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Introducing our 2022 IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates

March 22, 2022 2:57 pm Published by Comments Off on Introducing our 2022 IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates

We are happy to announce that the 2022 IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates are William Keohane, Rere Ukponu, Hannah Gallagher, Luca Melis and Ella Gaynor. Their local writer mentor for the festival period will be acclaimed novelist Lisa McInerney.  Now in its fifth 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 festival programme is now also available to view over on the festival website.  William Keohane is a writer from Limerick. In 2021, he was shortlisted for the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award, received a Literature Bursary Award from the Arts Council of Ireland, and was one of... Read Moreread more.


March 2022 Opportunities

Opportunities & Competitions: March 2022

March 1, 2022 12:01 pm Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: March 2022

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 in March! The Rialto: Nature & Place Competition Deadline: 1st March The Rialto working in association with the RSPB, BirdLife International, Cambridge Conservation Initiative and The University of Leeds Poetry Centre. Poems are invited that deal with any aspect of nature and place – these terms will be given a wide interpretation by the judge Gillian Clarke. Closing Date March 1st 2022. 1st prize – £1000, 2nd prize – £500, 3rd prize – £250. Poetry Ireland Introductions 2022 Deadline: 1st March  Applications are now open for Poetry Ireland Introductions 2022, which will offer poets in the early stages of their careers the opportunity... Read Moreread more.


Gabrielle Fullam, Prin Okonkwo and Rafael Mendes headshots

The Irish Writers Centre and Words of Colour Productions announce the awardees of UpLift, an international leadership initiative for 18-30 year olds

February 23, 2022 2:34 pm Published by Comments Off on The Irish Writers Centre and Words of Colour Productions announce the awardees of UpLift, an international leadership initiative for 18-30 year olds

UpLift, a new pilot programme which aims to foster the leadership ambitions of aspiring professionals of colour in the literature sector across Ireland and the UK, is a collaboration between the Irish Writers Centre and Words of Colour Productions. The programme seeks to help young literature professionals of colour to thrive within the sector, by encouraging connections among the awardees and facilitating development of their writing through guidance from seasoned industry professionals. Three candidates based in Ireland have been selected to receive mentoring and workshops from established industry professionals. They are: Gabrielle Fullam, Prin Okonkwo and Rafael Mendes. Gabrielle Fullam is an Irish-Punjabi writer, theatre-maker and activist from Lucan. She is current editor of Icarus and Trinity Gender Minority Review. She is currently a Philosophy and Sociology student in Trinity College, and has conducted qualitative mixed-race research in Trinity College... Read Moreread more.


Maeve Galvin and Sheila Armstrong headshots

Evolution: An Interview with Sheila Armstrong and Maeve Galvin

February 18, 2022 12:09 pm Published by Comments Off on Evolution: An Interview with Sheila Armstrong and Maeve Galvin

Our Evolution Programme is currently ongoing with a suite of bespoke professional development supports for selected writers Arnold Thomas Fanning, Deirdre Cartmill, Kevin Curran, Maeve Galvin, Máire T. Robinson, Melatu-Uche Okorie, Michelle Gallen, Liz Quirke, Olivia Fitzsimons, Sheila Armstrong, Sue Divin and Helen Blackhurst. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing interviews with our Evolution writers with discussions on writing, professional development, and more. Last week, we interviewed Liz Quirke, Olivia Fitzsimons and Melatu-Uche Okorie, and this week we sat down with Sheila Armstrong and Maeve Galvin. 1. What type of writing do you specialise in? Fiction, poetry, memoir etc. OR Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment? Maeve: I write contemporary fiction. My work usually focuses on particular societies or groups of people and how they function, how they change... Read Moreread more.


IWC/Cúirt YWD Programme 2022

IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegate Programme 2022

February 16, 2022 12:03 pm Published by Comments Off on IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegate Programme 2022

We invite ambitious young writers aged 18-26 to apply for this extraordinary opportunity to attend and contribute to Cúirt as IWC/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates. In 2022, the Irish Writers Centre will launch a new 5 year strategy. For over 30 years the IWC has acknowledged and uplifted those with the courage and compulsion to write by providing opportunities for them to develop their skill, advance their ambitions and join a vibrant and diverse community of people who share their passion and purpose. At the Irish Writers Centre, we seek to enhance opportunities for people across all communities to explore and participate in creative writing. Now in its fifth year, the IWC Young Writer Delegates Programme is intended to give young writers an opportunity to immerse themselves in a literature festival, soak up the atmosphere and to contribute to it as active participants. The... Read Moreread more.


Evolution: An Interview with Olivia Fitzsimons, Melatu-Uche Okorie and Liz Quirke

February 4, 2022 4:16 pm Published by Comments Off on Evolution: An Interview with Olivia Fitzsimons, Melatu-Uche Okorie and Liz Quirke

What are you reading at the moment? Liz: Seamus Heaney’s translation of Aeneid VI; When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through – A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry edited by Joy Harjo; C+nto & Othered Poems by Joelle Taylor; View With A Grain of Sand Selected Poems by Wislawa Szymborska; A God at the Door by Tishani Doshi. Olivia: I’ve normally a few books on the go but it’s been a slow reading month as everyone in my family apart from me has had Covid. Pre-plague house I inhaled Ghost Wall, by Sarah Moss; I’m a newly devoted fan buying everything she’s ever written. I’m currently reading and loving The Raptures by Jan Carson. Jan’s writing is sublime, I find her sentences transport me to a home reimagined. Her latest is incredible. I read some... Read Moreread more.


