Trócaire Poetry Ireland Poetry Competition

Get writing – the Trócaire Poetry Ireland Poetry Competition is open until 12 June 

Adults and children alike can get creative and enter a poem or poems to the Trócaire Poetry Ireland Poetry Competition.  

The competition takes place annually and uses the arts to raise awareness about the leading global justice issues of our time. The deadline has been extended until 12 June, with the competition open to published and unpublished poets. 

  

Adults and children, through their schools, can enter the competition. Poems in English or Irish are welcome in all six categories, with spoken word pieces actively encouraged as well as poems. 

The competition is always free to enter

The attractive prizes on offer include for the adult categories: a choice of a two-week stay at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, or a tablet or time in a recording studio to the value of €300 (for spoken word poets) plus a year’s subscription to Poetry Ireland Review. 

Winners of the post-primary and primary categories win a Kindle Fire plus a visit by an author to the winner’s school (to be scheduled post-Covid 19 restrictions).  

This year, the competition explores the theme ‘Standing Her Ground’, inspired by the extraordinary stories of hardworking women who are holding their families together, battling enormous odds, including threats like violence, intimidation and drought, to provide food for their children and are battling to keep their children, and the earth, safe from harm.  

Poets of all ages are encouraged to explore the theme, from a local to global perspective. Each year, the winning poems are published in booklet form and presented to the winners at an awards ceremony.  

For more information and to enter, visit https://www.poetryireland.ie/education/trocaire-poetry-ireland-poetry-competition/ 

 

Fingal Poetry Prize

Fingal Poetry Festival, which will take place from Sept 4^th – 6^th 2020 in lovely Skerries, are delighted to announce the Inaugural Fingal Poetry Prize.
Our judge is esteemed poet and writer, Mary O’Donnell
Deadline 30th June
First Prize €500
Second €300
Third  €200
Five additional short-listed poets will also be invited to read at an awards ceremony in Skerries and receive a reading fee of €100 each.
Our generous sponsor for the Fingal Poetry Prize 2020 is DHL Ireland.
For rules and details of how to enter please visit https://poetryatskerriesmills.com
Because I am so good to you, here are the highlights

•  Entry fee is €6 per poem. Paypal.
• Poems must not exceed 40 lines and be the original work of a living writer
• All entries must be submitted, on one continues document, as an attachment to
  poetryatskerriesmills@gmail.com with the title: Competition Submission as your Subject Header.

Seashores Haiku Submissions

The Fishing Cat Press is pleased to announce the launch of seashores an international journal to share the spirit of haiku.

The objective of seashores is to share haiku from all over the world and explore how the way and the spirit of haiku, with its power to connect us to nature and our world can play a role in poetry and our lives in general.

Editorial team: Paul Chambers (www.paulchambershaiku.com) and Gilles Fabre (Haiku Spirit) with the contribution of David Burleigh.

www.haikuspirit.org to view more information 

You are all welcome to submit a maximum of eight (8) haiku/senryu, in any combination. Essays or articles on haiku are also welcome (app. 800 words max). All copyrights to remain with the author.

The submissions deadline for issue 1 is: 30 June 2018 for publication in autumn 2018.
Send all submissions (and any request of information) to haikuspirit@haikuspirit.org
Please enter Submissions for Seashores in the email subject. Family name, first name as well as country must be included in the email body text.

We regret to advise you that no free copies of this printed journal will be offered. Only contributors whose essay/article is selected to be published will receive a free copy. Price to be confirmed but each copy will be a maximum of €10 (including postage) for the first issue (2018).

Submissions Criteria:
1. All submissions must be unpublished and not being considered elsewhere.
2. All submissions must be in English. If originally in another language, translation must be provided with the original entry (if the author is not the translator, please indicate the translator’s details and his/her consent to publication).
3. All essays and articles must be submitted in English.

Submissions Guidelines:
Haiku (and senryu) need to reflect the rules and guidelines that are generally accepted in the global haiku community. Basically, haiku in three distinct lines with good rhythm are favoured and may include a season word (kigo) or a key word, a cut (kireji, by way of style, space or the use of punctuation or other) but poems of 1, 2 or 4 lines with haiku essence and spirit will also be considered. Ultimately, submissions will be judged on quality and originality.

Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition 2018

Some people are fools for love, others are fools for poetry.

