Hodderscape Speculative of Fantastic Fiction open submissions

From Paul McVeigh's blog

They are looking for novels (50,000 words or more) that contain some element of the speculative or fantastic. Simply put, they’re looking for awesome science fiction, fantasy and horror novels.

This open submissions period is a chance for unagented authors only.

The submissions period opened at 12 am GMT on 3 August, 2015, and will close on 16 August, 2015, at 11.59 pm, GMT.

Details on what to include here. Read the guidelines and adhere to them!

They are looking for the first 3 chapters or the first 15,000 words of your novel, whichever you prefer and synopsis.

They say:

We will read through every submission that we receive. We will make every effort to get back in touch with you by 30 September, 2015, to let you know our decision.Please do not email us to ask whether we’ve read your submission yet. 

• They are open to submissions from anywhere in the world, not just the UK.
• If you would like to submit a previously self-published novel, let them know

Roscommon Writing Award

Do you have connections to Roscommon? Here’s one for you.

The NEW ROSCOMMON WRITING AWARD 2015 is organised by the Roscommon Writer-in-Residence scheme, which is funded by Roscommon County Council and The Arts Council and supported by the Roscommon Herald, the Roscommon People and by Shannonside FM.

The winner will receive a monetary prize of €500.

Deadline: Tuesday, 30 August

Competition Rules
Entries, in English, on any theme, in any literary form, will be accepted.
The competition is open to anyone over 18 with a connection with the county of Roscommon (born in, living in, currently working in, went to school in, etc).
Typed entries (handwritten entries cannot be accepted) must be no more than 500 words. Mark the number of words in your entry on the bottom of the page.
Include your name, address and contact details, plus your connection to the county. Include these on a separate page, not on your entry.

There is no entry fee - Free to enter

The competition will be adjudicated by Jessamine O Connor.

Post your entry to: NEW ROSCOMMON WRITING AWARD 2015, Roscommon Library, Roscommon Town, Ireland.
OR
email your entry to:  mmullins@roscommoncoco.ie. Title your email NEW ROSCOMMON WRITING AWARD 2015.

Red Line Poetry Competition

The Red Line Festival Poetry Competition is now open for submissions. The festival is in Tallaght in October.

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.

Deadline: Friday 14th August 2015. 

• A maximum number of 2 poems per person may be submitted.
• Free to enter (sure why wouldn't you?)
• Each entered poem, including its title, should be typed single-spaced in a standard 12 point font on one side of a single A4 sheet. 
• All entrants must be 16 years of age or over. 
• Open to anyone living on the island of Ireland. 
• Entrants must not have published a full collection of poems at the time of entry. 

 The competition rules and entry forms can be downloaded here.

 The Red Line Poetry Competition will be judged by the poet Enda Wyley.

Luke Bitmead Bursary for Writers

The prize was set up in honour of Luke Bitmead. His debut novel was the first novel Legend Press published but he sadly died shortly after the novel was published. The award has been set up by his mother in partnership with us to support and encourage the work of struggling writers, and is the UK’s biggest prize for unpublished authors. 

Submissions must be adult fiction, and only completed novels will be considered. Full guidelines can be found on our website.

Closing: Submissions open 1st May until 1st August.

Prizes: A publishing contract with Legend Press and a £2,500 cash bursary.

Entry Fee: £10 per entry to support the prize.

Competition Page: http://www.legendtimesgroup.co.uk/legend-press/365-luke-bitmead-bursary   

Abridged 0 - 37: Torquemada Submission Call

Abridged, the poetry/art magazine is looking for submissions for its Torquemada issue. 

A maximum of 3 poems may be submitted of any length. 

Art can be up to A4 size and can be in any media. It should be at least 300 dpi. 

Submissions can be emailed to abridged@ymail.com 

Deadline: 31st August 2014.

Abridged 0 – 37: Torquemada focuses on the confessional and faith; the lies we tell and the secrets we keep, the hypocrisy of love and hate and the pointedness and pointlessness of the penance we ascribe ourselves and others, the faith that keeps us going and makes others suffer. Torquemada is the first in a trilogy very loosely based on Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Lots of info and words around the Torquemada idea here

Very generously you can read previous issues on the site too. I have poems in some issues - Mutation, Desire and Dust and Time.

Writer Fellowships

The Arts Council is pleased to support Writer Fellowships at Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and the University of Limerick. These three Arts Council-supported writer residencies are currently seeking applications from established writers.

