Competitions, submissions and other opportunities
The latest writing competitions and submissions windows for writers.
Deadline: 19 February 2025
New Voices: North 2025 (with Stephen Sexton and Jan Carson)
The Irish Writers Centre (IWC) is delighted to invite applications for New Voices: North – a new, online development programme funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. New Voices: North will give five emerging writers living in the North of Ireland the opportunity to avail of the sustained mentorship of an experienced writer-mentor – in the fiction strand, novelist Jan Carson, and in the poetry strand, poet Stephen Sexton.
Who’s it for? Emerging writers over the age of 18 who live in Northern Ireland.
More Information here:
irishwriterscentre.ieDeadline: 19 Februrary 2025
Winter Papers
Winter Papers is Ireland’s annual arts anthology. Edited by Kevin Barry and Olivia Smith. The submission window for the next volume of Winter Papers will be open during the period Wednesday 5th February 2025 to Wednesday 19th February 2025.
Accepted forms: short stories, non-fiction, photography, and visual art.
Writer’s fee: €500 – €600 depending on length.
More Information here:
winterpapers.comDeadline: 19 February 2025
Five Lamps Arts Festival Flash Fiction Competition
This spring, the Five Lamps Arts Festival is inviting writers based in Ireland to submit their flash fiction stories of up to 500 words. Poet and fiction-writer Mary O’Donnell and poet Sara Ribeiro will be the judges of the competition. We’re looking for a well-written, self-contained fictional story with a beginning, middle, and end. We’re not looking for any particular theme or genre, we just want to find ourselves momentarily mesmerised in no more than 500 words. Each winner will have the opportunity to read at a prize giving ceremony which will take place during the Five Lamps Arts Festival in Dublin’s North East Inner City on 30th March.
Accepted forms: Flash fiction (500 words maximum)
Competition prize: €250 (1st place) , €150 (2nd) and €100 (3rd). Plus, mentoring package to an entrant who represents a New Irish voice, a writer who has chosen to make Ireland their home and is at an early- or emerging-stage in their writing career
No entry fee
More Information here:
docs.google.comDeadline: 23 February 2025
FFF Competition Twenty-Six
FFF Competition Twenty-Six is now open. Submit a flash fiction piece of between 100 and 300 words, on any theme
1 Winner will receive £150.00 and publication
2 Highly Commended will receive £60.00 and publication
3 Shortlisted will receive £50.00 and publication
£3.95 fee per entry/story via PayPal or Stripe
More Information here:
freeflashfiction.comDeadline: 28 February 2025
Call for Nominations | Ireland Professor of Poetry 2025 – 2028
The Ireland Chair of Poetry was established by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast, and University College Dublin to celebrate the exceptional contribution of Irish poets to the world of literature. The Chair is tenable for a period of three years (non-renewable) during which time the holder will be attached to each of the three universities in turn and will be required to be in residence at each for approximately one academic term per year. In addition the holder will make three formal presentations and hold other informal workshops, lectures and readings for the public.
The value of the professorship will be £35,000 sterling per annum to the holder and is open to poets of achievement and distinction. Nominations are now open via the form below
More Information here:
docs.google.comDeadline: 28 February 2025
Edinburgh Writing Awards
Edinburgh Writing Awards is an international writing competition that welcome stories in all genres: literary, historic, crime, romance, gritty realism, contemporary, humour and more. The prizewinners are chosen by international best-selling author Christopher Brookmyre, known for his wickedly funny, gritty fiction and Marisa Haetzman. Christopher and Marisa write together as Ambrose Parry, creating a fantastic series of Victorian era crime novels .
Accepted forms: short stories, flash fiction, true flash, young adult fiction and essays.
Prize: £3,000 first prize
Entry fee: £11 (bursaries for free entry are available)
More Information here:
www.scottishartstrust.orgDeadline: 28 February 2025
Skylight 47 Poetry
Skylight 47 is seeking submissions for its next issue. Issue 20 will launch in June 2025. Skylight 47 is a poetry magazine in newspaper format, and is published roughly twice a year. The editors are also looking for original artwork. They will be featuring one artist in each issue, publishing five to six pieces. Interested artists should email images of their work during the submission window.
Accepted forms: Poetry
All contributors will receive payment for their work as well as a printed copy of the magazine, and poetry contributors will be invited to read their poems at the issue launch.
