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Opportunities for Writers: April 2026

April 7, 2026 10:42 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Our monthly list of submission windows, competitions, bursaries, residencies and general literary opportunities is now live. This list offers information on opportunities with April deadlines. For information on other upcoming opportunities, see our competitions and submissions and bursaries and funding pages.                                                                                          Opportunities Scripts: Ireland’s Playwriting Festival Deadline: 7th April SCRIPTS: Ireland’s Playwriting Festival, in partnership with Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, seeks new works for stage! Scripts invites playwrights to craft stories that ignite, provoke and linger. The theme for 2026 is: desire. The deadline is Tuesday, April 7 at 12pm. More information here. ILFD Date... Read Moreread more.


Announcing the 2026 Irish Writers Centre Irish Language Poetry Mentorship

March 19, 2026 4:35 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Meantóireacht Filíochta Gaeilge Áras Scríbhneoirí na hÉireann 2026 Tá lúcháir ar Áras Scríbhneoirí na hÉireann ár gcéad meantóireacht Gaeilge a fhógairt. I mbliana, beidh an mheantóireacht ann do scríbhneoirí filíochta; beidh béim ar seanraí eile sna blianta atá le teacht. Is í an file iomráiteach Aifric Mac Aodha a bheidh mar mheantóir againn. Cáilitheacht Tá an scéim ar oscailt do scríbhneoir ar bith thar 18 a bhfuil cónaí orthu áit ar bith in Éirinn faoi láthair. Bronnfar trí shéisiúin meantóireachta ar an bhuaiteoir i rith na bliana 2026. Déantar iarratais trí Google Form. Amlíne Beidh glacadh le hiarratais ó 5 pm, Dé Déardaoin 19 Márta go 5 pm, Dé hAoine 10 Aibreán. Nuair atá an scríbhneoir roghnaithe tarraigeofar trí shéisiúin meantóireachta 90 nóiméad dó nó di idir sin agus deireadh 2026. Treoracha Roimh gach séisiúin seolfaidh an scríbhneoir suas le... Read Moreread more.


Now Live: Words in the Air Podcast

March 19, 2026 11:07 am Published by Leave your thoughts

We’re thrilled to present to listeners the very first episode of the Irish Writers Centre’s new literary podcast, Words in the Air! Ep 1 features Professor Joseph O’Connor in conversation with Madeleine Keane about growing up in Dún Laoghaire and how the coastline inspired his early writing. This audio was recorded in May 2025, at the DLR Lexicon Library and The James Joyce Tower Museum Sandycove, Dublin as part of the video series Dublin, One City, Many Stories. You can watch the full video here.  read more.


Announcing the Awardees of New Voices: North 2026

March 12, 2026 1:40 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

We are delighted to announce the ten writers selected to participate on New Voices: North 2026: Kara Barlow, Joshua Beatty, Ben Behzadafshar, Tiffany Eaton, Elaine Gormley, Katharina Maria Kalinowski, Cónal McGlinchey, Niall McKenna, Sean Rowan and Ryan Wiles. The second installment in a new, all-island development series, New Voices: North is a three-month development programme that will provide ten emerging writers living in the North of Ireland with the sustained support of an experienced writer-mentor. The programme will culminate in a showcase hosted by the Belfast Book Festival, which will take place in the summer. The six writers selected in the fiction strand are Ben Behzadafshar, Tiffany Eaton, Elaine Gormley, Cónal McGlinchey, Niall McKenna and Ryan Wiles. They will be mentored by Jan Carson and Susannah Dickey. The four writers selected in the poetry strand are Kara Barlow, Joshua Beatty,... Read Moreread more.


Words, In Other Places, An Irish Writers Centre Literary Festival

March 11, 2026 12:29 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Words, In Other Places, an Irish Writers Centre Literary Festival, in partnership with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland Over the course of one weekend, Saturday 11 April at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University in Belfast, and Sunday 12 April  at the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin, Words, In Other Places will showcase a tri-lateral range of form, talent and diversity in today’s literary scene, looking to the north and south of Ireland while welcoming international writers. Each day will be divided into 3 separate events: Saturday 11 April Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast  12pm to 1pm: Inside Out, Telling Tales Elsewhere, panel discussion Inside Out, Telling Tales Elsewhere is a panel discussion, featuring three contemporary writers from the south of Ireland, Louise Nealon (author of Snowflake and Everything that is Beautiful), Patrick Holloway (author of The... Read Moreread more.


