Ropes Submissions

From the blog of Michael Farry here.

ROPES is a literary journal published every year by the students of the MA in Literature and Publishing in NUI Galway. It is now open for submissions on the theme, 'Coming of Age'.

All proceeds from the journal go to the youth mental health charity JIGSAW.  This is a great opportunity for writers to be published and it is in aid of a good cause!

Deadline Monday 14 January 2013.

To submit, go here. Queries to ropes.submissions@gmail.com

Link to the poster. They are on Facebook here.

Donegal Creameries & North West Words 2012 Poetry Competition

This new poetry prize offers the Donegal Creameries Perpetual Cup with €250 in prize money for the winning poem.

The judge for the competition is Kate Newmann (Director, Summer Palace Press).

The prize is open to anyone over 18 years of age. Each poem submitted must be the original work of the author.

Entries must not have been previously published in any media, self-published, broadcast and/or won any competition.

 Deadline: Friday, 7 December 2012.
 
Further information and full competition details are available on North West Words' Facebook page.

Note you have to post.

Fee: €5 per entry of up to 3 poems.

Reading For Simon

Soundings For Simon is a fund-raising evening of poetry 
The Bad Ass Café, Dublin 
7 pm Tuesday 27^th November.

Guest Poets include Paula Meehan, Seamus Cashman, Eileen Casey, Tom Conaty, Maggie O’Dwyer, Una Ni Chealaig, Kerrie O’Brien, Jane Clarke, Daragh Bradish and more.

Tickets € 13 includes glass of wine/mineral/coffee and finger food.

Also in Letterkenny  
8pm Thursday 29^th November 2012,

Shirley McClure, Jane Clarke and Win McNulty will be reading their poetry alongside singer-songwriter, Miffy Hoad, at North West Words

Café Blend, Letterkenny

Free in.

Poetry Divas at DkIT

Look out Dundalk, the Poetry Divas are coming. And we're bringing our very own honorary Divo, Michael Farry.

Michael Farry is a retired primary teacher.His poetry is in journals in Ireland and abroad, and was selected for Poetry Ireland Introductions, 2011. In 2009 he was third in the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry MS Competition, shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Competition and the Plough Prize. Doghouse Books published his first collection, Asking for Directions, 2012

See the article in the Dundalk Democrat.

The Poetry Divas are coming to DkIT for a gig at the Mac Anna Theatre in DKIT, Wednesday, November 28th, from 6.30-8.15pm. The evening will be hosted by DKIT’s new Writer-in-residence Ferdia Mac Anna, author of The Last of the High Kings and The Rocky Years.

The Poetry Divas have performed at the Festival of the Fires, Liss Ard and the Electric Picnic festivals this year.

You can look forward to a night of great poetry, epic satire, emotion, craic, beauty and reflection in a special and unique celebration of rhyme, word and image.

Mumsnet/Walker Short Story Competition

Writing for children?

Write a story for the Walker Books/Mumsnet Book of Bedtime Stories:
Enter the Walker Books/Mumsnet writing competition and your story could be included in an illustrated gift book of Bedtime Stories for the under-sevens. For your chance to be considered, submit your original manuscript of up to 1,500 words

Deadline: 30 November 2012

All entries will be read and a shortlist of 20 stories will be compiled by a panel of leading industry experts, including former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen. The shortlist will be announced on 28 January 2013 and available online for Mumsnetters to vote for their favourite stories and determine the ten winning stories.

The winning authors will each receive £500 and the winning stories will be illustrated and included in a book of bedtime stories published by Walker Books in October 2013. 

