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November Opportunities

Opportunities & Competitions: November 2021

November 9, 2021 11:19 am Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: November 2021

Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are a few we wanted to highlight this November! 2022 Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses Deadline: 15th November Books published in the calendar year 2021 are eligible, and submissions close in November 2021. The prize is open to works of fiction by a single author published by a small press in the UK and Ireland with five or fewer full-time employees or equivalent. We are the only prize in the UK that welcomes long form, short form, English language and translated fiction. Over the past five years the prize has recognised 38 small presses from 13 towns and cities in the UK and Ireland, and awarded over £60,000 in prize-money to publishers and authors in that time.... Read Moreread more.


Abby Connolly headshot

Announcing our 2021 IWC/DBF Young Writer Delegates

October 21, 2021 2:31 pm Published by Comments Off on Announcing our 2021 IWC/DBF Young Writer Delegates

We are happy to announce that the 2021 IWC/DBF Young Writer Delegates are Abby Connolly, Eilish Mulholland, Kel Menton and Róisín Ní Riain. Their professional mentor for the festival period will be Irish fiction and arts writer Sue Rainsford.  Now in its fourth year, the IWC Young Writer Delegates Programme gives young writers an opportunity to immerse themselves in a literature festival and to contribute to it as active participants. You can keep up with the Young Writer Delegates on their Instagram page, and through the Irish Writers Centre and DBF social media channels. Abby Connolly Abby Connolly is currently a final year English Studies student in TCD. This year her final project will be a long form creative writing piece and during her time in college she has written a short play, poetry, short stories and reviews for various Trinity publications and societies. She hopes to write in... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities & Competitions: October 2021

October 6, 2021 4:32 pm Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: October 2021

Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are a few we wanted to highlight this October! Millay Arts: Core Residency  Deadline: 8th October 2021 Located in the Hudson Valley, nestled against the Berkshires, our sylvan and secluded hilltop offers idyllic meadows and woods and is situated close to various world-renowned cultural institutions. We are 2-1/2 hours from both Boston and NYC; transportation to/from train, bus, airports is easily arranged. From April through November, Millay Arts invites 6-7 multidisciplinary artists for month-long stays at Steepletop, the historic estate of poet/activist Edna St. Vincent Millay. (We also have two-week residencies in June and September and a residency for collectives (3-7 participants) in December.) Palette Poetry: Love & Eros Prize  Deadline: 19th October 2021  We’re delighted to offer the... Read Moreread more.


Kealan Ryan

‘It was a dream come true of about ten years in the making’ – Kealan Ryan on his Novel Fair journey

September 22, 2021 10:51 am Published by Comments Off on ‘It was a dream come true of about ten years in the making’ – Kealan Ryan on his Novel Fair journey

Kealan Ryan is a novelist, actor and filmmaker. His debut novel, The Middle Place, was published by Mercier Press (2019) and was a winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2015. He wrote, produced and stared in Amazon Prime’s award-winning feature film LIFT (2018). He has also written for the Irish Times and has had work published by the O’Brien Press. His film, The Anderson Corporation Will Change Your Life, was a Grand Prix Irish Short Selection at the 65th Cork International Film Festival (2020). He is currently in-development of his next feature film, Through the Silent Lands. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?  I worked in various jobs for a number of years before finally deciding in my 30’s to pursue a career in writing and acting. I started working on my novel, The Middle Place, as... Read Moreread more.


Novel Fair Judges 2022

Gavin Corbett, Cauvery Madhavan and Neil Hegarty Announced as the Novel Fair 2022 Judges

September 14, 2021 2:26 pm Published by Comments Off on Gavin Corbett, Cauvery Madhavan and Neil Hegarty Announced as the Novel Fair 2022 Judges

Gavin Corbett, Cauvery Madhavan and Neil Hegarty Announced as the Novel Fair 2022 Judges We are delighted to announce the judges of Novel Fair 2022. Gavin Corbett, Cauvery Madhavan and Neil Hegarty are set to judge the international writing competition this year. Novel Fair offers unpublished writers the chance to pitch their manuscripts directly to top publishers and agents from across Ireland and the UK. The Novel Fair judges will sift through entries from all over the world to select 12 finalists to take part in what has been described as a ‘Dragon’s Den for writers’. Each of the Novel Fair judges will bring a wealth of experience in the literary world to the Fair. Gavin Corbett is the author of three novels: Innocence (2003), This Is the Way (2013) and Green Glowing Skull (2015). This Is the Way was named 2013 Kerry Group Irish Novel of... Read Moreread more.


Cill Rialaig Awardees 2021

Cill Rialaig Residency 2021 Awardees

September 15, 2021 9:36 am Published by Comments Off on Cill Rialaig Residency 2021 Awardees

We’re delighted to announce the 7 awardees of our Cill Rialaig Residencies 2021. We received many applications of a very high standard this year, all of which were reviewed and finalists selected by judges David Butler and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne. Michelle Gallen was born in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970s and grew up during the Troubles a few miles from the border between what she was told was the “Free” State and the “United” Kingdom. She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin, then survived what doctors now suspect was autoimmune encephalitis in her mid-twenties. Her debut novel, Big Girl, Small Town was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. She now lives in Dublin with her husband and kids. A.M. Cousins is a Wexford based writer.  She published her debut collection of poetry – REDRESS (Revival Press) – in 2021. She also... Read Moreread more.


