Cork Literary Review Poetry Manuscript Competition

Bradshaw Books, the Cork based published run this competition annually. 

• The purpose of this competition is to publish a full collection of poetry by an emerging poet. In the event that the winning poet is not able to provide the competition with a complete collection, the runner-up will be awarded the prize of a first poetry collection publication.
• The prize includes the publication of a first poetry collection by the winning author and twenty free copies of the book. The overall competition winner and two runners-up will also be featured in the next edition of the Cork Literary Review.
• The judge is Poet Joseph Woods.
• Deadline: 7 Mar 2016
• Initial submission of 5-10 of their best poems.No more than 40 lines per page and no more than 10 pages in total.
• €20.00 registration fee. 

Link here

Connemara Mussel Festival Poetry Competition

Building upon the diversity of arts and culture already catered for at the festival, the Connemara Mussel Festival is delighted to announce the launch of  a  poetry competition for 2016.  The competition was the brainchild of John Coyle of Renvyle House who suggested at the festival launch in March of this year that there weren’t many poems about the humble mussel and to rectify that situation he would be delighted to sponsor a competition to be run by the Connemara Mussel Festival. 

The competition was launched at Renvyle House Hotel on 18th November by poet and Professor of Literature at Vassar University, New York, Eamonn Grennan, who will also judge the entries.

Theme: Mussels. While the poem does not have to be about mussels, it must contain some reference to the mussel.

Maximum length:  51 lines.

The two best poems in the opinion of the judge will be awarded €250 and €100 respectively.

Deadline: 13th  March 2016.

Link here. It appears to be free to enter. Email your poems.

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 The work must be original and previously unpublished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 The prize is for a single unpublished poem written for children aged 7-11 years.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.   

CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition

CWA are looking for the best unpublished short story – one that fits into Margery’s definition of what makes a great story.

“The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.”

The competition is open to all – both published and unpublished authors- and is for short stories of up to 3,500 words.
Not previously published so whether you polish off a dusty draft or craft a brand new idea is totally up to you.

£15 fee per short story. This fee is subject to VAT.

Deadline: 1st March 2016.

Link here.

Crannog Submissions

Get your submissions in for Crannog magazine from Galway.

Submissions for Crannóg June 2015 issue are accepted all through March. They have reduced the submission time for each issue to one month which means submissions are not tied up for long and a decision will be reached quickly. 

Deadline: 31st March 2015

Please read full submission rules HERE first!

Not impressed with this ageist offering at all

Not everyone has the luxury of putting their life on hold to write. Poetry doesn't pay. Not many poets are independently wealthy and even poets have to eat. Many exceptionally good poets don't start writing until they are a good way into adulthood, even retired. And yet...here's a bursary restricted to under 35's. Poetry Ireland should know better.

Poetry Ireland, in association with Cúirt, is delighted to offer an emerging younger poet the opportunity to visit the festival and to immerse themselves in the poetry programme. The successful applicant will attend all poetry readings and launches at the festival and they will also be allocated a place on the workshop programme. They will receive complimentary tickets to all events, bed and breakfast accommodation for 5 nights, along with their travel costs to Galway and a per diem. In return they will be required to write a blog for Poetry Ireland and Cúirt while at the festival.

Applications are invited from those aged 35 or under, who are beginning to have poems published in reputable journals or magazines, and who are based in Ireland or Northern Ireland. This award is dedicated to writers who have yet to have a full collection published. If you are interested in being considered for this bursary, please send us a short expression of interest, outlining why your work would benefit from this support. Applications which exceed one page will be deemed ineligible. 

Deadline 27th March.

PJ O Connor Awards for Radio Drama

For over 30 years the annual PJ O Connor Awards for Radio Drama have celebrated the best in new Irish writing.

The 2015 competition is now open for entries. RTE Radio Drama is inviting candidates to submit radio plays of 40 minutes in duration - with a first prize of 5000 euros for the winning script, as well as runner-up prizes of 4000 and 3000 euro respectively.

