Caterpillar Poetry Prize

Deadline: 31st March 2017


Judge: John Hegley.


The Prize is €1,000 and publication in the summer issue of The Caterpillar for a single unpublished poem written by an adult for children aged 7–11.


No line limit.


Details: www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com


Entry fee is €12 per poem


All entrants to the competition will be notified by email by 30 April 2017, including those who have not been successful.


Enter ONLINE.

The Story House – ‘Writing for Young People’

The Story House – ‘Writing for Young People’ 

Mon. 20th to Sat. 25th February at Lisnavagh House, Co. Carlow

This is a unique five day taught residential course, led by two award winning writers, Sheena Wilkinson and Elizabeth Rose Murray, with midweek guest writer Patricia Ford (of Childrens Books Ireland). Limited to 12 participants – with workshops, one to one tutorials with each writer, and time and space to write. A deposit of €200 secures a place on the course – the fee of €700 is fully inclusive of all accommodation, food, workshops etc. 

Writing Changes Lives – 3 x 1 day Saturday workshops Jan. 28th, Feb. 4th & Feb. 11th in Brewery Lane Theatre

These are my own writing workshops, based on the work of Pat Schneider and ‘built on a trust in the inherent talent in people and trust in the power of writing as a process’. Anyone who has written with me I think understands how that is proven over and over as we write together in the workshops. For more background I highly recommend Pat Schneider’s book Writing Alone and With Others – it is in local libraries and in the Book Centre, Waterford. The fee for the workshops is €150. Suitable for anyone beginning, or beginning again, to write.

2017 Brewery Lane Writers’ Weekend – Fri. April 21st to Sun. April 23rd

This year in Brewery Lane we will be joined by two very talented writers and experienced teachers of writing, Lia Mills and Catherine Dunne, and already there is significant interest, just through word of mouth. The emphasis this year will be on the tools of fiction and memoir, with workshops and one to one meetings to discuss your work. There is an early bird offer of €160 if paid before Fri. 19th February, after that date the full fee of €175 will apply. Limited to 12 participants. 

For bookings and enquiries please email: thestoryhouseireland@gmail.com

Link here

The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2016

I have a couple of reservations about this competition so buyer beware. Why must the entrant be unagented? Does Cornerstones agency then hope charge lots of fees to all entrants to edit their manuscripts?

Deadline: 20th November 2016

The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2016 is open for submissions, with entries invited from children’s novelists of any nationality and perspective. We’re looking for all genres of chapter, middle grade and young adult novels – from funny to dark, fashionable to forever, fantastic to futuristic.

Judge: Julia Churchill (Literary agent at AM Heath)

Prize: £2,000 with an additional shortlistee prize of £500 vouchers from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy.

Submissions: 3,000 words plus a one page synopsis

Fee: £22 per novel

The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2016 Rules:

The Bath Children’s Novel Award is a competition for unpublished and independently published writers. Entrants should not have accepted a traditional publication offer for a novel. For the purposes of the competition, a ‘traditional publication offer’ is defined as an offer to publish a novel with advance payment.

Novels should be for children who are able to read for themselves, or young adults. Picture books and graphic novels are not eligible.

Entrants must be unagented.

Submissions should include (up to) the first 3,000 words of your novel plus a one page synopsis. Your novel extract should be double-spaced in a size 12 font and include the title. Your synopsis should be single-spaced in a size 12 font. As entries are read ‘blind’, please do NOT include your name anywhere on the extract and synopsis document.

In your email (or covering page for postal entrants), state your name, address, telephone number, novel title, genre, extract and approximate full manuscript word count, plus your method of entry fee payment.

Longlisted entrants will be announced early December 2016 and asked to submit their full manuscript for the final judging stages. Shortlisted entrants will be announced in December 2016.

The winner of The Bath Children’s Novel Award will be announced in January 2017 and receive £2,000 plus a Minerva trophy, designed by Jessica Palmer.

One shortlisted writer will receive £500 in vouchers from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy which may be used towards any editorial report or mentoring hours in either Cornerstones’ US or UK house. There is no cash alternative to this prize.

There are no full manuscript word count restrictions, however as a guide, we recommend 6-10,000 for a chapter book, 40-60,000 for middle grade and 50-70,000 words for YA (or longer for fantasy novels).

Novels must be your original work and in English.

