Saturday 30 March 2013

The Short Story Form

Date: Thursday 4th April 2013
Location: Mill Theatre Dundrum
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: €5/€3

Katy Hayes, dlr Co Council Writer in Residence 2012/2013, hosts special guests in a close encounter with the short story form in the Mill Theatre.

Katy’s guests will be: Martina Devlin author and journalist, Hennessy Award winner, NNI Columnist of the Year 2011, co-author of Banisters, won the VS Pritchett Memorial Prize 2012 for her short story “Singing Dumb”; Declan Meade, editor and publisher, founder of The Stinging Fly magazine and The Stinging Fly Press, publisher of exciting Irish new short fiction; and Ellis Ni Dhuibhne novelist and short story writer who teaches on the MA in Creative Writing in UCD, former Orange Prize shortlisted for The Dancers Dancing, and former judge on the Francis MacManus Short Story Competition.

Katy, Martina, Declan and Éilís will kick the short story round the auditorium for an entertaining evening of reading, probing and analysis.

Bookings can be made with the Mill Theatre Box Office at 01-2969340 or on the website: www.milltheatre.ie

Thursday 28 March 2013

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

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Nessa O’Mahony for The Forge at Gort Literary Festival

Poetry Ireland in association with the Western Writers’ Centre presents a reading by Nessa O’Mahony for The Forge at Gort Literary Festival

When: Saturday 30 March at 4pm. 

Nessa O’Mahony was one of the first writers in Ireland to complete a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing in 2007. She has published two collections of poems, Bar Talk (iTaLicS Press, 1999) and Trapping a Ghost (Bluechrome, 2005). Her verse novel In Sight of Home was published by Salmon in 2009.  She was winner of the National Woman’s Poetry Competition in 1997 and short-listed for the Hennessy and Kavanagh Awards in 1998. She was a recipient of an Arts Council of Ireland literature bursary in 2005 and an artists’ bursary from South Dublin County Council in 2007.  She teaches creative writing with the Open University and is a regular facilitator of creative writing workshops in Ireland and the UK.

Where: O’Sullivan’s Royal Hotel, Gort, Co Galway.

Admission: €4/€2
 

Sunday 24 March 2013

Poets to Check Out - Naomi Shihab Nye

The Palestinian poet, Naomi Shihab Nye with a found poem.
When did you stop being a poet?

Friday 22 March 2013

Writing.ie Anam Cara Poetry Competition

From writing.ie competition page

Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat and writing.ie are once again joining forces to sponsor a writing competition, this time for poets.  The winning poet will receive a place in the one-week residential retreat “Lining Our Thoughts: A Poetry Writing Workshop,” led by Leanne O’Sullivan, scheduled at Anam Cara for 20-27 July 2013.

In honour of Bloomsday, this competition is for previously unpublished journey poems, no longer than 30 lines.

To submit, send your entry as an attachment (without identifying information in the document) with an email message containing your name, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number. Send to Sue Booth-Forbes: anamcararetreat@gmail.com.  Include in your email message the answer to the following question:  What is the name of the river that runs at the bottom of the hill on which Anam Cara rests? (www.anamcararetreat.com)

The deadline is midnight in Ireland, 1 May 2013.

The winner will be announced on Bloomsday, 16 June 2013.  An all-poet panel of judges will select the short list, from which Leanne will select the winning poem.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

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 26th 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.

Monday 18 March 2013

Publication - how it works

There are frequently presentations on how publishing works. They do tend to say the same thing over and over again but as there are always writers who are new to the scene, it must bear repeating.

This is what they will say:
  • Publishing is a really hard business
  • Check the publishers submission guidelines and follow them to the letter
  • Don't expect any response quickly
  • Don't call asking why you haven't heard anything
  • Don't say your mother/husband/kids love it in your cover letter
  • Don't expect to earn much
  • Children's books: Don't send illustrations or stories in rhyme
  • Develop a thick skin: Just because on publisher rejects your writing, doesn't mean another won't love it
  • Send your writing out to develop a CV of publishing and/or competitions accomplishments
  • Don't expect feedback from publishers
 I'm not sure what they will say on self-publishing but I doubt it will be encouraging.

If you haven't been to one before, I recommend you go before you start sending out. It may help to ease heartache.

Meath County Council Arts Office is delighted to host this informative and instructive Writer’s Clinic, From Inspiration to Publication, in partnership with the Irish Writers Centre as part of its Professional Development Programme FEACH.

This practical and helpful clinic is an opportunity for both aspiring and professional writers to meet with industry experts and to gain a greater understanding of how the industry works. Writers of all backgrounds are invited to attend.

