Padraic Colum International Gathering - Adult Poetry Competition 2019

Prizes for this year’s Adult Poetry Competition are: 1^st prize €250, 2^nd prize €75 and 3^rd prize €50. Winners will be announced at our Padraic Colum Commemorative Concert on Friday, May 17^th – all welcome!

Poetry on the Lake

Deadline: 15th April 2018 (last postmark or 24.00 email)

3 categories:

• Silver Wyvern (all forms, max 42 lines); Adjudicator Fred Johnston
• Short poems (max.10 lines); Adjudicator Kevin Bailey
• Formal (max 40 lines) Adjudicator Kevin Bailey

Theme for Silver Wyvern: Cinema– may be interpreted widely but must bear a reference to the theme.

No set theme for Short & Formal categories.

Prizes:

• Silver Wyvern category winner: Silver Wyvern and €500.
• 2nd - €200; 
• 3rd €100. 
• Formal & Short categories: winners: €100 each

Postal entries:

• UK: £10 first poem; further poems £6 each. UK cheques/BPOs only, payable to
  G. Griffin-Hall.   
• ROW: €15 first poem; 2 or more, €10 each. Pay Paypal

Online Entries: £ 10 or € 15 or $ 15 first poem; further poems £8/€ 10/$12 each.

Usual competition rules apply:

Open category embraces all forms of poems providing they do not exceed 40 lines (title excluded); free verse, traditional or formal verse - anything goes!

Formal category: traditional verse forms: sonnets, sestinas, ballards,haiku (up to five haiku on one page count as one entry) villanelles etc or your own rhyming or metrical scheme. NOT free verse and just dividing a free verse poem into couplets without a rhyming or metrical scheme doesn't make for a Formal poem and just because a poem has 14 lines doesn't make it a sonnet, a sonnet should have a metre and rhyme scheme.

Short: all forms not exceeding 10 lines (title excluded)

Results on website July, winners contacted earlier

Link here to enter

Wine tourism spain short story / Flash competition

Interesting flash fiction competition that's free to enter.

How would aliens react to wine? Would wine play a role in the way that aliens perceive Earth?

Submission guidelines:

• All stories must be original and should not have been previously published elsewhere.
• Submissions must be a minimum of 200 words. Maximum word limit is set to 500 words. 
• Winners will be announced on May 20th
• Topic: Extraterrestrial life arrives to Earth. They arrive somewhere in Spain. Wine plays an important role in the way their perception of Earth is shaped.
• Important rule: The stories must first be published on a blog as a precondition to participate. As part of the publication, a link to Winetourismspain.com or any of its sections must be included 
• Individuals may participate with a maximum of 2 stories.

Prizes: 3 prizes. A first prize of an Amazon voucher valued at $700 and two second prizes of an Amazon voucher valued at $350.

Deadline: April 30th (20:00 CET)

Submission instructions:

An email with the following details needs to be sent to contest@turismodevino.com
Details needed:

• URL of the blog where the story is published
• Name of the story
• Name and surname of the person that is participating

Link here

2017 Oliver Goldsmith Literary Festival Poetry Competition

Enter the Goldsmith's festival poetry competition by downloading the PDF below with the competition rules and application form. Winners will be invited to read their work and receive their prize at the Poetry in Pallas event on Sunday the 4th of June 2017. This is in Pallas, Co Longford.

There is also a reading by a guest poet. This year’s guest poet and adjudicator is Michelle O Sullivan, winner of a number of awards she has a new collection, The Flower and The Frozen Sea published by the renowned Gallery Press.

There aren't many guidelines or other details e.g. length or what the prize is or who is judging.

• All poems must be the original work and must not have been previously published. 
• Each poem must be accompanied by a fee of €5. 3 Poem entry €10. 

Link here 

Closing Date is 28th April 2017

Residency in Florence

It may be worthwhile becoming a professional member of the Irish Writers Centre if you'd like to apply for a residency in Florence.

The Irish Writers Centre is continuing to develop its links with Italy and we are delighted to announce a one-week residency with St Mark's in Florence this autumn from 29 September – 6 October 2017. 