Entries are open to writers aged 16 years and over of any nationality and based in any country.

Entrants retain full copyright of their submissions, however by entering, all entrants give The Bath Novel Award permission to post the first 3,000 words of any shortlisted entries on our site.

Check out the website for more info: https://bathnovelaward.co.uk/childrens-novel-award/

The Caterpillar Short Story for Children Prize

The Caterpillar magazine prize is open . They say:

Last year’s inaugural winner, Richard J. Jones, received €1,000 for his story 'Let's Say I Am', which was published in the winter issue of The Caterpillar. You can also read it in the Irish Times.

 

This year, we’ve decided to share the love, and to that end we have three prizes:

 

1^st prize €500 plus a 2-week stay at The Moth’s Artists’ Residence

2^nd prize €300

3^rd prize €200

 

All three winning stories will appear in the winter 2016 issue of The Caterpillar.

We're also very excited to announce that the fabulously talented and award-winning author of The Jam Doughnut that Ruined My Life, Pants are Everything and Socks are Not Enough, Mark Lowery, will be judging this year's prize.

All you need do to apply is send us your original, unpublished story of no more than 1,500 words – on any theme or subject, as long as it is appropriate for 7–11 year olds.

 

You can ENTER ONLINE or download an ENTRY FORM and send it along with your story to: The Caterpillar, Ardan Grange, Milltown, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland

 

The entry fee is €12 per story, and you can enter as many stories as you like.

 

CLOSING DATE 30 SEPTEMBER 2016

 

Don’t forget to READ THE RULES before you enter!

 

Click here if you would like to sign up to our newsletters about prizes, publications and more. 

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition

Chicken House no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts, but they do offer unpublished and unagented writers of children's fiction the chance to submit their work to the annual Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. They say 

We're looking for original ideas, a fresh voice and a story that children will love!

First prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000, plus representation from a top children’s literary agent.

To enter, you must have written a completed full-length novel suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. By full-length we suggest a minimum of 30,000 words and ask that manuscripts entered do not exceed 80,000 words in length.

Deadline: Sunday 18 December 2016

Fee: £15

Link and tips here

Writing for Mslexia magazine

Mslexia is a great writing magazine committed to promoting women writers. So yes, you have to be a woman to submit.

Mslexia magazine was recently redesigned to widen the  range of submission opportunities. Whether it’s just one sentence about your life, or an entire 2,200-word short story, a rollicking rhyme to read aloud to children or a carefully-crafted villanelle, there's lots in the list below to choose from.

All submission slots are completely free to enter, and they welcome work from both published and unpublished women writers.

Here’s what we’re seeking for our December 2016 issue:

OPEN SUBMISSIONS
The following opportunities are open to all women writers, regardless of whether you subscribe to Mslexia (though subscriptions work out at just £2 per month, posting to a UK address). Except where stated, they pay (modestly) for everything they publish.

Secret fantasy
This is the next theme of the special ‘Showcase’ section – pages dedicated to stories up to 2,200 words and/or poems up to 40 lines, this time on the topic of erotic passion. Requited or unrequited, chaste or salacious, enacted or simply longed for, take a walk on the wild side of your romantic imagination. (Deadline: 5 September 2016)

Rhyme story
Many picture books for children have, at their heart, a narrative in the form of a rhyming text. Send rhyming texts of up to 200 words (preferably fewer), that tell a story to read aloud to a small child. (Deadline: 11 October 2016)

First page surgery
Please submit the title and first page of your novel (any genre, up to 300 words). Our guest industry expert will comment, in the magazine, about how it might be changed to catch an agent’s or editor’s eye. If you’re feeling shy, you’re welcome to use a pseudonym. This is an unpaid slot. (Deadline: 11 October 2016)

Confession
A memoir piece about something you were (or are now, in retrospect) deeply ashamed of (up to 300 words). (Deadline: 11 October 2016)

Pitch perfect
Send a ‘pitch’ (pithy description) for a writing project you’re planning to submit to an agent, editor or producer. The project might be a novel, memoir, biography, theatre play or screenplay, but your word limit is 100. The guest industry expert will suggest ways of making it spark the interest of the people you need to impress. If you’re feeling shy, you’re welcome to use a pseudonym. This is an unpaid slot, but the most recent pitch featured in the magazine resulted in the author finding an agent. (Deadline: 11 October 2016)