Deadline: Friday 27th March 2015.

The Judges’ decision will be announced on Friday 22nd May 2015.

Click here for rules of the competition

Click here for entry form

Incubator Call for Submissions

Submissions Opening

The reading period for issue 5 opens on 1 March and closes at the end of the month. This time they are seeking flash fiction, short stories and memoir. They love the contemporary Irish short story by writers born in, living in or with links to NI and Ireland.

All details can be found on their submissions page. www.theincubatorjournal.com

Deadline: 31st March 2015

Launch of Issue 4

It’s almost time to launch the new issue. We are having a get together on Sunday 15 March, 2pm in the Green Room at The Black Box, 18-22 Hill Street, Belfast. £2 entry.

http://www.blackboxbelfast.com/

Contributors will be reading their wonderful work.

Submissions sought for a poetry anthology in aid of The RNLI

The Sea is an upcoming poetry anthology in aid of The RNLI. The Sea will feature poems from established and emerging writers from Ireland and further afield with the theme of the sea. The anthology also includes photographs capturing the outstanding work undertaken by the brave men and women of The RNLI.

All proceeds from the anthology will go directly to The RNLI. 

A dedicated team of published writers have been entrusted with the arduous task of selecting which poems will feature in this poetry collection.

Deadline: March 15th 2015.

Submit to thesea.rnli@gmail.com.

The Sea will be available for purchase this coming May.

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbour. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover”. - Mark Twain

Trócaire and Poetry Ireland Poetry Competition 2015

Poetry Ireland and Trócaire are proud to announce their fourth joint poetry competition. The theme for this year’s competition is ‘Feeling the Heat’. 

You can read all the winning poems from last year’s competition here.

Entries are invited from both published and emerging poets, in English and Irish, with special categories for younger entrants and a Spoken Word category for performance poetry. Poets can submit up to three poems each, and entry is free.

Open to residents on the island of Ireland only
Poems must have a title and not exceed 30 lines in length (excluding title).

You can download the entry form from here

Deadline: Friday 13 March 2015

More details here on writing.ie

Molly Keane Creative Writing Award 2015

Entries for the Molly Keane Creative Writing Award 2015 are now being accepted by the Arts Office, Waterford City and County Council.

 Now in its 18th year, the competition honours the late writer who lived, until her death in 1996, in Ardmore, Co. Waterford. Her first ten novels and four plays were published under the pseudonym M.J. Farrell. In 1981 ‘Good Behaviour’ became a publishing sensation for which she was short listed for the prestigious Booker Prize.

Submissions are invited of an unpublished short story to a maximum of 2000 words. There is no entry fee, no age limit and no restriction on the subject matter.

A prize of €500 will be awarded to the winner at a special ceremony during the IMMRAMA Literary Festival in Lismore, Co. Waterford in June 2015.

Deadline: 12 noon on Friday, March 6th 2015.

Link for details and entry forms here..

Poetry & Words at Glastonbury Festival 2015 now open for submissions

Calling all poets, spoken word artists, wordsmiths, lyricists, raconteurs, stand-up poets and slam champs…if you want to perform your work on Glastonbury Festival’s poetry stage, then this is your chance! They’re looking for applications from experienced writers and performers, with something awesome to offer the audience of the world’s biggest greenfield arts festival.

If you think that could be you, then please e-mail poetryandwords@hotmail.co.ukwith a short Bio and 1-3 video and/or audio files of you performing your work. 

You get a ticket and possibly a small fee.

To find out more about applying, take a look at the Poetry&Words blog here.

Deadline for applications: Friday 6th March

Poems For Patience

Poems For Patience is a long running series which over the past decade has featured poems by leading Irish and international poets such as Seamus Heaney, Philip Schultz, Jane Hirschfield, Michael Longley, Vona Groarke, Tess Gallagher and many more. The poems after exhibition on the Arts Corridor are then displayed in waiting areas throughout Galway University Hospitals.

Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust is seeking entries again for its exciting annual poetry competition.

CRITERIA:

• no more than 30 lines long. 
• original work of the entrant.
• Unusually, poems previously published in magazines or poetry collections are eligible. 
• Also do ask yourself if your poem is appropriate for the setting?

PRIZE

• The poem will be published and displayed on the Arts Corridor of University Hospital Galway as part of the 2015 Poems For Patience.
• Invited to read the winning poem at the launch of the 2015 Poems For Patience at the Cúirt International Festival of Literature in April 2015 with accommodation provided  
• Invited to submit six poems for consideration for a Featured Reader at the Over The Edge: Open Reading series in Galway City Library.

FEE:

• one poem €10. 
• two or more poems €7.50 per poem i.e. to enter two poems it costs €15, to enter three poems €22.50 and so on.

Payment should be made by cheque or postal order payable to Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust.

That's a bit old school, no? Cheque?

Entries should be sent by post to
Margaret Flannery,
Arts Director,
Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust,
Galway University Hospitals,
University Hospital,
Newcastle Road,
Galway.

Do not put your name on the poems; please include your contact details on a separate sheet so it should be judged anonymously,

Deadline: Friday, March 13th 2015.

CWA Margery Allingham Short Story competition

The CWA Margery Allingham Short Story competition was set up in 2013 to celebrate the short story and Margery Allingham’s contribution to crime writing. Supported by the Margery Allingham Society this competition runs annually.

The competition is open to all – both published and unpublished authors- and is for UNPUBLISHED short stories of up to 3,500 words. It's judged completely anonymously.

The winner will receive £1,000

Deadline: 6:00pm on 16th March 2015

Fee: £10 by paypal

Link is here

They don't specifically say but I'd guess the story should be in the crime genre.

Doolin Writers' Weekend

Doolin Writers' Weekend takes place at Hotel Doolin from the 27th - 29th March 2015. 

Hotel Doolin in association with Tramp Press and Salmon Poetry are delighted to announce the launch of the Doolin Writers' Weekend Competition 2015.  

This year we have two prizes, a short story prize and a poetry prize.  

The Prize fund for 1st place is €1000 for each of the competitions and a publishing consultation with Tramp Press (short story) and Salmon Poetry (poetry).  

fee is €10 per entry 

Deadline Monday 2nd March 2015  at 5pm.  

Shortlisted authors will be announced on Friday 13th March and the winners announced at the Doolin Writers's Weekend 27th -29th March 2015.

Short Story Prize Judged by Eilis Ni Dhuibhne 1 st Prize- €1000 + publishing consultation with Tramp Press* + publication in the Clare People 2 nd Prize- Free Pass to Doolin Writers’ Weekend including entry to all workshops and events and 3 nights complimentary accommodation. Poetry Prize Judged by Jesse Lendeman Salmon Poetry 1 st Prize- €1000 + publishing consultation with Salmon Poetry* + publication in the Clare People 2 nd Prize- Free Pass to Doolin Writers’ Weekend including entry to all workshops and events and 3 nights complimentary accommodation.

For Terms and Conditions and to download an entry form, see link here

The RSPB and The Rialto Nature Poetry Competition

As well as offering poets the chance to win considerable cash prizes and publication of their poems, this competition will raise money for conservation and poetry.

Prizes

1st PRIZE £1000
2nd PRIZE £500
3rd PRIZE A Place on a Creative Writing Course at Ty Newydd in 2015 (worth £550)

ADDITIONAL PRIZE, a personal tour with Mark Cocker of his most cherished wild life places in East Anglia. Mark is one of Britain’s most celebrated writers on nature.

The judge is celebrated poet, writer and broadcaster, Simon Armitage. 

The entry fee is £6 for the first poem and £3.50 for each subsequent entry.