The Trinity College Dublin deadline has already passed but you still have time to apply for these two.

University College Dublin - Writer's Fellowship

School/Faculty: School of English, Drama and Film, College of Arts and Celtic Studies, University College Dublin

Applications are invited from Irish writers of established reputation for a Writer's Fellowship (with special emphasis on fiction) which is funded by the School of English, Drama and Film and by a grant-in-aid from the Arts Council. The Fellowship will be tenable for the period January-May 2015.

Candidates are invited to submit a covering letter outlining their interest together with a full CV containing details of their teaching experience and including the names and contact details of 2 referees to: Ms Hilary Gow, School of English, Drama and Film, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4. Informal enquiries can be made to Mr James Ryan at 
james.ryan@ucd.ie or Professor Anne Fogarty at anne.fogarty@ucd.ie.

Applications may be sent by post to the above address or by email to: hilary.gow@ucd.ie

University of Limerick - Writer's Fellowship

School/Faculty: Department of Creative Writing

Applications are invited from Limerick-based writers of international reputation for a Writer's Fellowship (with special emphasis on fiction) which is funded by the University of Limerick and by a grant-in-aid from the Arts Council. The Fellowship will be tenable for the period January–May 2015.

Candidates are invited to submit a covering letter outlining their interest together with a full CV including the names and contact details of two referees to: Professor Joseph O'Connor, Frank McCourt Chair of Creative Writing, c/o Claire.Ryan@ul.ie

Deadline: 17:00 on Friday 8 August 2014

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 this year it will be published as part of Cuisle, Limerick City's International Poetry Festival 15th to 18th October 2014

This year's editor is poet Peter Sirr.
Submissions are being sought in both English and Irish.  

How to Submit:
Send no more than 6 poems.
Write your name and address on each page for hardcopies.

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, reference ‘TSTB 2014’ in your subject line

Deadline: Friday 8th August 2014

Irish Times Short Story Competition

This summer, The Irish Times is running a series of eight short stories on the general theme This Means War. The context is the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, but the stories may or may not refer to it. The theme is open to whatever interpretation the author wishes to place on it - an idea of conflict being the one obvious point of reference. The last story in the series will be chosen through a competition among readers.

Writers, whether new or established, are invited to submit a story on the theme This Means War.

** Personally I find this a difficult theme to write to.
 
The story, which should be between 1,500 and 2,800 words must be an original work and never previously published.  

The competition will be judged by the distinguished authors Aifric Campbell, Eilis Ni Dhuibhne and Donal Ryan.

Prize: The winner will be published in The Irish Times and the winning author will recieve €400 and an original artwork by Brendon Deasy. 

Entries will be accepted in digital form and through e-mail only at shortstory@irishtimes.com.
Hard copies will not be considered.

Deadline: midnight on August 8th. 

Free to enter

Link here

Boyne Berries Submissions

The Boyne Writers Group publish 'Boyne Berries', a journal of poetry and prose, twice a year in March and September. 

Boyne Berries 16 & 17 Submission Period Saturday 07th June 2014 – Saturday 2nd August 2014

Issue 16 will be published in September 2014.

Read the rules before submitting. If you don't adhere to them, it's just a waste of everyone's time.

Poetry: Send no more than three poems. Each poem should be 60 lines or under.

Prose: Stories etc should be under 1500 words. Send no more than two prose pieces.

Poems and prose should be original, previously unpublished and not currently

submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere.

Check http://boyneberriessubmissions.blogspot.ie/for latest information

Costa Short Story Award

All relevant updates will be posted on www.costabookawards.com and via Twitter @CostaBookAwards.

The Costa Short Story Award is for a single, previously-unpublished short story of up to 4,000 words by an author aged 18 years or over on 1 January 2014 whose primary residence (ie resident for over six months of the year) has been in the United Kingdom or Ireland since 1 November 2011. UK or Irish nationality is not a requirement.

The submitted story must not have been previously published.

Authors currently serving a term of imprisonment are ineligible for the Award.
**Damn

Entries may only be submitted online via the specific entry form on the Costa Book Awards website www.costabookawards.com

Deadline: 4pm on Friday 1 August 2014.

Entries may be submitted by the author, his/her publisher or his/her agent.
**Mum?

Although the entries will be assessed anonymously, they must be submitted in the author’s own name.