Life sentence
One sentence only, of no more than 25 words, describing an interesting (or poignant, or bizarre, or traumatic, or uplifting) event your recent writing life. There’s publication, and a credit, but no payment for these. (Deadline: 11 October 2016)

D is for…
A piece of creative non-fiction inspired by an alphabetic prompt (e.g. ‘H is for hawk’). Up to 300 words. (Deadline: 11 October 2016)

Self-publishing survivors
Do you have a tale to tell about your self-publishing experience? We want to interview people who are prepared to share their triumphs, trials and tribulations – and their advice for fellow travellers. Please send a brief outline. We will contact you directly if we decide to interview you for the magazine. (Deadline: 11 October 2016)

Hindsight
Up to 200 words, in second person, of advice to your younger self, based on your later experience of creativity and life – that might benefit fellow writers today. (Deadline: 11 October 2016)


To submit your work, visit our website and use the online form, or email submissions@mslexia.co.uk. 

The Caterpillar Story for Children Prize

Prizes: 1st prize €500 plus a 2-week stay at The Moth’s Artists’ Residence; 2nd prize €300;

3rd prize €200

For an unpublished story (of no more than 1,500 words) by an adult for children aged 7–11. The three winning stories will appear in the winter issue of The Caterpillar.

Judged by Mark Lowery, award-winning author of The Jam Doughnut that Ruined My Life, Pants are Everything and Socks are Not Enough
Entry fee €12

Deadline: 30 SEPTEMBER 2016
See: www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com/a1-page.asp?ID=7644&page=17

Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2015/16

The prize is for a single poem written by an adult for children (aged 7–11). They say:

 

What we are looking for is a stand-out poem to which we can award a prize of €1,000 to celebrate the richness of children’s writing.   

The Prize is open to everyone over the age of 18. The work must be original and previously unpublished

The entry fee is €12 per poem.

Deadline: 30 March 2016

1st Prize €1,000 plus publication in the summer 2016 issue of The Caterpillar. The prize is for a single unpublished poem written for children aged 7-11 years.

The competition will be judged anonymously by the publishers of The Caterpillar and The Moth, Rebecca O’Connor and Will Govan.   

Interview with Writer ER Murray

Hi Elizabeth and welcome to emergingwriter. Congratulations on your book, The Book of Learning. How did you first get into writing?

I had a wonderful primary school teacher who brought poetry and stories to life. As a result, I always wrote as a child – I’d write epic poems full of evil and witchery, or observations of nature (I lived in a council estate) and poems about the unfairness of life. When I was seven, I’d tell anyone that would listen that I wanted to be a teacher or a poet. I eventually became a teacher – it was my first job after completing my studies - but the writing had stopped completely by the time I went to university. I was the first in my family to go to university and I paid for myself, so I was working full time as well as studying and writing didn’t figure in the overall picture. But my love of reading always stayed, and by the time I reached the age of 30, my desire to write returned.

I started with a blog and some poetry, moved on to short stories, and then tried writing a novel using the NanoWrimo challenge. That initial draft was complete rubbish, of course, and it wasn’t something I wanted to continue with – but I felt such an immense sense of achievement that I hadn’t felt for a long time. By now I’d moved into the online poker world, so that I could travel and earn a good wage, but climbing the career ladder and earning big bucks didn’t give me anywhere near the satisfaction I felt from writing a book-length piece of prose. Something about the longer format and the depth you could travel with your characters attracted me, and I haven’t looked back since.

I was head hunted for an online poker job in Dublin, and when I arrived I fell in love with the country and the writing community. It wasn’t until I reached Ireland that I even considered being an author as an option. And it wasn’t until I went to an Inkwell workshop that I contemplated being able to write a book that was publishable. After a few drafts and redrafts, I was hooked, and it wasn’t long until I was giving up my job completely and focusing on my writing.  

I learned plenty about attention to detail, consistency, and the impact of being concise. Without even realizing it, this definitely fed into my creative writing at the beginning; my prose grew automatically tighter, and I got used to a critiquing environment so I never felt precious over my own creative pieces when they were being commented on by others. Another invaluable lesson learned was about branding – it’s important to be consistent in the way you address yourself and your book. And working in such an industry has given me a rhino hide for the business side of book publishing.  
 
