette Marie Hyder blogs at Ad Libitum.

Angela Meyer is Literary Minded in Oz.

Musings of an Aussie Writer is a good insight into the Writing World downunder.

Newpages Blog has US centred writing news

Emma Darwin is an author who blogs at This Itch of Writing

Mysterious Matters is a blog about Mystery writing. Isn't it interesting how many of the top mystery writers are women?

Poetry Book Society Top Tips for poetry readers by Simon Armitage. Irrevent but ring true.

Pursued by a Bear is the blog award shortlisted Irish Times blog.

Rachelle Gardner blogs at Rants and Ramblings of a literary agent.

Ruby Writes Romance is a blog about writing a Mills and Boone.

Splinster writes mainly on the dark side.

Storm Drain Graffitti shows street art on storm drains and some manhold covers from Sao Paulo.

Strictly Writing is a group blog about the craft of writing. Well worth a read.

Art @ work - Roscommon

This sounds interesting. Poems in pubs, odes in offices, stories in stores ... you get the picture.

Roscommon County Council is currently seeking interest from artists wishing to participate in the 2009 Art@work programme.

Art@work is a residential programme in which artists from any artform spend three weeks in residence at a business in Co. Roscommon making work stimulated by the environment, materials, staff and working practices of the company. A full list of participating companies will not be available until early April, but previous companies have ranged from newspapers to coal mines, the Fire Service to the Gardaí, and bakeries to hotels.

egister your interest by email or telephone by contacting:
T: 090 6637285
E: artsoffice@roscommoncoco.ie
www.roscommonarts.com
Deadline for registration of interest: 31 March 2009

Another advert in Mslexia

Moniack Mhor - Scotland's Creative Writing Centre

Tutored residential writing courses in the remote and beautiful highlands. Part of the Arvon. I love the Arvon though it's expensive. Do chose your tutor carefully, some are great, some can't teach.

2009 tutors include:
Bernard Maclaverty, Brian McCabe, Tim Pears, Carol Ann Duffy, Mario Petrucci and Sean O'Brien.

14 miles from Inverness.

Genomics Short Story Competition

Deadline: 31 Mar 2009

Any idea what genomics is?

A new short story competition, launched by the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum, hosted at the University of Edinburgh.
Stories should be 3000 words or less

Zipper
Mad/Max
Hip/Hop
Agnostic
Mindbomb
Tigger
Disheveled
Zinc finger

Q - What do these words have in common?
A - They’re all names of genes.

Information about the genetic makeup of people, animals and plants impacts on every aspect of our lives. But do we understand this impact? And what should we make of it?

How is our understanding of who we are affected by the knowledge that we share so much of our genetic makeup with fruit flies, mice and even pumpkins?

Are we just the sum total of our genes? What role does our environment have? Our families impact on our development, but is that because we share genes, or because we share environment, or both?

What does it mean to share genetic material with other people? Is our understanding of nationality, race, and ethnicity dependent on a genetic basis?

Can we truly control our behaviour and exercise free will if our genetic makeup influences our behaviour and the choices we make in life?

Can we blame crime on genes? Who should hold information about our genes? Who should have access to it? What should be the priority, public safety or personal freedoms?

Can an understanding of genes help feed people in developing countries? Do the advantages outweigh the risks?

The challenge

Write a short story influenced by the issues alluded to above.

Harpers Bazaar

Short Story Competition.

Are you the most exciting new female voice in fiction - but, as yet, unpublished?

The winner will collect her award in the presence of the literary world's top editors, publishers and agents, at the Orange Prize for Fiction award ceremony in June.

The judging panel will be chaired by Susan Sandon (managing director of Cornerstone, a division of Random House), with judges Kate Mosse (co-founder and honorary director of the Orange Prize for Fiction), Marina Lewycka (novelist and previous nominee for the Orange Prize), Lauren Laverne (presenter of BBC Two's The Culture Show), Peter Straus (managing director of literary agency Rogers, Coleridge & White) and senior editors from Harper's Bazaar.