April 2022 Opportunities

Opportunities & Competitions: February 2022

February 1, 2022 12:08 pm Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: February 2022

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. To help you get motivated this new year, here are a few deadlines we wanted to highlight in February! The Honest Ulsterman  Deadline: 1st February We’re calling for poetry (up to 3 poems), prose and critical writing, suggestions for interviews etc for our February 2022 issue. Prose can be up to 5000 words. We prefer submissions to be made in Word (or similar – not PDF) format. We’d also welcome video poetry. Video submissions should have a link to YouTube etc. Please put your name and short bio in the body of your submission email otherwise it may accidentally end up in the Spam folder. There is no fee for submitting. As... Read Moreread more.


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Online Consultation on Pilot Basic Income for the Arts

January 12, 2022 2:07 pm Published by Comments Off on Online Consultation on Pilot Basic Income for the Arts

On Thursday, 6 January 2022, Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media launched an online consultation on the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot scheme to elicit the views of artists, those working in the arts and culture sector and the public. The online consultation is available for response until the consultation closes on 27 January 2022. Writers who would like to contribute can do so by sharing their thoughts via this survey. The program will cover two thousand arts and culture workers for a span of three years. The government has earmarked €25 million ($28.3 million) for the plan, which is expected to go into force later this winter. The online consultation runs through January 27 and follows on a report from a task force assembled by Martin last year to wrestle with... Read Moreread more.


Jan 2022 Opportunities

Opportunities & Competitions: January 2022

January 4, 2022 12:24 pm Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: January 2022

Each month we update our Competitions & Submissions page to ensure that we are connecting our writers with the best upcoming opportunities. To help you get motivated this new year, here are a few deadlines we wanted to highlight in January! The White Review Poet’s Prize Deadline: 6th January  The Poet’s Prize is run in partnership with CHEERIO, and is for English-language poets who are at the crucial stage of creating their debut pamphlet or collection. The Prize was founded in 2017 with support from Jerwood Charitable Foundation. This year’s judges are Rachel Long, Nisha Ramayya and Jay G Ying. The winning poet will receive a financial reward of £2,500, as well as expert, personalised professional and editorial advice and publication of their entry in THE WHITE REVIEW. The Cormorant: Issue 7  Deadline: 10th January  The Cormorant, established by Una Mannion,... Read Moreread more.


12 Emerging Writers Selected as the Winners of Novel Fair 2022

December 16, 2021 11:15 am Published by Comments Off on 12 Emerging Writers Selected as the Winners of Novel Fair 2022

The Irish Writers Centre is delighted to announce that twelve emerging writers have been selected from almost 400 entrants to take part in Novel Fair 2022 on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th February 2022. This marks the 10 year anniversary of Novel Fair, an initiative which allows unpublished writers the opportunity to break through to the UK & Irish publishing world. Our 12 Novel Fair  winners will pitch their work to top publishers and agents in a series of one-to-one meetings. In 2022, the Irish Writers Centre is planning on running a hybrid version of the Fair, taking place both online and in person thus allowing publishers, agents and finalists to participate from around the globe. The Novel Fair 2022 winners are; Rachel Blackmore Rachel Blackmore studied Renaissance history before becoming a speechwriter. She now writes historical fiction, using the language... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities & Competitions: December 2021

Opportunities & Competitions: December 2021

December 6, 2021 3:51 pm Published by Comments Off on Opportunities & Competitions: December 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 December! Stony Thursday Poetry Book Deadline: 8th December The Stony Thursday Book is seeking submissions from local, national and international poets for its next issue, to be published in Spring 2022. It was founded by Limerick poets John Liddy and Jim Burke in 1975, and has been edited by poets such as Mark Whelan, Kevin Byrne, Patrick Bourke, Knute Skinner, Thomas McCarthy, Ciarán O’Driscoll, Mary Coll, Jo Slade, Paddy Bushe, Peter Sirr, Mary O’Donnell, John Davies, Nessa O’Mahony and Martin Dyar. The Stony Thursday Book is one of the longest-running literary journals in Ireland and this will be its 44th edition, No.18 in the new series. This year’s Editor of the... Read Moreread more.


Photo of a desk with laptop and books. text above reads 'New Website Launch'

The Irish Writers Centre unveils new website and special video to celebrate its 30th anniversary year

December 2, 2021 3:23 pm Published by Comments Off on The Irish Writers Centre unveils new website and special video to celebrate its 30th anniversary year

‘The very notion of a Writers Centre would have been unthinkable then’ John Banville, Anne Enright, Ciara Ní É, Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan and Valerie Bistany reflect on the Irish writing landscape over the past 30 years The Irish Writers Centre is celebrating its 30th anniversary and has marked this milestone year with the launch of a new website and a special 30th anniversary video that reflects on the contribution the organisation has made to the Irish writing landscape over the past three decades. Featuring IWC Ambassadors Anne Enright, John Banville and Ciara Ní É, along with Board Member and writer Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan, and IWC Director Valerie Bistany, the video offers their perspectives on the past, present and future of the Irish Writers Centre. The full video is available to view here: https://youtu.be/EOLbpfff5XY  In the video, John Banville highlights the early impact... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities & Competitions: November 2021

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.