Online poker? Really? I’m intrigued. What does a writer for such a company write about? Can you write at work and then come home and write your own book at night?

br />

I played lots of poker (I like games), because you have to understand it to be able to work in the industry, but I started out as a trainer in a big company. At university, I worked in betting shops as the job was well paid, and combined with my teaching experience, I managed to move in a new direction – and I also got to live in Spain. Like with most corporate jobs, I moved companies and climbed the ladder, moving into the editorial and social media departments. Finally, I ended up as Lead Writer for the (then) world’s second biggest online poker company, Full Tilt Poker, based in Dublin.  

It's copywriting essentially, so you'd write about how to play different types of poker games, promotions & competitions, email templates, legal terms & conditions, poker strategy, famous player profiles, blog posts about poker events, advertising slogans, articles for poker magazines etc. It's a completely different form of writing and I found it easy to switch to creative writing, though I used to get up at 5 or 6am to write before work rather than afterwards. But I did what everyone tells you not to do and left the career to concentrate on my writing. That was five years ago and I haven't looked back - I still freelance, to pay the bills, but it's on my terms and the writing always comes first.  

Tell me about your book

The Book of Learning is the first in the Nine Lives Trilogy, and it’s about 12 year old Ebony Smart. After her grandpa dies, Ebony is sent to Dublin to live with an aunt she’s never heard of and she soon discovers that her new home, 23 Mercury Lane, is full of secrets. Learning that she is part of an ancient order of people who have the power to reincarnate, Ebony also finds out that a terrible evil threatens their existence. With just her pet rat, Winston, and a mysterious book to help her, she must figure out why her people are disappearing and how to save their souls, including her own, before time runs out …

What age group is the readership? Do you expect crossover to adult readers?

The book is middle grade, which means a readership of 8-12 years olds, but I am expecting a crossover with the younger end of the Young Adult market. I’ve had great feedback from 13-year-old boys, which was a nice surprise. I thought the book would be young adult when I was mulling the idea over in my head, but as I started to write and got to know the characters, it soon became pretty clear that the protagonist was 12 years old. As children and teens like to read about protagonists that are either the same age or older, this placed the book firmly in the ‘middle grade’ category for publishers/booksellers. However, the book does have depth and contains some big ideas, so I believe it’s suitable for anyone who likes a good story.

Where did the idea come from?

The idea came from a combination of things; the characters niggling at me in my head, an interest in other cultures, and a lifelong fascination with death – it was always something I was aware of and interested in, but never scared of. As human beings, death is our one certainty, but it’s also the one thing we pretend isn’t going to happen! I think how society deals with death shows so much about its culture. I wanted to talk about death in a book for children, and I also wanted to create an exciting, adventure story – so the reincarnation idea was the perfect backdrop for both.

Do you find yourself having to modify your language or references for the middle grade reader ?

I haven’t modified my language or references for this book. The language is quite sophisticated and suits the story; it’s slightly dark, slightly gothic, and hopefully it’s pitched just right. I concentrated on writing the book I wanted to read at that age (and now – I still read lots of children’s literature).         

Yes, me too. How long did it take you from starting to publishing?

The idea started six years ago but it took five years from starting to write that idea down to getting a published book in my hand. I did what everyone said not to do and left my job to write. I’d saved up enough money to last me about a year, and I made sure I had some clients for backup freelance work – but I was very driven to succeed and thought it would be a much quicker process. I guess I had to believe this to take such a risky plunge. I completely overhauled my life to follow my dream and when I secured an agent after a year of writing, I fell into the trap that many fledgling writers fall into: I thought that getting an agent meant an instant book deal. But I was wrong.

An agent is a wonderful entity and I would never have got here if it wasn’t for mine, Sallyanne Sweeney. An agent gives you support, helps with editing, and gets you to the top of slush piles. But an agent cannot guarantee that a book deal will turn up right away. They will, however, support, guide, and back you 100% every step of the way. There were a few near misses with The Book of Learning and I decided to work on something else for a while. It turned out to be the right decision. I completed another book (Caramel Hearts, due March 2016 with Alma Books) and now both books have found a home – in fact, I signed both deals within 6 months of each other. After the first deal was signed, it took just under a year for the book to be published. This is pretty standard in the industry.