While the successful applicant must cover their own transport and living expenses, they will have the chance to reside in the beautiful hospitality apartment adjoining St Mark's English Church in the heart of Florence. During their stay they will be expected take part in a public reading, as well as meeting with the local writing community. 

To apply, send the following to Valerie Bistany, director@writerscentre.ie with St Mark's Florence Residency in the subject line:

1. A cover letter including your personal details concisely outlining the project you would like to focus on during the residency
2. An updated Curriculum Vitae (max. two A4 pages) including publications with ISBNs.
3. Clearly labelled samples of recent work (up to three short samples of up to 300 words or between 4- 6 poems).
4. Any relevant information on your proposed project such as written excerpts, photos, research information, etc.

Collate all documents into one attachment, either Word or PDF.  

At present, this residency is open only to professional members of the Irish Writers Centre. To become a professional member, please see the Professional Member section of their website. 

Deadline for applications is Friday 28 April at 5pm.  If places are still available after this date, we will advertise the call publicly.

The successful applicants will be notified by Friday 1 June 2017.

 

Books Upstairs - poetry competition

Books Upstairs, that lovely Dublin bookshop have announced their first poetry competition. The theme is something close to their hearth/heart, the Dublin Luas works which has created havoc on the streets for many many months now.

WORK IN PROGRESS was the name Joyce gave toFinnegan’s Wake when - for a very long time - he was beavering away on that great Dublin book. It was a complicated business, his friends didn't know what to make of it. Opinion was divided. Some thought the project was a complete muddle which would never make sense, but others were sure it would all work out well in the end.

The great Work in Progress in Dublin today is the Luas works. Will it all be grand in the end or will it ever end? Citizens have undoubtedly found themselves mulling on this in recent months, especially when making their way through the city’s maze of cages.

To celebrate National Poetry Day we’re putting the call out for your poems on the Luas construction works.

See your name in lights! Enter our first ever Books Upstairs Poetry competition! First prize is a Books Upstairs gift token to the value of €100.

The competition closes at midnight on 24th April 2017. The winner and runners up will be announced on the morning of Poetry Day, and their poems displayed in Books Upstairs on that day and for the following week. The competition will be judged by the Books Upstairs team who will stay up as late as necessary to arrive at the right decision!

How to enter

• Entry is free and by email only.
• Poems should be in English or Irish and no longer than 40 lines.
• Attach your poem in a Word document, using font Times New Roman, point size 12, single spaced.
• Make sure this document contains no identifying details. It should not include your name or email, to ensure that the entries are judged anonymously.
• Include your name, address and contact information in the body of your email, along with the poem title(s) and with the Word document attached, and send it with subject line 'Poetry Comp' to shop@booksupstairs.ie
• And oh! For the sake of sanity, the judges’ decision is final.

Wexford Literary Festival Competition

Wexford Literary Festival 2017 runs from Friday, May 19 to Sunday, May 21 in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, the heart of Ireland’s South-East. The Festival is holding three writing competitions: The Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award, The Wexford Literary Festival International Poetry Award, and The Wexford Literary Festival One-Act Play Competition.


Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award
Wexford Literary Festival welcomes entries to its annual international Colm Tóibín Short Story Award.
1st Prize is €1,000, 2nd Prize €500, 3rd Prize €300
Entries must be between 1,800 and 2,000 words in length.


Wexford Literary Festival International Poetry Award
Poets are invited to submit up to three poems, up to a maximum of 40 lines, for consideration.
1st Prize is €250 plus the Wexford Literary Festival International Poetry crystal award, 2nd €200 and 3rd €100
Entries can be up to and including 40 lines in length


Wexford Literary Festival One-Act Play Competition
Playwrights are invited to submit plays of up to 15 minutes in length and four finalists will have their pieces performed by Enniscorthy Drama Group at this year’s festival.
The play should require no more than four actors.
Four finalists will have their pieces performed by Enniscorthy Drama Group at this year’s festival, with a prize of €300 euro going to the overall winner.