The clinic will be facilitated by Patricia Deevy of Penguin Ireland, Faith O’Grady, literary agent, and acclaimed writer Dermot Bolger (right).

This event will run from 6pm – 9pm on Tuesday 26 March in Ashbourne Cultural Centre, Killegland Street, Ashbourne, Co. Meath.

During this clinic writers will:
  • Gain a greater understanding of the creative writing industry in Ireland
  • Become informed of how the industry works
  • Get advice on the next steps for their own projects
  • Develop a greater understanding of their own practice
  • Develop invaluable contacts and network opportunities
Places are free but booking is essential at Meath County Council Arts Office on 046 9097414 or artsoffice@meathcoco.ie

Saturday 16 March 2013

Skylight 47 submissions

The Galway based magazine, Skylight 47 is now accepting submissions for its Summer Issue, to be launched in July, closing date 1 April 2013.

Please send up to four poems, along with a short biographical note, to skylightpoets47@gmail.com. Poems to be no longer than 40 lines.
The editors would be interested to receive ideas for reviews, particularly of recent début poetry collections, and original artwork.

*** If anyone wants to review my dinky book of poetry, please let me know and I can send you a copy. There are still a few available for purchase at moth editions ***
 
Please send your poems as an attachment (.doc, .docx, .txt or .rtf) and in the body of the email. Work should be unpublished.

Contributors will receive one copy of the magazine.

For more details see skylight47poetry.wordpress.com

Thursday 14 March 2013

Writing From Within

HAIKU and MINDFULNESS
Sat 6th and Sun 7th July    

Two day WORKSHOP with MAEVE OBSULLIVAN and KIM RICHARDSON

Venue: Carousel Creates Dublin Writers Centre Rathfarnam Co Dublin Ireland

In this summer workshop we will work with the ancient medium of three line haiku poetry with its links to Japanese spiritual traditions . Combining this with mindfulness practices and the natural beauty of the nearby forests and mountains our goal is to increase our powers of observation and description .

Workshop participants will receive tuition in haiku and related forms plus breathing light and related exercises We will also get outside for at least one ginko or composition stroll taking inspiration from the local views flora and wildlife . The discipline of these short verses is both an end in itself and an aid in the expression and honing of other forms of writing .

We will aim to come away from this workshop with a deepened sense of where our creativity comes from and a heightened level of awareness that will help us strengthen our writing skills .

• The workshop is appropriate for anyone working in all writing forms
• No previous experience of haiku or of meditative practices is necessary
• The workshop is limited to a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 15 participants

9am to 5pm

Cost: € 250 residential all meals incl dinner on Saturday €200 non residential incl all other meals

To book a place contact: Carolann Copland at carolann@copland org uk or on Website: http:/// www. carousel creates .com .

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Kate Atkinson at Dun Laoghaire

One of my favourite authors is coming to Dun Laoghaire Sunday 24th March
Loved Started Early, Took My Dog

Loved Case Histories

Loved When Will There Be Good News
One Good Turn

Human Croquet
Behind The Scenes At The Museum
...

you get the picture

DLR Library Voices Spring 2013

KATE ATKINSON In Conversation with Sinéad Gleeson

What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? Kate Atkinson is at her most profound and inventive, in a new novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves.

Sunday 24th March at 2.30 pm Pavilion Theatre, Marine Rd, Dun Laoghaire

Tickets €10  €8 concessions from www.paviliontheatre.ie or call (01) 231 2929

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Brewery Lane Poetry Competition

Coming from Tipp, thanks to Women Rule Writer

Poetry Competition as part of the Brewery Lane Writers Weekend

Friday April 19th to Sunday April 21st, 2013

Link here

Deadline: 22nd March 2012
  • Poems must be the original, unpublished work of the entrant.
  • Poem length is restricted to 30 lines maximum
  • Entry fee is €4 per poem or 3 poems for €10 – cheques etc to be made payable to Brewery Lane Theatre.
  • Judging is anonymous. Name and contact details must not appear on the poem. Please put your name, address, email and phone contact, and poem title(s) on the separate Entry Form.
  • In addition to the overall prize there is an Emerging Poet category - this is a separate category for writers whose poems have not previously won a prize or been published. If you qualify, and wish to be considered for this category, please write Emerging Poet on the separate Entry Form
  • Judge: Mark Roper
Entry is by post to the following address:
Brewery Lane Theatre, c/o The Secretary, 2 Millhouse Lane, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.

Closing date for receipt of entries is Friday, 22nd March, 2013.