1st Prize: €1,000; 2nd Prize :€500
The winning poets are also offered a reading and three nights' accommodation at the Cork 2019 International Poetry Festival (March 27th-30th, 2019) (www.corkpoetryfest.net)

The competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country. One of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a debutant poet with no solo collection (full-length or chapbook) previously published.
Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as "highly commended". 
Manuscripts can be between 16 and 23 pages in length, in the English language and the sole work of the entrant with no pastiches, translations or 'versions'.
The poems can be in verse or prose.
There is an entrance fee of €25 for each manuscript.
Entrants may enter more than one manuscript.
The winners will be selected by a panel of renowned poets including Mary Noonan, Matthew Sweeney, Thomas McCarthy, James Harpur and Leanne O’Sullivan.
The winning chapbooks will be published by Southword editions in March 2019 and will be launched at the Cork International Poetry Festival (March 27-30, 2019). It will be offered for sale internationally through our own website and in selected independent book sellers.

Deadline: Saturday 30th of June, Midnight
Link here 

Both winners will win a chapbook publication and 50 complimentary copies. The published chapbooks will be reviewed in Southword Journal and elsewhere.

Bread and Roses Poetry Award

Culture Matters is pleased to announce that the second Bread and Roses Poetry Award, sponsored by Unite, is now open for entries. It is part of our mission to promote a socialist approach to culture. The purpose of the Award is to create new opportunities for working class people to write poetry, and encourage poets to focus on themes which are meaningful to working class people and communities.

Submission Guidelines and Award Rules

1. You may enter up to three original, previously unpublished poems in English, each no more than 50 lines long.

2. You must be resident in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.

3. Entry is free, and open to anyone regardless of trade union membership.

4. There will be five prizes of £100 each.

5. Entries should broadly deal with themes relevant to working class life, politics, communities and culture.

6. Entries should be sent to info@culturematters.org.uk by midnight on Friday 8 June, or by post to Culture Matters, c/o 8 Moore Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 8QE, to arrive on Friday 8 June. No entries will be accepted after that date.

Winners will be invited to an award ceremony in Durham on 13 July, linked to the Durham Miners’ Gala, with travel and accommodation costs paid. The best poems will be published in an anthology later in 2018.

Copies of the Bread and Roses Poetry Anthology 2017 are available to buy here.

Wigtown Poetry Competition

The competition closes on 8 June, with a prize-giving at Wigtown Book Festival (21-30 September 2018).  

Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition

This is the 12^th year of the Competition, which is widely respected and forms a major part of the Festival year.   

From the entries received about 35 poems are chosen for the long list and these are published in an anthology; copies are available from the Festival Office.  A shortlist of poems is then selected and from these the winners are chosen.  

The Competition is generously supported by the School of English at the University of Kent who donate the University of Kent Prize of £200 for the winner, £100 for second and £50 for third places, £25 for the People’s Choice and the Best-Read Poem receives a bottle of sparkling wine courtesy of the Wine Room, Tankerton.  

So send in your poems of all types, long, short, tragic, funny, whatever you are moved to write and you may find yourself crowned the Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year 2018.

The Competition deadline is Monday 18 June 2018.  

The fee for entry is £5 per poem and please don’t forget to attach an entry form which can be downloaded here.  

The poem or poem sequence may be on any subject and in any style but must not exceed 60 lines in length excluding title and line breaks.  

Entries are judged anonymously 

The Terms and Conditions can be downloaded here. 

McLellan Poetry Prize

Part of the McLellan Festival 31st August - 9th September 2018

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This year's judge is Sinéad Morrissey.

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 1st prize £1500     2nd prize £300     3rd prize £150

6 commendations of £25

The competition closing date is 21st June 2018

Fee £6 for the first poem and £5 for each subsequent poem submitted on the same form.

Poems should be of no more than 80 lines (excluding title), in English and your own original work (no translations).

Link here

Spectral Lines: Poems about Scientists

Alternating Current Press

At the intersection of science and poetry, strange things happen. There exists such a bizarre human experience and shared understanding, that we can’t help but admire and celebrate it. That’s what we’re hoping to achieve with this anthology. We want your poetry, prose poems, and hybrid work (that leans toward poetry) for an anthology of poetry about scientists. We are looking for the fundamentals of those scientists, a feeling, an atmosphere, something humanistic that breathes life into their beings, into their work. 

We are not looking for “biographies with line breaks,” and we are also not looking for poems about just science in general or “all scientists” or “all astronauts,” &c., combined. We want specific poems about specific scientists. Heavier consideration will be placed on poetry about female scientists, scientists of color, and more obscure subjects. Scientists can be dead or alive, and “scientist” is a very liberal term that can range anywhere from biologists to computer techs to inventors to chemists and beyond. Please note that we are not seeking prose for this collection. 

SUBMIT HERE. 

Because we do not want more than 2 poems about the same scientist within the same collection, once 2 poems have been accepted about the same person, we will list that scientist’s name here, and we will no longer be reading pieces about that individual (so please don’t submit them, once we are closed for them!). We are no longer looking for:

 Galileo Galilei
Marie Curie

This is a paid anthology.