Writer’s payment: Contributors will be paid €40 for each poem published and will also receive a free printed copy of the magazine.
More Information here:
skylight47poetry.wordpress.comDeadline: 28 February 2025
Southword: New International Writing Journal
Southword: New International Writing is a print literary journal published twice a year by the Munster Literature Centre. They welcome submissions of one short story (of up to 5000 words) per submission period. If your work has been published in Southword before, they ask that you please don’t submit again for at least one year after publication. The poetry editor is Patrick Cotter.
Accepted forms: short story
Writer’s fee: €300 per short story
More Information here:
munsterlit.ieDeadline: 28 February 2025
Dingle Lit Short Story Competition
The short story entered must be unpublished and not scheduled for publication in print or online. This includes personal blogs and self-published collections. The award is open to all writers who are resident on the island of Ireland at the time of submission.
Accepted forms: short story
Prize: 1st Prize – €500. Runner-up – €250. Highly Commended – €100. In addition, winners, runners-up, and highly commended stories will be published on the Dingle Lit website, and the winners will also be invited to the 2025 Dingle Literary Festival to read from their work.
Entry fee €15
More Information here:
dinglelit.ieDeadline: 28 February 2025
Maria Edgeworth Poetry and Short Story Competition
The competition is open to anyone (18+), as long as the entries are previously unpublished and in English. The prizes are judged anonymously. This year’s judges are Lani O’Hanlon for the poems and Triona Walsh for the short stories.
Accepted forms: poetry and short story
Prize: for each category are 1st prize €500, 2nd prize €200, 3rd prize €100. Winners will be invited to attend the official prize presentation at the Maria Edgeworth Festival of Literature & Arts in May.
Entry fee: €5
More Information here:
mariaedgeworthcenter.comDeadline: 28 Februrary 2025
Poetry Ireland Review
Poetry Ireland Review is published three times annually. Poetry Ireland welcome unsolicited submissions of poems, and proposals for articles and reviews, from Ireland and abroad, in Irish or English. Submittable will open on 1 January 2025, when their next editor is appointed, and will remain open from 1 January to 28 February for issue 145.
Cuireann Éigse Éireann fáilte roimh iarratais i nGaeilge. Is féidir iad a sheoladh go díreach chuig pir@poetryireland.ie i gceangaltán Word.
More Information here:
www.poetryireland.ieDeadline: 28th February 2025
‘From the Well’ Short Story competition 2025
Cork County Council’s Library and Arts Service is accepting submissions to the ‘From the Well’ Short Story competition 2025. ‘From the Well’ is a long-standing short story anthology published annually. Now in its 21st year, it continues to provide an opportunity for writers in the short story genre to have their work published.
Accepted forms: Short story of no longer than 2000 words
Prize: The winning story and two others will feature in the 2025 West Cork Literary Festival as part of the anthology launch event in Bantry Library. The winning writer will be offered a place on a short story workshop at West Cork Literary Festival with tutor Ross Raisin, between the 16th and 18th of July, and will receive a €250 contribution towards accommodation.
Entrants must be registered library members (Ireland)
No entry fee
More Information here:
www.corkcoco.ieDeadline: 28 February 2025
Edinburgh Short Story Award
Entries open now for writers worldwide and stories on any topic up to 2,000 words. Additional awards for unpublished writers and most amusing/bizarre story. Publication for top twenty stories in The Edinburgh Anthology. The Scottish Arts Trust honors writers globally with its prestigious Edinburgh Awards for short stories, flash fiction, true flash, young adult fiction and essays.
Accepted forms: short story
Prize: £3,000. Other prizes include: The First Write Award for the top story entered in the short story competition by an unpublished writer living anywhere in the world. The Isobel Lodge Award for the top story entered by an unpublished writer living in Scotland. The Write Mango Short Story Award for the most amusing, bizarre story.
Entry fee: £11.
More Information here:
www.scottishartstrust.orgDeadline: 28 February 2025
Sunspot Lit Rigel 2025 Contest
Rigel is the brightest star in the Orion constellation and Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel, novella, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that outshines all the rest. Literary or genre works accepted; the only requirement is quality.
No restrictions on theme or category. The length for prose is restricted to a maximum of 1,500 words for short stories, 14 lines for poetry, and 6 pages for graphic novels/comics/scripts/screenplays. Artwork should consist of a single piece.