  • Overall winner €100
  • Emerging poet category, for a poet not previously prizewinning or published: €50
  • Student winners, confined to secondary schools in Carrick-on-Suir  Junior prize: €25 and Senior prize: €25
Link here

Monday 11 March 2013

Some Literary events in Dublin this week

Monday 11th March

 

The Monday Echo

20:00 - 23:00 or so

 

The International Bar, 23 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2
The Monday Echo is a weekly songwriter and poetry live showcase. Usually, the show has 3 songwriters and 3 poets who perform for roughly 20 minutes each. Admission is free.
The weekly line-up can be found here https://www.facebook.com/themondayecho

Tuesday 12th March

Milk and Cookies Stories

18:30 - 22:00


Chocolate Factory, 26 King's Inn Street, Dublin 1 (note moved this month from its usual venue at The Exchange)

Milk and Cookie Stories is a story telling event for for anyone who has a story to tell, or wants to hear a tale told well, in a relaxed, friendly environment - a place with tea, cushions, cookies and friends. Admission is free, everyone is welcome and stories of all kinds are welcome. If you would like to tell a story, just come along and sign up on the night, or "if you feel inspired to share your own home-baked goods with Dublin’s friendliest audience, we’ll also be having our awesome Bake-Off." At the March event, the theme will be "Death by Chocolate".

See the world through Joyce's spectacles

19:00 

National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
The Bloomsday Survival Kit, a Ulysses travelling reading group who are travelling around Dublin reading Ulysses "in location" will read Chapter 9 from Ulysses, Scylla and Charybdis. Admission is free and booking is not required.

Wednesday 13th March
Part of the Festival of Russian Culture http://www.russianfestival.ie/festival-programme/
13.10 “Irish haiku in Russian. Why not?” Literary talk and reading by poet Dermot O’Brien, Russian translation by Vera Smyth at the National Library of Ireland
19.00 – 20.30 Literary Reading – Poetry of the Russian Silver Age at the Atrium, Trinity College Dublin  

Irish poem in the twentieth century

19:00

National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
"Lyrics in two languages: the short Irish poem in the twentieth century" with Bernard O’Donoghue, Fellow in English, Wadham College, Oxford is an Irish Texts Society – Breandán O’Buachalla Memorial Lecture. Admission is free and no booking is required.
http://www.nli.ie/en/list/current-events.aspx

Thursday 14th March

Dublin Made Me - Poems of the City

18:30

National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Exploring Dublin through its poetry and song, poet and broadcaster Pat Boran, and Gerard Smyth, poet and Poetry Editor of The Irish Times, present a selection of poems and lyrics, historical and contemporary, famous and less well known, that tell their own story of Dublin.
It seems that this event is free, but booking via the website is required and tickets will be allocated through a lottery.

Dublin Writers' Forum

19:30

Workman's Club, 10 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2
The Dublin Writers' Forum welcomes writers of all genres, of all ages and all levels of experience. DWF is an open group of writers who share a common passion for all things literary. It is a safe ‘working space’ where on a weekly basis writers can bring their work to be critiqued by other writers.

Sunday 10 March 2013

Crannog Submissions

Get your submissions in for Crannog magazine from Galway.

Submissions for Crannóg 33, the summer 2013 issue, opened on 1 March and closes 31 March. They have reduced the submission time for each issue to one month which means submissions are not tied up for  long and a decision will be reached quickly. 

Deadline: 31st March 2013

Please read full submission rules HERE first!

Friday 8 March 2013

Poetry anthology "Underground"

Submissions are now open for the first Fire Hazard anthology, "Underground".

To mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the world's first underground railway in London in 1863, Fire Hazard is compiling a print anthology of poetry dealing with experiences of underground railways and their impact (for better and worse) on the communities they serve around the world.

Themes could include (but are by no means limited to):
  • Construction of underground railways
  • History of the lines and the stations
  • The above-ground communities the underground serves
  • The experience of commuting / travelling underground
  • The art of the underground
  • People experienced on the underground
  • Subterranean geographies / cities
  • Mapping the underground
If you would like your work to be considered for this anthology, please send up to four poems and a brief biographical note to us at firehazardpoetry@gmail.com with the word "underground" in the subject title. 
 
The deadline for submissions in March 31st, 2013. 
 
All included poets will receive an electronic copy of the anthology, hardcopies of which will be available for purchase in early summer.