There is no reading fee. We will accept approximately 40-50 poems for this collection, depending on length. 

Deadline 1st June 2018

More info here 

McLellan Poetry Prize

Part of the McLellan Festival 1st - 10th September 2017
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This year's judge is Maura Dooley.
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 1st prize £1000     2nd prize £300     3rd prize £100

6 commendations of £25

Deadline: 21st June 2017

Entries may be made online or by post.

To enter the competition electronically, complete the online form , attach your poem(s) and pay your entry fee by Credit/Debit card, or direct from your Paypal account if you have one.
Rules:

• Poems should be of no more than 80 lines (excluding title), in English and your own original work (no translations).
• Poems must not have won a prize in any other competition or have been published, self-published (including on social media) or accepted for publication in print or online at the time of the closing date. 
• Each poem should be on a separate page, in black Times New Roman size 12 font. Poems will be judged anonymously and must NOT include the poet’s name or any other distinguishing mark.
• The entry fee is £5 for the first poem and £4 for each subsequent poem submitted on the same form. 
• Prize-winners will be notified individually before the end of July and invited to read at the award ceremony with Maura Dooley in Brodick, Isle of Arran on Friday, 1st September 2017. The results of the competition with copies of the poems will be published on the festival website within one week of the award ceremony.

Link here

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The Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition 2018

The Fool for Poetry competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country BUT at least one of the winners will be a debutante (with no chapbook or book published previously). Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as "highly commended".

Manuscripts must be 16 to 23 pages in length, in the English language and the sole work of the entrant with no pastiches, translations or 'versions'. The poems can be in verse or prose. Each chapbook is guaranteed a review in Southword Journal.

The winning chapbooks will be published in February 2018 with ISBNs, barcodes and will be offered for sale internationally through our own website, Amazon, and selected independent book sellers. The winning poets will be offered a reading and given three nights' accommodation at the 2018 Cork Spring Poetry Festival. The winning authors will each receive 50 complimentary copies. The first prize winner will receive €1000. The second prize winner will receive €500. 

An entrance fee of €25 will be charged for each manuscript. Entrants may enter more than one manuscript. 

The winners will be selected by a panel chosen by the management board of Southword Editions.

Previous winners include John Mee, Maya Catherine Popa, Victoria Kennefick and Tanya Hershman

Deadline: 30th June 2017

Link here for specific details

Waterford Poetry Prize 2017

One of the newer poetry prizes that's free to enter.
No mention of the judge or whether it's anonymously judged.

The Arts Office, Waterford City & County Council is pleased to announce details of the Waterford Poetry Prize 2017. The Waterford Poetry Prize is open to all writers currently living on the island of Ireland.

The prize will be presented at the Imagine Arts Festival incorporating the Waterford Writers Weekend which runs from October 19^th - 29^th 2017 in venues throughout Waterford city and county. This prize has emerged from the influence of the late Waterford writer Seán Dunne whose poetry still continues to inspire.  

There is no age limit and no entry fee for the Waterford Poetry Prize 2017.

The first prize is €400 plus attendance at a designated writing course at the Molly Keane Writers Retreat, Ardmore in 2018. 

2^nd prize €300.  

3^rd prize €200. 

Deadline: 12 noon on 26^th June 2017.

The entry form and guidelines can be downloaded from www.waterfordcouncil.ie and www.waterfordarts.com

Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition

Deadline: 19 June

Poems of up to 60 lines on any theme are invited. The Competition attracts entries from all over the world. 

1^st prize £200, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes of £100 and £50, with prizes for ‘People’s Choice’ and best read poem. 

Longlisted entries are published in an anthology and shortlisted poets are invited to read at the Adjudication event at the time of National Poetry Day. 

The judges are last year's winner, Jen Syrkiewicz, Nancy Gaffield from the University of Kent and prize-winning poet Derek Sellen (SaveAs Writers)

Entry fee: £5 per poem

Contact: For more details and online or postal entry go to: 

http://canterburyfestival.co.uk/learning-and-participation/poet-of-the-year.aspx

The London Magazine’s annual Poetry Prize

The London Magazine’s annual Poetry Prize seeks out new writers whose work is adventurous and surprising in both form and content. The judges will be:

Andrew McMillan | Rebecca Perry

All poems submitted must be previously unpublished and no longer than 40 lines. We have no criteria as to theme, form or style but are looking for diverse work which is not afraid innovate and startle. 

This competition is open to international entries.

Closing date: 30th June 2016

First Prize: £300
Second Prize: £200 
Third Prize: £150

Entry Fee

First entry: £7 
Subsequent entries: £5 (per poem)

http://www.thelondonmagazine.org/the-london-magazine-poetry-prize-information/

Prelude Magazine - Irish Issue

Prelude magazine, a NY based mag is open to submissions for it's forthcoming Irish Issue.