Announcing our 2026 Young Writer Delegates at Cúirt

March 6, 2026 11:30 am Published by Leave your thoughts

We’re delighted to announce the five Irish Writers Centre Young Writer Delegates who will attend and contribute to Cúirt International Festival of Literature from 21-26 April. The delegates will be mentored by local writer Alan McMonagle and perform readings at a festival showcase as part of this year’s programme (free entry). The five awardees are Liam Carton, Luke Condon, Eddie Critchley, Shauna Murphy and Val. Now in its eighth year, the Irish Writers Centre’s Young Writer Delegates Programme gives young writers an opportunity to immerse themselves in a literary 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’s social media channels. The programme is in partnership with Cúirt International Festival of Literature. The Irish Writers Centre is supported by the... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities for Writers: March 2026

February 25, 2026 12:06 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Our monthly list of submission windows, competitions, bursaries, residencies and general literary opportunities is now live. This list offers information on opportunities with February/March deadlines. For information on other upcoming opportunities, see our competitions and submissions and bursaries and funding pages. Opportunities Desmond O’Grady International Poetry Competition Deadline: March 7th The Desmond O’Grady International Poetry Competition was inaugurated in 2012 by the late Barney Sheehan – poetry impresario of the White House Poetry Revival, in honour of the late Limerick poet Desmond O’Grady, who died in 2014. The Limerick Writers’ Centre now runs the competition as part of April is Poetry Month in Limerick festival. The prize winner of this year’s competition will be announced during April 2026 and will be invited to give a reading of his/her work during the 2027 festival. First Prize 200.00 Euro, Runner-Up Prize 50.00 Euro. More information here. Mairtín Crawford Awards for Poetry and Short Story 2026 Deadline: March... Read Moreread more.


Four Writers Awarded Notre Dame Kylemore Residencies 2026

February 4, 2026 5:27 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

The Irish Writers Centre and Notre Dame Kylemore are delighted to announce that four writers have been awarded a five-day residency on the beautiful grounds of Kylemore Abbey (Co. Galway) this April. The writers are Rachel Gough, Shane Larkin, Anne Tannam and Aisling Walsh. About the residency The Kylemore residency is an incredible opportunity for writers to set aside time to develop their projects from one of Galway’s most distinctive locations. Kylemore Residencies are fully catered and will take place over five days in April. The four writers will also have access to the Kylemore Estate, the Victorian Walled Gardens, Gothic Chapel and museum. One of the residency places is reserved for a disabled writer who may require wheelchair access and accessible toilets. About the awardees: Rachel Gough is a writer and academic from Cork. Her work has been broadcast on BBC... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities for Writers: February 2026

January 26, 2026 4:39 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Our monthly list of submission windows, competitions, bursaries, residencies and general literary opportunities is now live. This list offers information on opportunities with January/February deadlines. For information on other upcoming opportunities, see our competitions and submissions and bursaries and funding pages. Irish Writers Centre Opportunities Young Writer Delegates Programme at Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Galway Deadline: February 11, 2026 at midnight. We invite ambitious writers aged 18-26 to apply for this extraordinary opportunity to attend and contribute to Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2026 as Irish Writers Centre/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates. More information here. Opportunities Cúirt New Writing Prize 2026 Deadline: January 31, 2026, 5pm There are four categories to the Cúirt New Writing Prize: poetry, short fiction, essay, and Irish Language poetry and short fiction. This year the festival are delighted to announce Eimear McBride as the short fiction... Read Moreread more.