(which means they'll be pre-screened)

They're looking for

Imaginative and stylish writing.

2,000 words on the subject of Mother

They also want:
A 200-word autobiography.

3 A passport photograph of yourself, attached to a sheet of A4 bearing your full name, address, telephone number (mobile number where possible), occupation and date of birth.

Prizes:
Three finalists will be selected by the judges to attend a writers' masterclass and lunch at the offices of Random House in London. The first prize is a cheque for £1,000, and the publication of your story in Harper's Bazaar. The two runners-up will receive £500 each. All three winners will also receive copies of all the shortlisted books for this year's Orange Prize for Fiction.

Deadline: Tuesday 14 April

Entrants must be unpublished female writers aged 18 or over (in this instance please take "unpublished" to mean that entrants do not have an existing or previous contract with a publishing house.)

Molly Keane Short Story

The late writer lived, until her death in 1996, in Ardmore , Co. Waterford. Her first ten novels and four plays were published under the pseudonym M.J. Farrell. In 1981 ‘Good Behaviour’ became a publishing sensation for which she was short listed for the prestigious Booker Prize.

To celebrate this rich literary life, the County Waterford Arts Office, by kind permission of the Keane family, is inviting entries for a previously unpublished short story to a maximum of 2000 words.

Fee: Free
Prize: €650 will be awarded to the winner at a special ceremony during the IMMRAMA Literary Festival in Lismore, Co. Waterford (June 11th – 14th 2009).

Deadline: 5pm on Wednesday 1st April 2009.

You can download the Molly Keane Entry Form 2009 (2,866 kbs) here.

Another advert in Mslexia

Cambridge Wordfest

24-26 April

Highlights include:
Sally Vickers, Andrew Motion, Libby Purvis, David Starkey, Michael Murpurgo. The rest of the programme is yet to be released. They are looking for volunteer stewards.

They also have workshops.
Booking opens 12 March 2009

Critical Mick's charity auction

One of irrevent sites about books, Critical Mick is auctioning off signed books for charity, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland. See here for details of this worthwhile initiative. Much luck Mick.

(I didn't rate the John Banville/Benjamin Black book at all. Anyone else read it? Haven't read the Claire Kilroy one though.)

demonic fury

Read this in the Trib but Eimear at 12 stories beat me to it.

The Sunday Tribune and the people at One City, One Book, are teaming up for a short story competition based on Bram Stoker's Dracula:

Entrants are invited to submit a story incorporating the following line from the book:

His eyes blazed with a sort of demonic fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat.

No more than 800 words in length.
Email to dracula@tribune.ie
deadline: Friday 27 March.

The winning entry will be published in the Sunday Tribune during April and its writer will win €100 book token.

And it's free.

Remember, think of maybe 10 different ideas and write them down. Don't chose the first one of two as loads of people will think of the obvious. Choose a twist.

This is great

Click here to write your own.

Stolen from Michael Farry.
(It takes ages to load - be patient)

From Mslexia Listings

Buxton Poetry Competition

Judge: Andrew Motion
Deadline: 1st April

Poem up to 40 lines

Fee: £5 per poem, maximum 3 poems per person for adults, free for younger writers
Prizes: £300, £200, £100
Theme: Stone
There are categories for young writers and for adults.

More ads in Mslexia - Calderdale Libraries

Calderdale Libraries, Museums and Arts Short Story Competition

Deadline: Friday 27th March 2009
Prizes: £300, £100 and £50
Judges: Janes Rogers, Ra Page

Send and SAE (what? no online?) to Anna Turner, central Library, Northgate, Halifax HX1 1UN

Thought about a US Agent?

Got a completed manuscript doing nothing much in a drawer?
Thought about a US agent?

Check out this from Beth Morrisey at Hell or High Water who boast that four TKA clients landed on the New York Times bestseller list simultaneously in 2007. I don't recognise any names but many authors from over the pond don't seem to travel.