Full details and the facility to enter online can be found on The Rialto website:

 http://www.therialto.co.uk/pages/the-magazine/nature-poetry-competition-2014/

Please do note the term ‘Nature Poetry’ will be given a wide interpretation by the judge. Here are some thoughts by Michael Mackmin in The Rialto editorial:

So what is Nature Poetry? As the flier says, the judge will give this a wide interpretation. I’d imagine it won’t have to be just poems about creatures and beings that share the planet, or about ‘environmental concerns’. We are all air and water, everything we eat comes from the earth or the sea, most people know the roughness of a leaf or the heft of a stone can change a mood or express a feeling. I asked a 16 year old, What is nature? and she said, insects and grass: I asked a 32 year old the same question and she said, the sun and the moon and the stars and flowers and fruit and babies. You might just have to write your poems and take a risk.

Closing date of the competition is midnight on March 1st 2015

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.

Which Short Story Competition to enter?

Bath Short Story Award 2014 offers £1k, £200 and £100 plus publication in an anthology. Entrants must be over 18. Send up to 2.2k words on any theme or subject. Entry fee: £8. Deadline: 31 Mar

Short Fiction Journal, International Short Story Prize offers £500 plus publication for up to 5k words on any theme. Online entries only. Entry fee: £5. Deadline: 31 Mar

Brighton Short Story Prize offers £400 and the chance to read your story at Brighton Festival Fringe show. Send 1-2k words on any subject or genre. Entry fee: £6. Deadline: 1 Apr

Berkhamsted Writing Competition offers cash prizes and raises money for the Hospice of St Francis. Send stories up to 1k words on the theme ‘beginnings’.  Entry fee: £5. Deadline: 4 Apr

Flash 500, Flash Fiction Competition offers £300, £200 and £100 for encapsulating a story with just 500 words. Any subject or genre. Entry fee: £5 for one story or £8 for two. Deadline 31 Mar

SI Leeds Literary Prize 2014 for unpublished fiction of over 30k words by Black or Asian women writers resident in the UK. Prizes: £2k, £750, £250. Winner also gets a place on a 2015 Arvon Foundation course and all three finalists will receive manuscript feedback from The Literary Consultancy. Deadline: 31 Mar
Bristol Short Story Prize offers £1k, £700, £400 for a story up to 4k words, any theme, subject or style, including graphic and verse. Entry fee: £8. Deadline: 30 Apr

Almond Press Short Story Competition offers £100 plus publication for vivid and imaginative dystopian portrayals of mankind’s future, up to 5k words. Entry is free. Deadline: 1 May

Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition offers £500 plus publication in Fiction Desk anthology for stories of 2-5k words. Entry fee: £7. Deadline: 30 May

Frome Festival, Short Story Competition offers £525 in prizes. Winning stories will be read by a leading London literary agent. 1-2k words, any theme or genre. Entry fee: £5. Deadline: 31 May

Bridport Prize Short Story Competition offers £5k, £1k, and £500 as well as the opportunity for your story to be read by leading London literary agents and submission to the BBC National Short Story Award. Entry fee: £9. Deadline: 31 May

Crannog

Get your submissions in for Crannog magazine from Galway.

Submissions for Crannóg 36, the summer 2014 issue, opened on 1 March and closes 31 March. They have reduced the submission time for each issue to one month which means submissions are not tied up for long and a decision will be reached quickly. 

Deadline: 31st March 2014

Please read full submission rules HERE first!

Stinging Fly magazine open for poetry and prose

Stinging Fly has a new Short Story Editor and they are open for poetry and prose submissions from March 1st to March 31st.

Work submitted in this period will be considered for our issue in October 2014. Work submitted outside of this period will likely be lost or mislaid, so please do submit before March 31st.

* No more than one story and/or four poems should be submitted during any one submission period.

* Short stories and poems should always be just as long (or as short) as they need to be. (In our Winter 2012-13 issue the longest story is over 5,000 words; the shortest has less than 600.)

* The postal address for submissions is: The Stinging Fly, PO Box 6016, Dublin 1, Ireland. At present, we do not accept e-mail submissions.