Entry fee: €10
Deadline: 1st April 2017
Shortlisted writers will be invited to attend the award ceremony on Sunday, May 21, 2017, however all expenses incurred will be the writer’s own
Link here

Call for dlr Writer in Residence

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council invites applications for a writer in residence for the period June 2017 to May 2018.  This writer in residence is managed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office and is grant-aided by the Arts Council.


The residency is open to writers working in script-writing in any form (e.g. writing for stage, TV or film).  The theme this year is Ireland: The Future. The writer’s work may draw inspiration from this theme in a variety of ways.  The residency is envisaged as a part-time residency 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 the dlr LexIcon in Dún Laoghaire and the writer in residence will have access to a room on the top floor of the new Central Library and Cultural Centre.
Applicants must live in, work in, be originally from or have studied a relevant discipline in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.


More information and full details of how to apply go to http://www.dlrcoco.ie/en/arts/funding-opportunities/residencies/writer-residence


Closing Date: 13^th of April at 12 noon

North West Words Submissions

North West Words is OPEN for submissions and is published in May and November.
Deadline: April 1st 2017


Please submit no more than 3 poems or 1 short story (max 2000 words), non-fiction piece (max 800 words) or flash fiction (max 500 words) or jpegs of photography/art , as an attachment to editornww@yahoo.com with ‘Submission’ and whatever category you are submitting to, as the subject of the email.
Include a short biography in the third person and a photo along with any links to your website/blog/twitter/etc.
All work must be the original work of the writer/artist and previously unpublished.
Email Submissions to: editornww@yahoo.com    Please use ‘NWW magazine submission’ in the subject line.


Iarratas á lorg ó scríbhneoirí Gaeilge.
Foilsíonn an baicle scríbhneoireachta ‘North West Words’ irisleabhar dha uair sa bhliain; i mí na Bealtaine agus i mí na Samhna. Fáiltíonn an grúpa roimh saothar liteartha i nGaeilge. Is é an chéad lá de mhí Lunasa an chéad spriocdháta.
Ní ghlacfar le níos mó ná trí dhán nó gearrscéal amháin (uasmhéid 2000 focal); nó píosa neamh-fhicsin (uasmhéid 800 focal); nó ficsean ‘flash’ (uasmhéid 500 focal); nó jpeg de ghrianghraf nó píosa físealaíne (curtha mar cheangaltán ar ríomhphost).
Seol d’iarratas mar ríomhphost chuig editornww@yahoo.com  Bíodh an focal ‘Submission’ mar ábhar an ríomhphoist agus luaigh an catagóir liteartha cuí freisin.
Ní mór beathaisnéis ghearr a chur leis an iarratas, mar aon leis naisc, (más ábharach), go dtí do shuíomh idirlín /blag /suíomh facebook agus araile.
Ní foláir gach iarracht a bheith ina saothar úrnua de chuid an iarratasóir agus ní foláir nár fhoilsíodh cheana é ach oiread.
Seol an saothar chuig: editornww@yahoo.com

Call for Audio Poems

Poetry Day Ireland is on Thursday 27 April this year, with the theme of ‘Poetry Connects’. Spearheaded by Poetry Ireland, they are inviting everyone to join-in, link-up, and connect through the power of poetry.


To mark the occasion, Lagan Online is teaming up with Poetry NI, seeking your audio poems to feature on our special ‘Mix Tape’, which will be made available to download for free on the day. We will be selecting the best tracks to showcase, so get recording and send us your work!


On this year’s theme, Poetry Ireland website says: “Words matter: they can build bridges or burn them down. Poetry’s ‘delicate dance between the said and the unsaid’ (Ruth Padel) has the power to connect friends, lovers and family. It has the power to help us look inward and understand ourselves, and the power to transport us across borders and through frontiers. It connects us with our memories and springboards us to our future. We need the power of words now more than ever.”

Submission Guidelines:

Submission are open to anyone currently living in, or originally from, the island of Ireland.
All sound files must be in MP3, MP4 or WAV format.
Please submit each poem as a separate file, up to a maximum of three poems.
Poems may have musical accompaniment or backing tracks, but please make sure the poem is clearly audible.
Each poem must be no more that four minutes in duration.
Previously published poems are acceptable, as long as you have retained the copyright.