If the story has already been submitted to other competitions or publications, please ensure that it is given a different title before being submitted to the Costa Short Story Award. This is because, if it has already been commended elsewhere, this would then compromise the anonymity of its author, particularly if it is shortlisted.

• The story must not exceed 4,000 (four thousand) words.
• Typed in Arial 12 pt black font 
• Double-spaced 
• Hard returns between paragraphs 
• (NO indentations anywhere please and NO page numbers) 
• The name of the author must not appear anywhere within the story 
• The name of the story and word count to be included within the header on every page. 
• No more than one story per author may be submitted. 

The judges of the Costa Short Story Award will be looking for what they think is the best entry on the basis of quality and originality of prose, narrative voice and storyline.

All entries will be initially read by a team of readers who will select a smaller number of stories for the judging panel to read. The judging panel of five members will read the short stories selected by the team of readers and will draw up a shortlist of six. These six shortlisted stories will be made available on the Costa Book Awards website between mid-November 2014 and mid-January 2015 and the public will be asked to vote for their favourite.

Authors of the six shortlisted entries will be invited with one guest to attend the Costa Book Awards presentation ceremony in January 2015. After liaising with the six shortlisted authors, Costa will either make arrangements for their travel/accommodation in order that they might attend the ceremony, or reimburse their costs to do so.


The winner and two runners-up will be announced at the Costa Book Awards presentation ceremony in January 2015.

The winner will receive prize money of £3,500. The author in second place will receive £1,500 whilst that in third place will receive £500.
 
By submitting a story, the entrant agrees to (or if the entrant is the author’s publisher or agent it confirms that it has secured the author’s agreement that the author will) attend the Awards ceremony in the event of being shortlisted, and in the event of winning, to undertake a mutually acceptable programme of activities to promote the CSSA particularly immediately after the announcement of the winner has been made. 

**The Copyright wording is a bit overbearing. All entries are covered.

Entrants retain the copyright in their entries, but by submitting a story, entrants acknowledge and agree that each shortlisted entrant:

grants to Costa, its affiliates, licensees, successors and assigns a worldwide sub-licensable, perpetual, transferable, non-exclusive royalty-free licence to use in any way whatsoever including but not limited to, public performance, public display, publishing, reproduction, broadcasting, amendment or modification of the entry or any part of the entry on and through the website in its different present and future forms - for example newsprint, Braille, talking book, podcast, audio download, electronic databases, e-paper, mobile device application, electronic media or website including mobile form or any other facsimile or derivative versions in any medium;

Over The Edge 2014

Over The Edge is continuing its annual international creative writing competition in 2014.

The competition is open to both poets and fiction writers worldwide.

The total prize money is €1,000.

• The best fiction entry will win €300
• The best poetry entry will win €300
• One of these will then be chosen as the overall winner and will receive an additional €400, giving the overall winner total prize money of €700 and the title Over The Edge New Writer of The Year 2014.

The 2014 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year will be a Featured Reader at Ireland’s leading literary reading series, the Over The Edge: Open Readings in Galway City Library, on a date to be scheduled in Winter 2014/15.

Salmon Poetry will read, without commitment to publish, a manuscript submitted to them by the winner in the poetry category. Doire Press will read, without commitment to publish, a manuscript of short stories submitted to them by the winner in the fiction category. The winner in the poetry category will have one of the poems from her or his winning entry published in the January 2015 issue of Skylight 47 magazine.

This year’s competition judge is Eleanor Hooker.

Deadline: Wednesday, August 6th, 2014

Entries should be sent to Over The Edge, New Writer of the Year competition, 3 Carbry Road, Newcastle, Galway, Ireland.

Entries will be judged anonymously, so do not put your name on your poem(s) or stories. Put your contact details on a separate sheet.

Criteria: fiction of up to 3000 words, 3 poems of up to 40 lines, or one poem of up to 100 lines. Any of the aforementioned is one entry.

The fee for one entry is €10. The fee for multiple entries is €7.50 per entry e.g. two entries will cost €15, three entries €22.50 and so on.

More info here

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award: Call for Entries 2014.

The Creative Writing Award is a fantastic opportunity for existing and aspiring writers and poets to showcase their work to a wider, international audience: previous entrants have gone on to achieve success and recognition across the world.

There are two categories for entry: Poetry and Short Fiction.