"For poets living in Ireland – a special feature edited by Maya Catherine Popa"

Link here for the very cool magazine. Submissions for the Irish issue are free on submittable. Usually there's a small charge.

Deadline 30th June

Paid Poetry Residency

With all the shenanigans and bad news with poetry funding in the UK, it's good to see some good news and new opportunities.

The Poetry School and Poetry in Aldeburgh have a joint offer to make: an opportunity for a festival-focused poet in residence.

While the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival organised by The Poetry Trust has a breather and an organisational regroup during 2016, Poetry in Aldeburgh is making sure that there are events to take place during the usual festival weekend of 4-6 November.

These Are Our Residency Goals …

• To illuminate and explore the programme and experience of the Poetry in Aldeburgh festival for the benefit of Festival goers and those who follow its events digitally
• To reflect on the experience of being a poet in residence in order that other members of the Poetry School community might be inspired to seek similar opportunities in the future
• To provide a poet with time and space to create new poems

Who We Are Looking For

• A poet writing at an advanced level (which the Poetry School defines as a person ‘confident about what you want to say and how you want to say it … on your way to a pamphlet or a first collection’). You do not need to have already published a pamphlet or collection.
• A poet capable of writing pithy, engaging prose reviews and articles with short lead times.
• Experience of engaging readerships and audiences online.
• A confident user of online technology and familiar with (or unfazed by) the back end of WordPress sites.

Deadline: Thursday 30 June 2016

• The fee for the residency is £1,000 inclusive of VAT if applicable, travel expenses and food.
• Twin room accommodation is available in the Poetry School’s shared house during the Festival. 

Many more details here

Mslexia Poetry Competition

This year the Mslexia Poetry Competition for single poems will be judged by ex-Makar poet Liz Lochhead, and the first prize is £2,000 – plus two optional extras: a week’s writing retreat at the writing retreat Cove Park, and a mentoring afternoon with the editor of The Poetry Review. Other winners will receive a share of the remaining £1,025 prize pot, and all winning poems will be published in the September 2015 issue of Mslexia.

Plus they’re once again offering a special $500 prize for the best poem by an unpublished woman poet. 

The entry fee of £7 allows you to enter up to three poems.

There's also the annual Poetry Pamphlet Competition? For collections of 20-24 pages of 18-20 poems, the first prize is the publication of the pamphlet by Seren Books, plus £250, 25 complimentary copies of the pamphlet and royalties from all subsequent sales. If you’ve never had a full-length collection published and want to take your work to the next level, this is the competition for you. Judge is Seren editor, Amy Wack.

Entry fee £20.

Deadline 13 June 2016 

The RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition

Want to get published in Ireland’s biggest selling magazine?

Deadline: 6pm 10 June 2016

All entries for the RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition 2016 should be original, unpublished and previously not broadcast short stories in English.

• 2,000 words or fewer 
• Entrant's name and contact details (address, phone and/or email) should be on a separate page. 
• No fee 
• One entry per person.

Paper manuscripts must be typed and cannot be returned. 
Send your entries to: RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition 2016, PO Box 1480, RTÉ, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 

or 

email to: rtegpenguinss16@gmail.com, 

Subject: RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition 2016

Wild Words Children's Literature Festival

There's a competition for young writers,   ages 14-18.

Wild Words Children's Literature Festival - Calling All Young Writershttp://wildwords.ie/

Deadline: 3 June 2016

Prizes: Publication and a free two-day writing master class at the festival in Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim on Sat 13 & Sun 14 August 2016.

Email your short story or poem to books@wildwords.ie. There is no entry fee or limit to the number of entries. 

Festival programme is still pending on the website here

Cill Rialaig residency

Cill Rialaig arts centre in Co Kerry is more aimed at visual artists but some writers do visit. There is a call currently from the Irish Writers Centre but I do believe you can apply separately, for instance if the dates don't suit. It's very beautiful, by all accounts, but pretty remote.

The Irish Writers residencies are now open for applications to seven writers for a ten-day period from 21–31 October. The seven residencies are offered all-inclusively free of charge (the IWC will cover the utility charge for each of the seven houses). Expenses incurred by the selected writers will be food and travel. In addition, the writers are requested to put aside approximately 2 hours at the start and the end of the residency to come together in the Seannachai's house to meet and discuss a programming or development idea that the IWC might undertake in the future. Details to be finalised in due course.

To see the beautiful and inspiring landscape of Cill Rialaig click here 

At present, this residency is open only to professional members of the Irish Writers Centre which costs €50.

Deadline Wednesday 1 June at 5pm.

Link here