Author Archives for IWC_admin

Opportunities & Competitions: late May/June 2023

May 23, 2023 12:40 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Photo credit: Taken en route from Dublin to Galway for Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2023 by our amazing Projects Assistant Emily O’Brien.  Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page, along with our Bursaries & Funding, to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. While we usually only upload monthly there are just so many exciting deadlines coming up that we decided to do a late May/June post instead of our usual format. Journals   The Stinging Fly  Deadline: 31st May 2023 On the cusp of their 25th birthday celebrations, Ireland’s premier literary magazine, The Stinging Fly will be open for submissions from Tuesday May 16th until Wednesday May 31st 2023 for Issue 49 Volume Two (November 2023). The Stinging Fly publish new, previously unpublished work by Irish and international writers. They have a particular... Read Moreread more.


The Meridian Series: A Programme of Professional Development Activities to Make a Career in Writing

May 12, 2023 10:55 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Meridian is our new series of creative and professional development activities for professional writers, and also for those emerging writers who are ready to take the steps towards making a career in writing. In a series of 12 training and wellbeing sessions we plan to deliver annually, the first four Meridian sessions are now available to book. See details about the courses/workshops below. Foundational Facilitation Skills for Writers with Anne Tannam We’ve all experienced examples of both great and poor facilitation and come away feeling at best inspired and resourced and at worst, frustrated and unmotivated. But facilitation is a skill like any other, and with the right mindset, tools, and practice, it’s a skill that anyone can master. Focusing on the five 4s of facilitation (People, Preparation, Process and Practice) this interactive and practical course will give writers the opportunity to learn... Read Moreread more.


Announcing our 2023 IWC/Belfast Book Festival Young Writer Delegates

May 10, 2023 12:29 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

We’re delighted to announce our IWC/Belfast Book Festival Young Writer Delegate awardees, who will attend the Belfast Book Festival from 14 – 18 June and work with local writer mentor Mícheál McCann. The four awardees are Cian Dunne, Fatoumata Gandega, Caleb McKeever and Sarah McMahon. You can check out the full festival programme on the Belfast Book Festival website. Now in its sixth 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 Belfast Book Festival social media channels. Also, you can now book your place to watch our Young Writer Delegates’ perform live as part of the festival on Saturday 17 June... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities & Competitions: May 2023

May 2, 2023 4:30 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Photo credit: Graffiti in Galway City shot by our wonderful Communications officer Jo Morton in April of this year. Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page, along with our Bursaries & Funding, to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are a few deadlines we wanted to highlight this May.   Journals   Howl: New Irish Writing Deadline: 8th May 2023 HOWL is a literary platform showcasing the creative wail in Irish writing from around the world. They want the raw and the real. If it excites you, they want you to send it to them. Open for submissions of poetry and prose (fiction and non-fiction) from April 10th – May 8th 2023. The Waxed Lemon Deadline: 21st May 2023 The Waxed Lemon is a literary journal based in Waterford. They’re looking for previously unpublished... Read Moreread more.


Our Young Writer Delegates look back on Cúirt 2023

May 8, 2023 11:46 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Earlier this month, writers, readers and book-lovers from far and wide travelled to Galway for the Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2023. From 18-23 April, attendees were treated to a week full of readings, conversations, film screenings, walking tours, events and special guests, which showcased new voices, diverse writing, Irish and international writing talent. Among the attendees were our IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates, Lucy Bleeker, Deirdre Bolger, Arianne Clarke, Gráinne Condron and Matthew O’Rourke. Each year, the delegates attend events of their choice and write a review of their experience; here are the reviews our delegates wrote up for Cúirt 2023! William Keohane   William Keohane: Boxing Day Reviewed by Matthew O’Rourke On the 21st of April, Nuns Island Theatre had the good fortune to host the Cúirt 2023 iteration of Limerick-based writer William Keohane’s poetic performance piece Boxing Day. Having... Read Moreread more.


“I doubt I’d have ever found the confidence to put the book out there without the Novel Fair”: Interview with debut novelist and 2021 Novel Fair Winner Bryan Moriarty

April 28, 2023 11:47 am Published by Leave your thoughts

      Interviewer: Jack Delaney Jack Delaney is a writer and theatre-maker from County Meath. He joined the Irish Writers Centre as an Arts Administration Intern at the beginning of March.       On the 29th of March, we were delighted to launch the 2024 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair with an online panel discussion featuring Lauren Mackenzie, Gráinne Fox and Alan McMonagle, which is available to watch here. Now, in the first of a series of conversations with past Novel Fair winners, we have an interview with writer and 2021 winner Bryan Moriarty whose debut novel, Sounds like Fun, was published by Hodder & Stoughton on March 30th 2023. Born in Dublin, Bryan studied at Trinity College Dublin before moving to London to pursue a career as an actor. In addition to performing in theatre, film and TV,... Read Moreread more.


“Support for Professional Writers to Advance their Craft and Career with Confidence and Resilience.” Launching Today: Meridian

April 19, 2023 3:40 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Meridian: For Professional Writers   Welcome to the launch of our new Meridian series of creative and professional development activities for professional writers, and also for those emerging writers who are ready to take the steps towards making a career in writing. We chose Meridian as our title, not just for its earth and energy associations, but especially for its sense of momentum and growth – to moving towards a culmination or highest point – which is our aim for you in your career as a professional writer. In our Strategy 2022-26, we dedicate Goal 1 to “support professional writers to advance their craft and career with confidence and resilience.” To that aim, we have created the Meridian series, which can cover two main strands of provision: Training and Wellbeing. In the past, you may have seen professional development training... Read Moreread more.