Deadline: Monday 10th April.


Please find your poems as attachments along with a brief biog (third person, 75 words max) to laganonline@theverbal.co

Poetry on the Lake Competition

There are three categories for this year's Poetry on the Lake Competition

Silver Wyvern
adjudicator : Carol Ann Duffy 
Theme for Silver Wyvern: Metal – may be interpreted widely but must bear a reference to the theme.
Max 40 lines

Formal
adjudicator: Kevin Bailey
no set theme
Max 40 lines

Short
adjudicator: Oz Hardwick
no set theme
Max 10 lines

All 3 adjudicators will read all , poems in his or her category

Deadline: 30th April 2017

Prizes: Silver Wyvern category winner: Silver Wyvern and €500.
2^nd - €200; 3^rd €100. Formal & Short categories: winners: €100 each
All prizewinners present at Celebration receive an object of design awarded by ALESSI

Fees vary depending on whether you post or enter online. 
£8 first poem (£10 online); further poems £6/£8 each OR
Euro: €12 first poem; 2 or more, €10 each.

Entry information link here

The Bristol Short Story Prize

The Bristol Short Story Prize

Deadline: 30th of April 2016.

Prizes: £1,000, £700, £400. There will also be 17 runner-up prizes of £100 each. 
Twenty stories will be published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 9.

Submit stories of up to 4,000 words. Any theme, 
Entry fee is £8

Judging panel for this year’s competition, chaired by celebrated writer and short story champion, Tania Hershman. Tania is joined on the panel by acclaimed writer Niven Govinden, Simon Key, owner of the award-winning Big Green Bookshop in London, and Juliet Pickering,literary agent at Blake Friedmann. Suffice it to say, these judges know their stories.

Link here

Banshee Submissions

Banshee is a new magazine of contemporary writing which publishes twice a year. They are looking for submissions of fiction, short story length or flash or articles to their 3rd issue.

Deadline: 30th April 2016

• All submissions should be previously unpublished.
• Stories and essays should be 1500-5000 words. Flash fiction should be less than 1000 words, poems no more than 40 lines.
• We are happy to read up to two stories, up to two essays, up to four flashes and up to six poems. However, we ask that each writer submit in only one of the above categories.
• Submissions should be in one .doc or .docx format attachment, double spaced, and in a non-quirky font.
• Please include a short bio (max 50 words) in the body of your email.
• Email to bansheelit at gmail dot com, with the category of the work (flash/story/essay/poetry) in the subject line.
• We believe in paying writers. We can offer contributors a small fee as well as a copy of the journal.

Link here

Editors are Laura Jane Cassidy, Claire Hennessy and Eimear Ryan (none poets as far as I know. Ladies if you want some poetic editorial input, let me know. I have form...)

They say:

Some of our favourite themes include coming of age, sexuality, gender, mortality, complicated relationships of all shapes, the joys and frustrations of the creative life, our relationship with technology, and the extended adolescence of young adults in the 21st century. While our outlook is literary, we’re open to genre elements. 

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Writer in residence

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Writer in residence

Deadline: 12 noon on Wednesday 27th April 2016

Access, at agreed times, to a room on the top floor of dlr LexIcon. It is a requirement of the residency that the writer spend at least 10 hours a week working in dlr LexIcon.

The residency is open to writers working in any genre (e.g. fiction, non-fiction, poetry, script-writing, etc). 
The residency this year will focus on the theme of Creativity and will have a particular emphasis on writing for 8-18 year olds.

The writer’s work may draw inspiration from this theme in a variety of ways. The residency is envisaged as a part-time residency 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 children and/or young people and potentially a range of schools in the county. 

Link here

Competition for a Free Place on Leanne O'Sullivan's week long poetry retreat in Anam Cara

Competition for a Free Place in Leanne's workshop retreat in Anam Cara

Since our workshop will take place on the magical, mythical Beara Peninsula, it is very fitting that our poetry -- which is, after all, a concentrated imaginative and intellectual response to our experiences and contexts -- will seek to possess something of the essence of this very special part of the world.