August Writing Opportunities

Opportunities & Competitions: August 2021

August 10, 2021 9:29 am Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: August 2021

Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities.  Here are a few we wanted to highlight this August!  The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award  Deadline: 19th August 2021 The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award for a first unpublished collection of poems in English is open to poets, born in the island of Ireland, or of Irish nationality, or long term resident in Ireland. Other previous winners include Eileán Ni Chuilleanáin, Paul Durcan, Thomas McCarthy, Peter Sirr, Sinead Morrissey, Conor O’Callaghan, Celia de Freine and Joseph Woods. The award will be presented on Friday 24th September 2021 the opening evening of the annual Patrick Kavanagh Weekend at the Patrick Kavanagh Centre. Literature Project Award  Deadline: 19th August 2021 The Arts Council has introduced a Literature Project Award in recognition of the changing... Read Moreread more.


Submissions September 2021

Opportunities & Competitions: September 2021

September 6, 2021 1:27 pm Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: September 2021

 Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities.  Here are a few we wanted to highlight this September!  Kavanagh Fellowship 2021 Deadline: 10th September 2021 The Trustees of the Estate of Katherine Kavanagh intend to offer the Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship, normally of up to €8,000, again in 2021. The Fellowship is specifically for Irish poets in their middle years. Poets in order to be eligible must have published a substantial body of work, and show that they are in particular need of assistance. The Moth Nature Writing Prize Deadline: 15th September 2021 The prize is open to anyone over the age of sixteen, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished. The winning piece will be published in the winter issue of The Moth, and... Read Moreread more.


WCLF YWD

IWC/WCLF Young Writer Delegates Showcase

July 19, 2021 9:49 am Published by Comments Off on IWC/WCLF Young Writer Delegates Showcase

Now in our fourth year, the Young Writer Delegate Programme has partnered with the West Cork Literary Festival for the first time. At this showcase, our four selected IWC/WCLF Young Writer Delegates will share some of the creative work developed during the festival with their mentor Eimear Ryan. This year’s Young Writer Delegates are Ava Lynch, Shane Murphy, Niamh O’Connell and Ross Walsh. Join us for a lunch time reading, hosted on Zoom on Friday 23rd July at 1pm. Register for free here. read more.


Irish Writers Centre West Cork Literary Festival Young Writer Delegates

Announcing our 2021 IWC/WCLF Young Writer Delegates

June 30, 2021 11:52 am Published by Comments Off on Announcing our 2021 IWC/WCLF Young Writer Delegates

We are happy to announce that the 2021 IWC/WCLF Young Writer Delegates are Niamh O’Connell, Ross Walsh, Ava Lynch and Shane Murphy. They will be mentored by author, columnist and co-founder of the literary journal Banshee, Eimear Ryan. Now in its fourth year, the IWC Young Writer Delegates Programme gives young writers an opportunity to immerse themselves in an (online) literature festival and to contribute to it as active participants. You can keep up with the Young Writer Delegates on their Instagram page, and through the Irish Writers Centre and WCLF social media channels. Niamh O’Connell Niamh is a Cork based poet. Her poetry has appeared in Irish publications such as The Quarryman and Bealtaine magazine. She holds an MA in Writing Poetry from Newcastle University, having graduated in 2020. Niamh often volunteers running children’s creative writing workshops and is a volunteer with Rebel Reads, a community... Read Moreread more.


IWC Evolution Programme: A New Strand of Combined Supports for Professional Writers

June 23, 2021 3:28 pm Published by Comments Off on IWC Evolution Programme: A New Strand of Combined Supports for Professional Writers

 Deadline Extended until Friday 16 July at 5pm We are delighted to announce the IWC Evolution Programme as part of our 30th Anniversary. This Programme is a new strand of combined supports for professional writers. About the Irish Writers Centre The Irish Writers Centre is proud to celebrate 30 years of services and supports to writers at all stages of their career since the opening of its doors in Parnell Square in 1991. Over the last years, the Irish Writers Centre has expanded its provision of supports to writers in many ways, including professional development workshops, information webinars, residencies, bursaries for courses, mentor/mentee support, international opportunities and the invitation to becoming a member of our literary community. We acknowledge that we have been particularly supportive of beginner and emerging writers at the start of their career. As we have grown... Read Moreread more.


IWC ILFD YWDs 2021

Young Writer Delegates reflect on ILFD 2021

June 15, 2021 12:01 pm Published by Comments Off on Young Writer Delegates reflect on ILFD 2021

Last month, book lovers across the country tuned in to the International Literary Festival Dublin 2021. Attendees were treated to 10 jam-packed days full of readings, conversations, debates, screenings, guided walks, events, podcasts and broadcasts, spanning the genres of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, theatre, music and screenwriting. Now in its second year operating online, the programme was immersive, exciting and definitely did not disappoint.  Among the attendees were our IWC/ILFD Young Writer Delegates Grace Banks, Fadilah Salawu, Emer O’Hanlon, and Olamide Alao. Here is what they thought of the experience.  Everyone is Talking About Patricia Lockwood & Roisin Kiberd, review by Grace Banks On Day 3 of ILFD 2021, Adrian Weckler interviewed Patricia Lockwood and Róisín Kiberd on their respective internet-themed books, “No One Is Talking About This” and “The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet”. We often talk of... Read Moreread more.


June Writing Opportunities

Upcoming Competitions & Opportunities: June 2021

June 8, 2021 2:29 pm Published by Comments Off on Upcoming Competitions & Opportunities: June 2021

Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities.  Here are a few we wanted to highlight this June!  The Emma Press: Essay Collections Submissions  Deadline: 27th June 2021 We are excited by the essay format, and we are looking forward to seeing what you send us! We imagine they could include memoir, food writing, travel writing, meditations on various subjects, or even something more experimental. We’re expecting these to be mostly non-fiction, but something that plays with the genre could be fun too. The main things we’ll be looking for are extremely deft prose and captivating subject matter. Fingal Poetry Prize Deadline: 30th June 2021 As part of the Fingal Poetry Festival, due to take place from September 16th – 19th 2021, we are delighted to announce that... Read Moreread more.