Novel Fair Success Stories: 32 Debut Novels and Counting…

April 12, 2023 12:22 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

    Author: Tom Jordan This blog post has been written by our new member of staff, Tom Jordan, Administration Assistant, Irish Writers Centre. Tom is a writer from Dublin. He graduated from TCD with a BA in English Literature and Drama. His writing has been published in the literary journals Sonder, The Waxed Lemon and elsewhere.       Novel Fair Success Stories: 32 Debut Novels and Counting… So, I’m sure you’ve heard about the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, right? I mean, I might just have started working here but even I’ve known about the annual Novel Fair competition for years. The “Dragon’s Den for writers,”? Shark Tank for scribblers, no? How, over the course of two days our twelve chosen winners come together with a selection of Irish and international publishers and agents with nothing but their... Read Moreread more.


Black and white image of the Shandon Bells in Cork

Opportunities & Competitions: April 2023

April 5, 2023 2:59 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Photo credit: The beautiful Shandon Bells and Tower in Cork City shot by our wonderful Projects Assistant Emily O’Brien in 2021. Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page, along with our Bursaries & Funding, to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are a few deadlines we wanted to highlight this April. Journals   The Pigs Back Deadline: 15th April The Pig’s Back (named for Donegal’s Muckish mountain and for the phrase ar mhuin na muice, to be in luck) is a literary prose journal that aims to bring the rest of Ireland – and in turn, the world – to the northwest. Founded by the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny, it publishes short fiction and essays.The Pig’s Back seeks submissions of previously unpublished fiction and non-fiction. They accept work from anywhere in the world... Read Moreread more.


“A lot of effort goes into making a piece of writing look effortless”: Past Novel Fair Participants Discuss What Makes a Winning Manuscript

April 3, 2023 4:07 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Last Wednesday, we were delighted to launch the 2024 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair with an online panel discussion hosted by our Programming Officer, Betty Stenson. The discussion, which gave aspiring novelists the opportunity to ask questions about the annual Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair competition and hear from past participants featured writer and 2021 winner Lauren Mackenzie, literary agent Gráinne Fox, and novelist and 2023 judge Alan McMonagle. The Novel Fair, now in its twelfth year, is a 2-day event offering debut novelists the opportunity to pitch their work to agents and publishers in the hope of securing a home for their manuscript. Novel Fair 2024 Launch Event Writers showed up in their droves, hoping to gain insight into what makes a manuscript appealing to publishers and how best to prepare their novel for submission. From over 130 participants, the... Read Moreread more.


Announcing our 2023 IWC Mentor/Member Duo Programme Participants

March 29, 2023 4:28 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

We are delighted to announce the six writers selected to participate in the 2023 IWC Mentor/Member Duo Programme, funded by Dublin City Council. The programme, now in its third year, is open to all those living in the administrative area of Dublin City Council and is especially geared towards writers from backgrounds currently underrepresented in Irish literature. The six writers selected to participate in this year’s programme are Suad Aldarra, Larissa Brigatti, Fatoumata Gandega, Mary Guiney, Maya Kulukundis and Kerry Mahony. As part of the IWC Mentor/Member Duo Programme, the selected participants will receive one year of IWC membership, as well as one 90-minute mentoring session through our One-to-One-Mentoring Programme. This will allow participants to develop their writing with the aid of a professional mentor who will provide feedback on a sample of their work.   The 2023 IWC Mentor/Member... Read Moreread more.


Announcing our 2023 IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates

March 22, 2023 2:50 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

We’re delighted to announce our IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegate awardees, who will attend Cúirt International Festival of Literature from 18 – 23 April and work with local writer mentor Alan McMonagle. The four awardees are Lucy Bleeker, Deirdre Bolger, Arianne Clarke, Gráinne Condron and Matthew O’Rourke. Now in its sixth 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 Cúirt social media channels. The full programme is now also available to view over on the festival website.   The Young Writer Delegates                   Lucy Bleeker is a Galway based cross-genre writer. Her one act... Read Moreread more.


8 Writers and 10 Scientists Selected for the Writing the Earth Programme 2023

March 15, 2023 4:05 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

The Irish Writers Centre (IWC) in partnership with the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG) is delighted to announce the 8 writers and 10 scientists who will be taking part in Writing the Earth, a pilot programme for writers working with scientists. This is a fully-funded programme for eight writers interested in climate justice and geosciences. Building on the hugely popular IWC Climate Writing Group, this programme aims to take writing about our planet to the next stage. Writing the Earth brings writers and scientists together in person and online to research and write about climate and geoscience in various genres or forms. In a collaborative process of talks and workshops, the scientists will inform and guide the writers through scientific processes in plain English This will enable them to form their creative ideas around an aspect of climate... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities & Competitions: March 2023

March 9, 2023 11:33 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page, along with our Bursaries & Funding, to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. Here are a few deadlines we wanted to highlight this March!   Grants and Bursaries Fingal County Council, Tyrone Guthrie Centre and Bealtaine Festival Residency Award 2023 Deadline: 27th March 2023 Fingal Arts Office, in association with The Tyrone Guthrie Centre and Bealtaine Festival, is pleased to announce two, month-long, residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. These residences aim to celebrate and support older artists at all stages of their careers working in literature and visual arts. The Residency will include: · En Suite accommodation and full board in the Big House at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre will be provided for a professional writer on agreed selected dates from June – December and includes quiet... Read Moreread more.