The poem (max. 40 lines) should be based on or inspired by a mythological narrative. Your narrative may be updated into a modern context if you wish, though the bones of mythology should reside.


Please submit your entry (as an attached word.doc without personal information on the poem) to Sue at anamcararetreat@gmail.com


Deadline for submission: 30th April 2016 (Midnight GMT)


Here's more on the workshop, Lining Our Thoughts - A Poetry Writing Workshop Retreat

Arrival: Saturday, 30th July 2016
Departure: Saturday 6th August 2016


"This workshop is for those who would like to begin to write poetry or those who would like to develop poems they have already started.  The main aim of my workshops is to encourage writers through discussion, exercise based and free writing, while also allowing them to take risks in a supportive environment. Each session will focus on a different topic, such as imagery, perspective, storytelling, rhythm and form. Everything a writer needs is inside of themselves, and it's my goal to help them refine the effectiveness of how they communicate their subject matter.
"Morning sessions will include a reading of poems by established writers (which will be supplied) with discussion of what makes these poems effective, writing exercises and also excursions to some sites in Beara that have given inspiration to my own writing.  In the afternoons, I will be available for one-to-one sessions and this will also be free time during which participants can enjoy the creative peace of the retreat and do some writing."

Pocket Poem competition for Butlers Cafe/ Ireland Poetry Day

Poetry Ireland and Butlers Chocolate Cafés are inviting poets to submit poems for our Poetry Day Ireland 2016 competition. The theme of the competition is open, but poems should mention either chocolate or coffee or give a flavour (!) of the coffeehouse and café.

Poems should be no longer than sixteen lines.

The winning poet will:

• Have their poem printed on a Pocket Poem card, which will be distributed in all 18 Butlers Chocolate Café branches on Poetry Day Ireland, 28 April 2016.
• Win a guaranteed place in an activist poetry masterclass with Rafeef Ziadah in Dublin on 19 May 2016.
• Win a ticket to every poetry event in either the International Literature Festival Dublin (21-29 May 2016), or Cúirt International Festival of Literature (17-24 April), or to West Cork Literary Festival (17-23 July 2016).
• Be invited to read their work as part of a public reading on Poetry Day Ireland (28 April 2016).
• Receive a 2-year subscription to Poetry Ireland Review.
• Win a pass for 4 people to the Butlers Chocolate Experience.

The runner up poet will:

• Have their poem printed on a Pocket Poem card, which will be distributed in all 18 Butlers Chocolate Café branches on Poetry Day Ireland, 28 April 2016.
• Be invited to read their work as part of a public reading on Poetry Day Ireland, 28 April 2016.
• Receive a box of Butlers Chocolates.

Entry procedure and dates

The competition is free to enter, and poets are welcome to submit up to four suitable poems.

The closing date for entries is 5pm on Thursday 14 April 2016.

At this stage it's probably better to submit through the online application form 

Open Call | Cruthu Arts Festival, Longford

Deadline: 22 April 2016

Cruthú Arts Festival, in partnership with Ireland 2016 – Longford Steering Committee, invite all artists, writers, poets, digital artists, established and new, young and old to take part in an exciting visual arts and literature project.

This project is entitled ‘A Response to the Proclamation’. We are accepting poetry and stories up to a maximum of 1,500 words and artworks in any media including drawing, painting, photography, digital media, and 3D. The only restriction is that it is your own original work. For artwork please submit a proposal with images of previous work or image of submission if existing work. For written work please submit a Microsoft word or openoffice document.

Submissions will be evaluated by The Cruthú Arts Festival Committee and the successful final selection will be exhibited in a pop-up gallery as part of a larger visual arts programme for Cruthú Arts Festival, 28th to 31st July, 2016.