The competition is open to you if you are:
(a) a resident of UK or Republic of Ireland;
(b) 18 years old or over at the time of entry;
(c) a registered member of Mumsnet or Gransnet (free to register);
(d) free to enter into the terms and conditions set out in the rules of entry;
(e) happy to have your story edited;
(f) happy to take part in reasonable marketing activity and publicity

More info here: http://www.mumsnet.com/competitions/bedtime-stories

Eight new ten minute plays

Location:Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire Date:Saturday 24th November Time: 2.00pm Tickets: Free Join us at the Pavilion Theatre for a Rehearsed Reading of eight individual plays specially written by Pavilion Playwrights and set in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown area. Professional actors from stage and TV will take part in the readings under the direction of Conall Morrison, Pavilion Theatre Artist in Residence 2011-2012. The Pavilion Playwrights were initiated by Conall Morrison during his time as the Pavilion's Theatre Artist in Residence; funded by the Arts Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Tickets are free and booking is not required.

Poets read for Pussy Riot

Did you notice the hiatus? Did you miss me? I was travelling. I'm back now full of caffeine.

Tomorrow Wednesday 21 November is the nine month anniversary since Pussy Riot, the punky protest group of Russian women performed in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow and were locked up for denouncing the Russian Orthodox Church’s support for President Vladimir Putin.

Three members of the collective, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, were arrested and held in custody until August when they were each sentenced to two years in prison on charges of ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’. At their appeal hearing in October, the two-year jail term of Samutsevich was suspended, but the sentences against Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were upheld. They have since been separated and transferred to notorious prison colonies, far from Moscow and their young children.

In order to raise and maintain awareness of their case, English PEN launched Poems for Pussy Riot, inviting poets from all over the world to write creative responses to the case. A collection of the contributions, Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot, was published as a pay-by-donation e-book on 1 October 2012 to coincide with their first appeal hearing. A print-on-demand version is now also available, with all proceeds going to the Pussy Riot Legal Fund and English PEN’s Writers at Risk Programme.

The Poetry Divas are among a good number of poets reading at an event in Dublin, supported by Irish PEN, on Wednesday 21 November at The Grand Social (35 Lower Liffey Street, Dublin 1). Start time is 6.30pm and admission is free. 

Participating Poets include: Kimberly Campanello, Sophie Collins, Sue Cosgrave, Anatoly Kudryavitsky, Christodoulos Makris, Máighréad Medbh, Paula Meehan, Alan Jude Moore, Christine Murray, Sam Riviere and The Poetry Divas. 

Link here

Galway Review Call for submissions

From the lovely and generous Niamh Boyce's blog 

Galway Review are looking for submissions for their print anthology coming out in January 2013. This printed and bound work will be the  first print venture for The Galway Review - 

They say:

To submit simply send poems, reviews, short stories, or journals tothegalwayreview@gmail.com with ‘Anthology Submission’ in the subject field. Please send your writings within the body of the email and attach the photographs as jpegs. We can’t wait to see your work! Please keep your submissions clear and sharp. 

Remember  that:

• readers who lack your particular background, may need a simple and clear context;
• the writings ought to make sense to readers anywhere in the world, not just to your own self.

So no dense writing that makes the reader feel dense.

  Deadline December 1st 2012

Crime Writing with Arlene Hunt

An intriguing weekend workshop on crime writing at the Irish Writers Centre

17th November 2012 10.30am-4.30pm

 €150/135

A course designed as a practical approach to crime fiction writing. Over two days we will discuss how to develop characters, plot and atmosphere. Hone your criminally-minded skills as we create scenes of murder, revenge and ask whodunnit and why? Police procedural v Private I, which offers more scope to the author? And POV, can first person delivery stymy plot development or does it take the novel to another level?

The 'On the Nail' Literary Cabaret

Caca Milis Cabaret on tour.

The Limerick Writers' Centre presents the 'On the Nail' Literary Cabaret with special guests from Wexford Caca Milis Cabaret.

 

Venue: The Beltable, Limerick
Time: Saturday 17th November @ 8pm

Admission: €10 / €12.50 / €15
www.belltable.ie / www.limerickwriterscentre.com

The 2012/13 Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition

The 27th annual Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition is now open for entries.

JUDGE: Simon Armitage.  (A personal hero of mine)

DEADLINE: Last post on 29 November 2012, or online by midnight on 1 December.