Fiction entries should be no more than 2,000 words each and poetry entries should be no more than 40 lines each. Both short fiction and poetry entries should be written in English. Submissions previously published elsewhere are accepted.

Prizes include:

• Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual, a compelling anthology of new writing loved by audiences internationally
• £500 prize money for Poetry winner: £500 prize money for Short Fiction winner
• A selection of inspirational books from Bloodaxe Books and Vintage Books
• A complimentary copy of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual

Entries close 31 August 2014. For more information and to submit visit the website

The Red Line poetry competition is now open and accepting entries. 

This year's judge is Nessa O'Mahony, author of Bar Talk (1999), Trapping a Ghost (2005) and In Sight of Home (2009).  

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.

There is no fee to enter. (so why not give it a go?)

The maximum number of entries per person is 2.

Deadline: Friday 15th August 2014.

See more information at http://www.redlinebookfestival.com/competitions

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

Manchester Writing Competition

Humungeously huge enormous prize for this one.

Deadline for Entries: Friday 30th August 2013


Under the direction of Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching the 2013 Manchester Poetry and Fiction Prizes – major international literary competitions, celebrating excellence in creative writing, and open to anyone aged 16 or over (with no upper age limit).

The Manchester Writing Competition began in 2008, funded in the first instance by the University’s innovative Enterprise Fellowship scheme. The project was designed to attract the best new writing from around the world, and to establish Manchester as the focal point for a major literary award. Since it began, the Competition has awarded more than £50,000 to its winners.

Initially, the Competition alternated annually between Poetry and Fiction but, from 2013, both will be running every year, with £10,000* awarded to the writer of the best portfolio of poetry, and another £10,000* to the writer of the best short story.

To find out more about our courses, events and competitions:
visit the Manchester Writing School website

Entry Fee £17
Poetry- All entrants are asked to submit a portfolio of three-to-five poems (total maximum combined length: 120 lines).
Short Fiction -  All entrants are asked to submit a story of up to 2,500 words in length.

Roald Dahl Museum Poet in Residence

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre’s mission is to inspire in everyone a love of creative writing and reading using the Roald Dahl Archive, his stories and his life. We seek a variety of ways to engage children, families and life-long learners with books and creative expression both at the Museum and through outreach work. Our Residency programme forms a fundamental and exciting part of our mission.

From November 2013 to February 2014 we would like to work with a poet to continue to enrich Roald Dahl’s legacy. The poet will be involved in the delivery of a number of projects, including workshops to students in targeted Buckinghamshire schools, and family events at the Museum during school holidays. The poet will also have five days set aside to work on their own piece of writing. We would love the poet to spend time working in Roald Dahl’s chair in our replica Writing Hut!


Deadline: Monday 19 August.
Interviews will take place in the week beginning Monday 2 September.  

Link here http://www.roalddahlmuseum.org/aboutus/jobs.aspx

Charles Macklin Festival and Poetry Prize

The Charles Macklin Autumn School will take place from Thursday 10 October 2013 to Sunday 14 October 2013. The weekend is dedicated to local playwright and actor Charles Macklin who was born in 1690 and died in 1797 aged 107.

The Charles Macklin Poetry Prize 2013

There are three cash prizes for a single unpublished poem.

• 1st prize - €200 
• 2nd prize - €100 
• 3rd prize - €50
• There will also be three highly commended poems chosen.

Winners shall be invited to read their poems at a prize-giving ceremony which will take place
during The Charles Macklin Autumn School 10th – 13th October 2013 in Culdaff,
Inishowen, Co Donegal.

The poem can be of any length but must be no longer than 40 lines.
The entry fee is €8 per poem.

Pretty steep fee I think. Maybe they're all very rich in Donegal

Deadline: 30 August 2013

Anonymous entry,
no named judge that I can see.
Postal entries only.

 Link here.

Dromineer Literary Festival Writing Competition

The Dromineer Literary Festival Writing Competition is open for entries.

There are two categories for entry: Poetry and Flash Fiction.

The Judges are Jean O'Brien for Poetry and John MacKenna for Flash Fiction.

Entry fee for poems is €5 for the first poem, plus €3 per additional title.
Entry fee for flash fiction is €10 for each entry.

The prizes awarded in each category are:

1st Prize: €500

2nd Prize: €350

3rd Prize: €150

Deadline: 30th August 2013.

For further details about the competition, please see the Dromineer Literary Festival website

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.