Please send all submissions by email to: cruthuartsfestival@gmail.com,
www.facebook.com/cruthuarts/?fref=nf

SCRIPTS Ireland’s Playwriting Festival seeks New Works

Playwrights can submit original 15 minute plays on the theme Changes for selection by Friday 8 April, 2016.Those selected will benefit from a professional development process where they will be mentored by professional playwright Eugene O' Brien in an exciting workshopping process.
Successful playwrights must be available to travel to Birr, Co. Offaly from Sunday 3 - Thursday 7 July to take part in the workshop process and attend the premiere on Saturday 9 July.

From 3-9 July 2016, the picturesque heritage town of Birr, Co. Offaly, a haven of Georgian elegance, will play host to an ensemble of playwrights, producers, actors and directors, all working towards one goal - to produce outstanding new Irish plays in seven fun-filled days!

THEME: The Festival sets a theme annually to stimulate an artistic response. This year the theme is CHANGES.

In an Ireland that supports marriage equality, in a time when the #WakingTheFeminists movement is making huge strides in women’s representation in theatre and in a world where art has the power to transform, it is clear that change is in the air. Social changes are affecting the world we live in and the impact ranges from subtle attitude adjustments to massive alterations in the way we live. Smaller, unseen changes are happening within us, and in our relationships with the people around us. The impact may be intricate and complex. Playwrights can interpret this theme as they see fit, and responses may range from addressing outward changes in the world to a more micro view of small changes within.

We look forward to reading authentic, unique, and well crafted plays that have the power to change. In the words of the late David Bowie, “Ch-ch-ch-changes, Turn and face the strange!”

PLAY LENGTH: Plays can be between 10-15 minutes in running time. Plays that go over 15

See www.scriptsireland.com for more info.

Colm Tóibín International Short Story Competition

This is a new annual international short story competition – the Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award, dedicated to one of Wexford’s most accomplished and beloved writers – Colm Tóibín.

The competition has a prize fund of €1,800 and is sponsored by Wexford County Council.
1st Prize is €1,000, 2nd Prize €500, 3rd Prize €350.

The judging panel consists of:
• Lisa Coen, a founder of Tramp Press
• Nuala O’Connor, esteemed writer and poet
• Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, founder of The Inkwell Group and the online national writing resource magazine www.writing.ie.
They will also be assisted by local Wexford writers Carmel Harrington, Paul O’Reilly, Catherina Hogan and Caroline Busher.

Deadline: 1 April 2016.

The long list will be announced on 1 May 2016 and the short list on 31 May 2016.
The winners will be announced during the Focal Wexford Literary Festival in summer 2016.

Entries must be between 1,800 and 2,000 words in length.

The winning authors should be available to attend the awards ceremony to be held at the Focal Wexford Literary Festival, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford in June/July 2016.  

Entry fee 10 Euro

For more information on the 2016 Festival check out http://www.focalliteraryfestival.com/

To enter go to http://www.focalliteraryfestival.com/the-colm-toibin-international-short-story-award/

WORDS Ireland Mentoring Scheme - Wicklow Writers

Produced by Children’s Books Ireland,Irish Writers Centre and Poetry Ireland, developed by WORDS Ireland in partnership with Wicklow County Council Arts Office

WORDS Ireland is offering five mentorship opportunities to Wicklow writers who are seeking to engage with a mentor over a period of six months from May 2015.

This scheme is open to writers in any fiction genre: young adult and children’s books, short stories, playwriting, screenwriting, novels or poetry. The mentorships will focus on Manuscript Development in the main, but may include other aspects in the professional development of the writer.

Who is eligible to apply?

To be eligible for the scheme the applicant must have been born in or be resident in County Wicklow for the last two consecutive years. The applicant will have with a track record in a professional capacity, such as having poems or short stories published in recognised journals or magazines (print or online), or a book of fiction, or a collection of poetry or short stories published by a recognised publisher. 

Mentee contribution:  While the costs of this scheme are being funded by Wicklow Arts Office and WORDS Ireland, the successful mentee are requested to contribute €100 to help offset costs and to demonstrate seriousness of intent.

See the Irish Writers Centre website for full details. 

deadline: Friday 24th April at 5pm