$100 plus publication to the winner, and offers publication to select finalists.
Entry fee: $5
More Information here:
sunspotlit.submittable.comDeadline: 2nd March 2025
Irish Writers Centre National Mentoring Programme
A minimum of 35 mentoring relationships are on offer every year as part of the Irish Writers Centre National Mentoring Programme. Each mentorship consists of three meetings with an experienced writer over a period of approximately 6–8 months. The mentor reads up to 10,000 words / 180 lines of poetry in advance, and will give creative feedback at each meeting. They may also provide professional information and advice. All mentees will avail of the relationship for free.
Accepted forms: fiction, creative non-fiction, children’s/YA fiction and poetry
Award: Sustained creative and professional mentoring from an established Irish writer of their choosing.
More Information here:
irishwriterscentre.ieDeadline: 2nd March 2025
The Waxed Lemon
In association with the Arts Office, Waterford City & County Council, The Waxed Lemon would like to invite submissions to Issue 9.
Accepted forms: The journal accepts poetry, flash fiction, short story, and art. Gaeilge agus Fáilte. Irish language encouraged.
Contributors’ payment: there is no payment at the moment
More Information here:
www.thewaxedlemon.comDeadline: 3 March 2025
Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival 2025 Open Call
Between Friday 31st October – Monday 3rd November, Dubliners will celebrate the life and legacy of Bram Stoker with four days and nights of deadly adventures at Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival. What started as a primarily literary festival in 2012 has become one of Dublin’s biggest and most-anticipated festivals, with tens of thousands of people converging on Dublin City Centre annually. The festival has a broad programming focus, which draws from Stoker, his life, his work, the Dublin of his time and extends into the Gothic, the supernatural and the Victorian.
This open call is for festival-ready events and activities which may be included in Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival 2025. See website for full submission details.
More Information here:
bramstokerfestival.comDeadline: 15 March 2025
The Martello Journal
The Martello Journal is a Dublin-based literary magazine. What makes you angry? The world is burning. We’re moving backwards. It’s all going a bit dystopian. It’s a mess. It’s a riot. We’re Ragin’. Tell Martello about your rage.
Accepted forms: The Martello is looking for poetry, prose and artwork.
More Information here:
themartellojournal.comDeadline: 18th March 2025
Profiles Journal
Profiles is an independent literary and vis-arts journal dedicated to character studies and portraiture. It is a print journal published in Dublin, Ireland. We feature work by writers, translators and artists living in Ireland and abroad.
Accepted forms: character-driven fiction and non-fiction — both original works and works in translation — between 1,000 and 5,000 words.
Contributor’s payment: writers, translators and artists whose work is received via our submission call will receive a flat fee of €200 each.
More Information here:
www.profilesjournal.comDeadline: 31 March 2025
SWERVE
Submissions for Swerve 2025 are open from March 1 to March 3. SWERVE publishes vibrant and fresh writing and visual art from Ireland in both print and digital formats. SWERVE is named in homage to VERVE, a magazine that was published in France in the first part of the 20th century.
Accepted forms: They are looking for poetry, prose and visual art.
More Information here:
www.swervemagazine.orgDeadline: 1 April 2025
Nature and Place Poetry competition 2025
The RSPB and The Rialto are additionally working with BirdLife International, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the University of Leeds Poetry Centre. There’s a fantastic range of prizes on offer and prizewinners will be invited to read their poems at an event with Helen Mort at CCI in summer 2025. As well as offering poets the chance to win considerable cash prizes and publication of their poems, the competition supports conservation and poetry.
Accepted forms: Poetry
Prizes: 1st PRIZE £1000, 2nd PRIZE £500, 3rd PRIZE £250
Entry fee: is £7 for the first poem and £4 for each subsequent poem.
More Information here:
www.therialto.co.ukDeadline: 1 April 2025
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
This is a contest for humor poems, not serious poems. Serious poems will not be judged. The poem you submit should be in English. No fee to enter. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. One poem only, please. Length limit: 250 lines maximum. No restriction on age of author. Both unpublished and previously published work accepted.