So the quick version is – one year writing alone, another year editing with an agent to get the manuscript ready for submission, some near misses on submission, and then a year and a half ignoring the manuscript’s existence until I dusted it off in 2014 and secured a deal. One year later, it’s a book!

Did you try it out on real YA readers?

I do try to use beta readers within the intended age group, but my list of potential young readers is small - hopefully this will grow! Luckily, I have lots of great writer friends who will read tricky sections for me, but mainly I work with my agent, Sallyanne Sweeney, or my editors.

Why did taking a break from one book to write another one help the first book to get published? What was happening to the first book in the meantime?

I shelved The Book of Learning because I was serious about getting published. I had taken this book as far as I could, and I wanted to work on something new. I’d been editing and rewriting with my agent, and I felt it was time to move on. I wanted to write something fresh – a young adult novel this time - and my new idea was niggling at me. Only when I finished Caramel Hearts ready for submission did I even look back at The Book of Learning again. When I reread it, I still loved the story and believed in it. I removed one word, and we sent it on submission also; that’s how I got two book deals within six months of each other. The break helped me stay motivated and increased my faith in my ability to write. There was also an element of timing. If Mercier had read my manuscript two years back, they would have still been invested in Alan Early’s wonderful Arthur Quinn books, so they probably wouldn’t have had the funds to take on another middle grade trilogy.

What would you do different, if anything, if you knew then what you know now?

The one thing I would try to do would be to enjoy the process more. I heard lots of writers say this, and I smugly thought – ‘yeah, right, easy to say when you have a book deal’ but it’s true! I was so focused on trying to get published, I sometimes forgot to just enjoy the journey. It is difficult, with all the ups and downs of the submission process, but the ultimate reason you write is because you love it. Try and remember this and you’ll find the journey to publication much easier.  

How are your launches going? I enjoyed the one in the Gutterbookshop.

I had two launches, one in the Gutterbookshop in Dublin and one in Whyte Books in Schull – both were a great success and it was humbling to see so many people come to support me. It was such a wonderful feeling, and something I’ll never forget. The reaction to The Book of Learning is important to me, and thankfully, it’s been really well received with great reviews from readers of all ages – from 8 to adult. This is truly amazing and makes every minute of writing completely worth it.

Thanks Elizabeth and the very best of luck. You can see Elizabeth at one of her upcoming events:

October 29th, Ardagh School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Literary Fright Fest, Workshop for 11-14 years http://ardaghfrightfest.blogspot.ie/p/gothic-literature-for-teens.html

November 12th, 10.30am – ‘The Magical World of Senses & Storytelling’ at Dublin Book Festival http://www.dublinbookfestival.com/category/news/welcome-2015/the-magical-world-of-senses/

Elizabeth Rose Murray writes short fiction, and novels for children and young adults. She lives in West Cork, where she fishes, grows her own vegetables and enjoys plenty of adventures with her dog, Franklyn. The Book of Learning (Mercier Press) is the first book in her middle grade Nine Lives Trilogy, with Book 2 due August 2016. Her debut young adult book Caramel Hearts (Alma Books) will be published March 2016. You can find out more about Elizabeth on her website, or chat to her on twitter @ERMurray, facebook or instagram.

Caterpillar Short Story Prize 2015

The Caterpillar – the junior version of the arts and literature magazine The Moth – is launching a new prize for a short story written by an adult for children (aged 7–11).

The winner will receive a prize of €1,000 and their story will be published in the winter issue of The Caterpillar.

The prize is open to established and up-and-coming writers alike, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished. 

It can be on any subject, and the word limit is 2,000 words. 

Deadline: 30 September 2015.

The competition will be judged by the publishers of The Caterpillar and The Moth, Rebecca O’Connor and Will Govan. Entry details appear online at www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com

Commended stories may also be published in The Caterpillar. 

Penguin Ireland

A message from the new editor, Claire Hennessy at Penguin Ireland tells me to spread the word that they are actively seeking children’s and YA submissions at the moment, particularly fiction for 7+.

As with all submissions to publishers, agents or magazines, read the submission requirements very carefully and adhere to them to the letter.

We strongly encourage submissions via email, to: submissions@penguin.ie.
If you wish to submit electronically, please send a Word document consisting of a cover letter, short synopsis (no more than 500 words) and the work itself. The cover letter should include a brief summary of your book (a couple of sentences – not a synopsis) and a short note on yourself. Please do not send separate documents: all three elements should be included in a single document.