Literary Listings: February 2026

January 26, 2026 10:09 am Published by Leave your thoughts

New for 2026, the Irish Writers Centre brings you a monthly round-up of literary events happening across the country, from book and magazine launches to panel discussions, festivals and lectures! For a list of events happening in our own building at No. 19 Parnell Square, check out the dedicated Irish Writers Centre events page. Have an event to share with us? Let us know at communications@irishwriterscentre.ie and where possible we’ll include in a following month’s listings.   Athy 27: Launch of The Lock Keeper’s by John MacKenna (Athy Library) Belfast 5 : Launch of Virtually Yours by Anna Bell (Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s) 10: Launch of Gerry McGovern’s 99th Day: A Warning About Technology (Queen’s) 11–22: NI Science Festival (Various venues) 12 : The Seamus Heaney Centre presents… (Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s) 18: Write Night with Tim MacGabhann (Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s)... Read Moreread more.


Young Writer Delegates Programme at Cúirt 2026

January 20, 2026 5:22 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

We invite ambitious writers aged 18-26 to apply for this extraordinary opportunity to attend and contribute to Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2026 as Irish Writers Centre/Cúirt Young Writer Delegates. In keeping with the Irish Writers Centre’s 2022-2026 Strategy, the Young Writer Delegates Programme seeks to create new opportunities, grant access and develop networks that connect writers to each other. This programme directly correlates with the objectives of Strategy Goal 2, which is to enhance opportunities for people across all communities to explore and participate in creative writing, as well as Strategy Goal 3, which is to cultivate an engaged community of writers and strategic alliances that support our ambitions. What to Expect   LAST YEAR’S YOUNG WRITER DELEGATES WITH MENTOR ALAN MCMONAGLE AT CÚIRT 2024   Now in its ninth year, the Irish Writers Centre Young Writer Delegates Programme was created to... Read Moreread more.


We Are Hiring: Programme Administrator

January 15, 2026 4:54 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Programme Administrator for the Irish Writers Centre 15 January 2026   ABOUT THE ROLE JOB TITLE:  Programme Administrator CONTRACT: Full time, permanent, with six-month probation period. SALARY:   €31k p.a. REPORTING TO: Deputy Chief Executive Officer with Head of Programming as line manager LOCATION:  Location: Irish Writers Centre, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, D01 E102. Please note the post-holder will need to be Dublin-based to carry out the duties of this position. ABOUT THE IRISH WRITERS CENTRE Founded in 1991, the Irish Writers Centre is Ireland’s leading resource and development organisation for writers. Our vision is to support the life of the writer as they illuminate our lives with their ideas and words.   Our creative writing Academy delivers a year-round programme of 150+ creative writing courses, masterclasses and seminars, online and in person. In addition, we run a National Mentoring... Read Moreread more.


A Note from our CEO

December 19, 2025 12:29 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

As the holidays approach, and ahead of the exciting programme of events, courses and other activities we have planned for our 35th anniversary in 2026, I wanted to update you on some of the highlights of the year just gone. These included our Regional Roadshow which took us to 6 literary festivals around the country and a piloted initiative, Writers in the Regions, a series of in-person masterclasses taking place in all four provinces.   In our 2025 Academy of creative writing courses, workshops and masterclasses, we programmed over 130 courses offering new genres, new themes, shorter courses and improving our online offering to almost 1,500 writers. Our Academy continues to be one of the largest employers of writers in the country. (Keep your eyes peeled for some very exciting additions in 2026!) We reimagined Novel Fair to the International... Read Moreread more.


Opportunities for Writers: December 2025

December 22, 2025 1:30 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Our monthly list of submission windows, competitions, bursaries, residencies and general literary opportunities is now live. This list offers information on opportunities with December/January deadlines. For information on other upcoming opportunities, see our competitions, submissions and opportunities and bursaries and funding pages. Irish Writers Centre Opportunities The National Mentoring Programme Deadline: 31 December, 2025 The National Mentoring Programme is an opportunity open to all writers across the island of Ireland to receive sustained creative and professional mentoring from an established Irish writer of their choosing. More information here. Opportunities The Moth Poetry Prize Deadline: 31 December, 2025 The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for individual unpublished poems. The Prize is open to anyone (over 16) from anywhere in the world, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished. There is no... Read Moreread more.