Thursday 7 March 2013

South Dublin County Council Arts Bursary Awards

South Dublin County Council Arts Bursary Awards 2013 Application Forms, are now available to download from our arts website at http://www.sdcc.ie/services/parks-recreation/arts
or in the ‘
Arts Grants and Bursaries’ section at http://arts.southdublin.ie
 
There are three categories this year for artists who live or work in South Dublin County Council administrative area as follows:-

  • Individual Artists Bursary Award
  • Young Artist Development Award (18-25 Years)
  • The Annette Halpin Memorial Award for young Musicians 2013.
Please note that the closing date for All Applications is 28th March 2013 at 1.00pm

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Poetry Divas read a an International Women's Day Event

Friday 8th March, time 8:30pm- 11:30pm
Upstairs in Arthur's pub on Thomas Street
Free!
Men Welcome!

 This is an evening of performance, poetry, comedy, dance and music. The performers are women but the audience is mixed, everyone is welcome. The title of this event comes from Mary Oliver's Poem 'The Summer Day', the final stanza 

"Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?"
 

This night will be spilling over with luscious spirit - poetry, music, song and dance. inspirational women who will chat about their lives, including Rio Hegarty winner of the person of the year award. Comedian Christiane O'Mahoney will perform. Spoken word performances from 'The Poetry Divas' and also Afric McGlinchy will read her poems. We have songs from two acapella groups 'The Vocal Vixens' and 'Shaydayda' led by Susan Tomelty. Susie Kennedy will sing a few songs from powerful female singers that deserve celebrating. We have music performances from talented songstresses including Flo (folk) and also Carla Brunell. Bellydance performances from The Zoryanna, Adele, LauraMaeve and more.
 

The night will be sometimes bawdy, sometimes whimsical, sometimes fiery. The focus of the event is on the capacity of women to seize the day, to generate their own truths and to create happiness in the midst of turmoil, suffering and banality. It is about the creative elements of femininity and the richness and depth that this gives to everyone's lives. the audience is absolutely everyone, its free and it promises to be a wild and precious night - so don't miss it!

The venue is Arthurs pub on 28 Thomas street. on the corner opposite St. Catherine's Church Thomas Street, it is five minutes walk from Christchurch Cathedral, on bus routes 123, 13,40

Tuesday 5 March 2013

Poets to Check Out - Rajarshi “Tito” Mukhopadhyay

James Franco reads an affecting poem written by Rajarshi “Tito” Mukhopadhyay, an 18-year old boy who has autism. Tito is from south India with a special talent. Severely autistic and nearly non-verbal, Tito can communicate his thoughts and feelings through remarkable prose and poetry - written in fluent English. Tito’s view of the world provides an extraordinary opportunity to explore the hidden world of autism.

The text is here.

Sunday 3 March 2013

Poetry 24

Where News is the Muse

Have you seen something in the News that inspires? Check out this website. Various and many are the news topics covered by poems here.

Poetry24 was founded in early 2011 by Hampshire-based former columnist Martin Hodges and Merseyside performance poet Clare Kirwan. The aim was simple: to publish news-related or topical poetry that reflects what's happening in the world, or current affairs.

Since then, nearly 600 poems have been published on the site from around the world, often within hours or days of having been written, providing a unique poetic response to the news as it happens.

At the end of 2012, a new team of editors took up the baton, providing a more international platform for the site.

They are looking for submissions.
 
All poems must relate to a recent news item. (Ideally within the last week or two, although we occasionally consider poems on the anniversary of a significant event);  
 

Friday 1 March 2013

Abridged 0 - 29: Primal

Submission Call
What first was humanity, in its primal condition, still smouldering with instinct and fear? We shift about in mind-forged manacles, the cold and viscous layer of the urban which closes us in with crusting edges. We are numbed and enveloped in the thick residue of industry and development. Lines of buildings, artificial languages and artificial lives, leave us unfeeling in unchallenged survival and a lost human heritage.
And we, low to the ground and overwhelmed in the sensurround, were marked with earth and the stench of other bodies. We were flooding inside, unlived and burning. All of our skin, naked to the air and to the movements of gravel under our pulsing palms and the balls of our feet; a charged weather encloses bare flesh, flailing bodies lit by a deep sun. We are locked and tangled in cyclical smoke movements around the flames and we are howling.
Abridged seeks poetry or art for its 0 – 29: Primal issue exploring the roots of love, hate, fear, the animal part of us we continually wage war with. Up to three poems may be submitted. Artwork can be up to A4 size and should be 300dpi or above. Entries can (preferably) be emailed to us at abridged@ymail.com or can be posted to: Abridged c/o Verbal Arts Centre, Stable Lane and Mall Wall, Bishop Street Within, Derry BT48 6PU. Deadline for submissions is 8th March 2013. www.abridgedonline.com