Knight agency Summarise the book in 3 compelling sentences, max 150 words and send to submissions @ knightagency.net (delete spaces).
Write BOOK IN A NUTSHELL in the subject line.

Twenty of the best submissions will be chosen and requested by various agents who will then give feedback on your work...and it may even lead to possible representation.

Dealine April 20, 2009.
Winners will be notified by May 1, 2009.

What have you go to lose?

Writing Contemporary Ireland

Do you want to represent a culturally diverse Ireland in your writing?

Date: 11 March 2009
Venue: Filmbase
Cost: 40 Euro

The workshop is aimed at emerging and established writers, theatre makers and film makers who are interested in exploring approaches to representing culturally diverse communities and creating new work that reflects the diversity of contemporary Ireland.

The workshop is co-hosted by actor, writer and film maker Mark O'Halloran (he of Adam and Paul fame), and writer, theatre and film maker Madani Younis.

Please note places are limited. Please ensure booking is made by Friday March 6th to ensure a place. To reserve a place please contact events@filmbase.ie at Filmbase. Please put Writing Contemporary Ireland in the subject line of the email.

The workshop will take place at Filmbase, Curved Street Building, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. The workshop will commence at 10.00 am and run until 3.00pm. There will be a lunch break from 12 -1.15pm.

From Mslexia Listings - Exeter Writers

Exeter Writers' Short Story Prize
Deadline: 31 March 2009
Winners announced in July.

Prizes : 1st- £200, 2nd- £150, 3rd- £50

The maximum number of words for each story is 3,000.
Fee: £3.50 for each story submitted.

Kerouac manuscript

News. You know the manuscript for Jack Kerouac's On The Road, famously typed on one length of paper? Guess where it is now? Ireland. Guess where in Ireland? Maynooth. The Russell Library in NUI Maynooth to be precise. On loan from the Collection of James. S. Irsay.

The Library in collaboration with the School of English, Media and Theatre Studies at NUI Maynooth presents this major exhibition, 'Jack Kerouac Back On the Road'. The original 127-foot scroll of the text of On the Road was typed in one piece in 1951. The last of three venues in Europe before it returns to America, the Exhibition is in the Russell Library.

Opening hours 11.00am to 4.00pm:

Thursday 5 March
Friday 6 March
Saturday 7 March
Monday 9 March
Tuesday 10 March
Wednesday 11 March
Thursday 12 March
Friday 13 March
Monday 16 March
Wednesday 18 March
Thursday 19 March, closing at 2.30pm

So if you're working full time and your son's in the final of the Leinster schools' championship on Satutday 7th March, you can't go.

An advert in Mslexia - Gold Dust

Gold Dust: Need help with your novel/memoir/biography or screenplay?

Would you like help from a writer whose books you love such as Michele Roberts, Janes Rogers, Louise Doughty, Jill Dawson, Romesh Gunesekera, Kate Pullinger or Sally Cline?

How many have your heard of? Do you get to chose?

Mentoring scheme offers 10 hours of individual consultation usually spread out over a year. Meetings takek place in London, Oxford, Manchester or Cambridge. In between times, your mentor reads your work in progress for a further 10 hours.

Fee: £2000

Ohdeargod. That's £100 an hour. Nice work if you can get it. In fact, if there's anyone out there who would like me to mentor their work under the same conditions, meeting in Dublin, novels, short fiction or poetry. I'm not so good on plays or screenplays. Please contact me! Seriously. I need the money. I'm being laid off in June (aargh!)

Gold Dust all right.

Jack Rosenthal Memorial Short Story Competition

Entries for this competition will be accepted between March 1st and August 31st of 2009.

Fee: £10.00
Up to four stories may be submitted for one entry fee.
Maximum Words: 2,500

The first page attached to each story must be a cover sheet holding the story's title, the author's name, address, etc.
Stories should not contain content of an overtly religious, political, sexual or violent nature. Stories may contain expletives where they are relevant to the story itself.

See here.

PRIZES
First: £1000.00
Second: £500.00
Third: £250.00

There will be a further 25 prizes of £50.00.