ENTRY FEE: £25, or £20 for North subscribers and Friends of the Poetry Business. A £1 surcharge is applied to online entries.

The Book & Pamphlet Competition invites entrants to submit a collection of 20-24 pages of poems for the chance to win a cash prize and publication by Smith/Doorstop Books.

Four first stage winners are selected and given the opportunity to submit a full-length manuscript to the second round of the competition, in which one of them can win book publication. The three first-stage winners receive pamphlet publication. 

All four winners will receive an equal share of £2,000, and have a launch reading at The Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere (Spring 2013) and read alongside Simon Armitage at the 2013 Off The Shelf Festival in Sheffield. 

The winning collections are beautifully produced, widely promoted, reviewed in high quality poetry magazines and nationalnewspapers, and entered for all eligible awards and prizes. The collections are also launched at high profile readings and distributed via bookshops across the UK.

Consequently, many previous years’ competition winners have gone on to achieve glittering careers; including Mimi Khalvati, Michael Laskey, Patrick McGuinness, Allison McVety, Pascale Petit, Kathryn Simmonds and Catherine Smith. 

Link here

Leaves Literary Festival

A new one for me, literary festival in Stradbally, Co Laois from Nuala on Women Rule Writer blog.

OFFICIAL OPENING & LAUNCH

The festivities commence on Friday 9^th November with the official launch in Áras an Chontae at 7.30pm. The event will also incorporate the launch of exciting new poetry collections by Ann Egan, Kathy D’Arcy, Jamie O’Connell and Pat Boran with James Ryan chairing the readings.  Readings by all the authors will be interspersed by music from guitarist, Conal Rae from Laois School of Music. Admission is free and books will be on sale on the night.

CHILDREN'S EVENTS

The Festival also includes a Children’s Programme.  On Friday 9^th November award-winning author and illustrator, Niamh Sharkey, Laureate na nÓg, will visit schools in the county to create a Monster Doodle and then on to Abbeyleix Library for a reading at 3.30pm.  Children’s author Roisín Meaney will also pay a visit to some lucky schools in Laois and give a reading in Portlaoise Library at 3.30pm. Admission to the children’s events is free of charge.

WORKSHOPS

Adult writers workshops will also take place in the Dunamaise Arts Centre. Hennessy award winner Niamh Boyce will hold a workshop entitled, “Poems Beget Poems” on the Friday 9^th November running from 10am to 4pm.  This workshop would suit writers who have begun to write poetry and would like to explore it further. 

Also for adults, well-known writer John MacKenna will hold a workshop entitled, “Seasons of the Heart”, exploring the ways in which we can draw on nature and our own life experiences to create fiction and memoir. This workshop runs from 10am to 4pm on the Saturday 10^th November in the Dunamaise Arts Centre.   

READING

The final event on Saturday evening is an exciting mix of readings and music featuring Christine Dwyer Hickey, Niamh Boyce and Nuala Ní Chonchúir, chaired by Seamus Hosey,

with music by  harpist Claire O Donnell. This will take place in the Arthouse & Library, Stradbally at 8.00pm on the 10^th November.

Bookings for all events can be made at the Dunamaise Arts Centre Tel:  057 8663355. www.dunamaise.ie

Experimental Poetry Evening

Sounds interesting. I'm all for pushing the boundaries and seeing what's out there.

Roger Hudson, Nuala Leonard, Brian Quinn, Anne Tannam        

Four poets, masquerading as Word Jungle, experiment in presenting their poems in different combinations of voices and degrees of dramatization.

Hudson n Fitch

Roger Hudson and ambiencellist Claire Fitch present an experimental concert of poetry and improvised music reflecting on moods and meaning

Venue: Centre for Creative Practices, 15 Pembroke Street, Dublin 2
Time: Thursday @ 8pm
Admission: €6

Interview with David Mitchell

One of my favourite authors interviewed in New York Times here.

"As a future writer, however, my stammer was an effective if merciless boot-camp instructor."

Looking forward to seeing Cloud Atlas on film.