More details here

Also do your homework, what else have they published recently?

So if you have something, buff it up and send it to Claire. 

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize

This is interesting. It's the inaugural Caterpillar Poetry Prize.

Deadline: 31 March 2015 

Prize: €1,000 plus publication in The Caterpillar

Details: To celebrate the first year of The Caterpillar, an arts &literature magazine for children, we’re looking for a stand-out poem written by an adult for children (aged 7-11) to which we can award a prize of €1,000.
The prize is open to everyone, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished.

The entry fee is €12 per poem, and you can enter as many poems as you like.

The prize will be judged by the publishers of The Caterpillar and The Moth.

For further details go to www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com.

Manchester Writing for Children Prize

Under the direction of Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy – Professor of Contemporary Poetry and Creative Director of the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University – the school is launching the brand new Manchester Writing for Children Prize.

The Prize is open internationally to both new and established writers aged 16 or over (there is no upper age limit) and invites the submission of a portfolio of poetry to be read by children within the age group of five to 12.

Portfolios should contain three to five poems, totalling no more than 120 lines. The entry fee is £12 per portfolio of poems.

Prizes include: Publication of selected pieces from long-listed entrants in a new anthology; an invitation to appear alongside Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy at a special event at the 2014 Manchester Children's Book Festival for the short-listed entrants; and a cash prize of £2,000 for the overall winner – to be announced at that event.

Details on the website where you can enter online or download a printable entry form for postal submission.

Deadline for entries: 28 February 2014

Judges: Mandy Coe, Imtiaz Dharker and Philip Gross (pictured above).

Firefly Children’s Book Prize, 2014

Firefly Press (not that one!) are looking for a new Children's books author.

We want: an amazing story for 7-9 year olds.
The story will be 15,000 to 20,000 words written in English, set in contemporary Wales.

The judges are: Catherine Fisher, bestselling children’s author and first Young People’s Laureate Wales, Francesca Rhydderch, novelist and editor, and Firefly publisher Penny Thomas.

First Prize is £500 plus a week’s writer’s retreat at Chawton House Library and the chance to discuss their work in person with Firefly editors Penny Thomas and Janet Thomas, with the possibility of developing their book for publication. The week at Chawton House Library (CHL) is accommodation only, dates to be agreed between CHL and the competition winner. The prize must be taken before the end of 2015.

The two runners up will receive prizes of £50 plus free editorial advice.

Entry is £10
Deadline for entry is 31 August 2013 for the first 3,000 words.
See Terms and Conditions

The Irish Children’s Prize

This is a prize for writing for children, writing in Ireland, not a prize for the best Irish child or an Irish prize for the best child....just in case you were wondering.

There aren't that many competitions for writing for children and here's one from writing.ie

The A. M. Heath literary agency have announced a Irish Children’s Prize,  looking for a new standout Irish voice in children’s fiction.

The Irish Children’s Prize will be judged by Julia Churchill, children’s book agent at A. M. Heath, and David Maybury of Brown Bag Films, Penguin Children’s Books and Inis Magazine editor.

Literary agent Julia Churchill (pictured) said “David and I love all sorts of writing for children. The winner could be a 200 word picture book, a sophisticated YA novel, a 9-12 stand-alone, or a young chapter series. I’m looking for a strong voice, a character to love, and a concept that feels fresh. If you’re writing for children, we’d love to see your work."

It is open to un-agented writers living in the Republic of Ireland and writing children’s or young adult fiction in English. To get a good sense of the voice, concept and where the character is headed, we’d like to see the first 5,000 words PLUS a short description of the book (a few lines) AND a one page outline that shows the spine of the story.

Deadline: October 17th.
More details here

RTÉ Guide / Puffin Children’s Short Story Competition 2013

There are four categories to enter and the story can be about whatever they want to write about: funny, serious, scary or an adventure.

* 10 yrs old and younger – up to 300 words (with an illustration or picture, if you want!)
* 11-13 yrs old – up to 500 words
* 14-16 yrs old– up to 750 words
* 17 yrs old+ – up to 1000 words

There are some great prizes to be won for the Winners and Runners up!

