The Plough Prize for Poetry

The Plough Prize 2013 is now open for online or postal entries.

Full results for all previous contests are available under 'past years', as are the winning poems and judges' comments and I recommend you have a read so you know what kind of thing they are looking for. I think they pre screen so the judge, this year Andrew Motion, only reads a selection.

Entry fee: £5 (Cheque or Paypal)

Open Poetry (up to 40 lines)

Prizes: 1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250

Link here

Deadline 30 November

I have a soft spot for the plough as I won first prize for a short poem a couple of years ago, thought this category doesn't seem to be running this year.

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

Submissions sought for Southword

Southword Journal Online is the literary journal published at least twice yearly by The Munster Literature Centre. They have some super poems and poets in their back catalogue and you can read them for free. Link below.

They are now open for poems in English until September 15th for the winter issue; poetry, prose and literary criticism in Irish is also accepted during this time.

Southword Journal is not currently considering unsolicited submissions of non-fiction or memoir.

PLEASE NOTE after the close of the submission date the editors will make a selection.

Submit online at Submishmash.
Authors will be able to check the status of their submission via their profile. Due to the large volume of submissions received, the editor may take up to 8 weeks after the submission deadline to make their decision.


They are a paying market too. Link here

To read back issues for free, please visit Southword Journal at: http://www.munsterlit.ie/Southword/issues_index.html

Submissions for Envoi

Envoi poetry magazine has been around for 55 years now and is well regarded in the UK and beyond. It's published by Cinnamon press which has won awards for its poetry books.

Envoi has high production values – published in February, June and October as a 96 page, large format, perfect bound matt laminate journal with an eye to presenting the poetry well on the page.

They aim to provide a platform for new work from both established and new poets. They generally try to select a small group of poems that represent a poet’s voice so send a group of poems (they do not have to be related)

Submissions will be reviewed in batches in November/December (for February), March/April (for June) and July-early September (for October).

They are based in Wales and welcome submissions from Wales, the UK or from anywhere in the world.


Details here.

Apparently (i.e. per Wikipedia) an envoi is an extra stanza ob the end of a poem used to address a person (real or imaginary) or to comment on the poem itself.  

And while you're there, remember to support the press by subscribing.

Stony Thursday Submissions

The imaginatively named poetry magazine based in Limerick is looking for submissions.
The Stony Thursday Book is one of the longest-running literary journals in Ireland and celebrates its 38^th Anniversary Edition in 2013.

This year's editor is Kerry based poet Paddy Bushe.
Submissions are being sought in both English and Irish.  

How to Submit:
Send no more than 6 poems.
When submitting poems, write your name and address on each page.

Send poems to:
The Arts Office, Limerick City Council, City Hall, Merchant’s Quay, Limerick
Please mark your envelope: The Stony Thursday Book
Or by email: artsoffice@limerickcity.ie

Deadline: Friday 16th August 2013. 

*CUISLE, Limerick City International Poetry Festival will take place in Limerick from 18th - 20th October 2013 and is funded by The Arts Council & Limerick City Council.

Red Line Poetry Competition

This one is free to enter. I found it on Louise Phillips blog.

The Red Line Festival will take place from October 15th to 20th 2013, so keep the dates free in your diary.

The inaugural poetry competition is now open and accepting entries.

First prize is €300, second prize is €200 and the third prize is €100.

All shortlisted entrants will be invited to read their poems at an event in The Red Line Book Festival this October.

The competition is open to everyone living on the island of Ireland, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished.

The maximum number of entries per person is 2.

Deadline: Friday 30th August 2013.

The competition rules and entry forms can be downloaded from the website: www.redlinebookfestival.com

The Red Line Poetry Competition will be judged by the poet Alan Jude Moore.

North West Words Writing Weekend

This sounds great. Good to hear of initiatives in the North West. Most of the literature news tends to be Dublin Centric. Let me know of any other events outside the pale and I'd be happy to help spread the word.

Letterkenny July 19-21 2013

Workshops and readings to inspire your writing

North West Words
North West Words has been hosting monthly poetry and prose readings in Letterkenny since 2010. We publish a quarterly magazine of writing and arts news which we distribute across Donegal free of charge. We run an annual schools poetry competition and last year our first poetry competition for adults. In the summer we go on the road and present events at festivals in Donegal. Remarkably, we run on donations, support from the County Arts Office and from Donegal Local Development Company Ltd (DLDC) under the Local and Community Development Programme 2013.

Friday July 19 Launch at Café Blend 7.30pm
Reading by workshop facilitators, with music by Seoirse O’Dochartaigh

Saturday July 20 Gallagher’s Hotel
9.30am Registration

10.00-11.30am Workshop One
Collage Workshop or
Deepening Your Writing Practice

12.00-1.30pm Workshop Two
Turning Memories into Writing or
Writing for Younger Readers

2.30-4.00pm Publishing Panel Chaired Discussion with Declan Meade of Stinging Fly Press, John Walsh and Lisa Frank of Doire Press and wordlegs editor Elizabeth Reapy

4.00-5.00pm Café Blend
Reading by Freya mc Clements, Deirdre Hines, with music by Shay Halligan, and Open Mic

8.00pm Gallagher’s Hotel
Reading by workshop facilitators, with music by Simon Mc Cafferty, and Open Mic

Sunday July 21 Gallagher’s Hotel
9.30am Registration

10-12.30pm Poetry Workshop

1.30-4.00pm Techniques in Editing Fiction or
Poetry Clinic with John Walsh

Book Table open all weekend for facilitators to sell their work.

Details of the workshops or are available on the North West Words on Facebook page 
 
Enquiries to maureenwcurran@yahoo.ie