• Each category winner will have their story published in and issue of the RTÉ Guide
• The winners will also receive a Kindle E- Reader and a hamper of books worth €50.
• And as an added bonus, the Winner of the under-10 category will be recorded by a TRTÉ presenter for broadcast!
• The two runners Up in each category will receive their own hamper of books worth €50.
• The winners and runners up, along with their parents, will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in RTÉ, getting to meet some of the RTÉjr and TRTÉ presenters and take a tour of some of our sets!  

Closing date for all entries is 5.00pm on Friday, June 7, 2013
 
There's a link here to the RTE Guide Facebook page

KBC Dalkey Book Festival Four Forty Story Competition

Competition for up and coming young writers

We urgently need some good stories, so we’re launching a terrific new short story competition in association with KBC. To celebrate 40 years of KBC in Ireland and 4 years of the Dalkey Book Festival, your story must be 440 words or less. If you are 13 or under (the best age for writers, we think) we desperately want you to enter. Please, please, enter as soon as you can; by next week we might be reduced to reading phone books and junk mail.

A prizewinner will be selected in each category (9 and under and 10-13yrs).
Each prizewinner will win book tokens to the value of €250, Dalkey Book Festival tickets, a festival lunch (with a chance to meet some of our children’s authors) and a two night family stay with dinner in the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney. Get writing!

Deadline: Monday 3rd June 2013 at 10.30am.

• Entry to this competition is open to children aged 13 years and under on 3 June 2013 who are living in Ireland
• Entrants must write a fictional short story (no more than 440 words in length) Entry is via an online entry form available here

Dalkey Festival is

Eason Story Time

Saturday 26 January @11 am

Every Eason store in Ireland

Link here

Eason Story Time is back. As part of Eason’s "Get Into Reading" campaign, a specially selected children’s book will be read at 11am every Saturday in every Eason store in the country.   On the website below are the dates and book titles from now until June. Here's the next two months: 26 Jan: The Lonely Beast by Chris Judge 02 Feb: Adams Pirate Treasure by Benji Bennett 09 Feb: Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort 16 Feb: Stuck by Oliver Jeffers 23 Feb: On the Road with Mavis & Marge by Niamh Sharkey 02 Mar: Jack and The Flumflum Tree by Julia Donaldson 09 Mar: My Mum by Anthony Browne 16 Mar: Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 23 Mar: Brave Beast by Chris Judge 30 Mar: Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson

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

Mslexia New Writing

Note this is for women writers only. Sorry guys.

The theme for issue 56 is The Affair. Deadline: 17 September
Issue 57 is Memoir. Deadline 10 December

Up to 4 short poems (max 40 lines) or 2 short stories (up to 2,200 words)

Mslexia Children's Novel Competition

is for fiction novels of at least 30,000 wds by unpublished women novelists for children of an age to read for themselves. Judging panel: Julia Churchill, Julia Eccleshare, Malorie Blackman. Prize: £5,000. An extract from the winning novel will be published in the Mar/Apr/May 2012 issue of Mslexia.

Closing date: 10 September 2012 

Monologue

For writers of script: send up to 200 words on any topic in a single character’s voice. This quarter we're looking for monologues in the voice of a person with anorexia.

Four Lines that Rhyme

ABAB, AAAA or AABB, ABCA, any combination, serious or flippant, we don’t mind; but no more than 40 words, please.

A Week of Tweets

Monday through Sunday, tell us about your writing – and your life – in seven flavour-packed slices of up to 140 characters apiece.

Pen Portrait

Convey a character in second or third person – and in no more than 200 words. This quarter we're looking for a pen portrait of a drunk.

Rants

Grumpy Old Women, this is your chance to vent a bit of spleen, in 80 words or less, about something that really irritates or enrages you.

Raves

Calling all Polyannas, raise our spirits by telling us about something or someone you applaud, enjoy or admire in up to 80 words.

Writing group

In 200 words, please explain how you run your meetings, and describe a recent exercise for other groups to follow.

Reading group

If you belong to a reading group and would like to review a book for us, get in touch - and get the books for free!

We pay for published submissions. The basic rates for New Writing are £25 per poem, and £15 per thousand words of prose. For Rant we pay £20; Rave £20; Pen Portrait £20; Writing Group 'What We Do' Exercise £20; Four Lines that Rhyme £20; Monologue £20; Week of Tweets £20; and £100 for a three-month guest blog. Feature articles, reviews and illustrations are commissioned.

Link here