Accepted forms: humorous poems
Prize: First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value). Second Prize: $500. Third Prize: $250. Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each. Top 13 entries published online
No Entry fee
More Information here:
winningwriters.comDeadline: 4th April 2025
Date With an Agent 2025
Calling all aspiring authors – hook an Agent who loves your writing at the International Literature Festival Dublin!
Do you have a potential New York Times bestseller under the bed? Get your work in front of top literary agents at Date With An Agent, an exclusive pitch event during The Insider’s Guide to Publishing at ILFD in Merrion Square Park. Ten writers will meet agents one-on-one for personalized advice. Now in its 11th year, this full-day event is presented by ILFD in partnership with industry expert Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin (aka Sam Blake) and Writing.ie.
Accepted forms: Fiction (novel), Picture Books/Early years
Submission & Administration Fee: €30.00
More Information here:
ilfdublin.comDeadline: 6 April 2025
The Patricia Leggett scholarship at The Lir
Now in its ninth year, the Patricia Leggett Playwriting Scholarship is a fully paid scholarship for a place on the MFA in Playwriting degree at The Lir Academy. In order to apply for the scholarship, applicants must be qualified to degree level nd resident in Ireland or Northern Ireland.
To apply, please send a cover letter, CV and a 45 minute play (reading time) to info@thelir.ie with the subject line Patricia Leggett Playwriting Scholarship by Sunday, 6th April 2025.
More Information here:
www.thelir.ieDeadline: 9 April 2025
Mairtín Crawford Awards 2025 for Short Story and Poetry
The Mairtín Crawford Awards are aimed at writers working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel. Both published and unpublished writers are invited to submit between 3-5 poems for the poetry award, and a short story of up to 2,500 words for the short story award, with the only stipulation being that they have not yet published a full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel.
Accepted forms: Short story and poetry
Award: The Winner of each Award will receive a £500 cash Prize. In addition, each Winner can take up time a ‘Time to Write’ package which includes a 3-night stay at a Hotel in Belfast, and 4 days of dedicated writing space in The Crescent. Two Runners Up for each Category will receive a £250 cash prize.
Entry fee: £10
More Information here:
belfastbookfestival.comDeadline; 13 April 2025
2025 Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize
The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is now open with a first prize of €2000, a stay at the Civitella Ranieri residency, and manuscript consultations. The goal of the prize is to give as much visibility and support to new writers, experimental writers, writers doing something daring. This year’s judges: Mariana Enríquez, Henry Hoke, and Ottessa Moshfegh
SHORTLIST SELECTION: Early July 2025 WINNERS ANNOUNCED: Late July 2025
ENTRY FEE: €20 for the first entry. €10 for every further entry
More Information here:
desperateliterature.comDeadline: 30 April 2025
Quare Éire: An Anthology of Neo-mythmaking
Quare Éire is a digital anthology of neo-mythmaking, which invites artists and authors to “queer” Mother Ireland, a pervasive cultural symbol in the Irish imaginary, in the form of poetry, short stories, creative non-fiction, and artwork. Submissions are currently open.
David Halperin argues that “Queer is by definition whatever is at odds with the normative, the legitimate, the dominant”. Consequently, I do not simply mean that this figure can be represented as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community – though that is a possibility – I mean instead that authors can re-imagine, distort, or completely de-mythologise this figure in an effort to disturb and dismantle the status quo. This call for submissions invites authors and artists’ responses to the concept of a queer Mother Ireland. Responses can be as abstract or as literal as creatives want.
See website for full details.
No payment
More Information here:
quareeire.wordpress.comDeadline: 5 May 2025
2025 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize,
Australian Book Review welcomes entries to the 2025 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, one of the world’s leading prizes for an original short story. The prize – worth a total of AU$12,500 – is open to all writers writing in English. They are looking for original short stories of between 2,000 and 5,000 words on any subject and in any style. This year, the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize is judged by Julie Janson, John Kinsella and Maria Takolander.
The winner will receive $6,000; second place will receive $4,000 and third place will receive $2,500. All three shortlisted stories will be published in Australian Book Review.
Entry costs AU$20 for current ABR subscribers or AU$30 for non-subscribers.
More Information here:
www.australianbookreview.com.auDeadline: 31 July 2025
Anthology Short Story Competition
The Anthology Short Story Competition is now open for submissions of original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. There is no restriction on theme or style. Stories submitted must not exceed the maximum of 1,500 words. Writers can submit as many entries as they wish.
Accepted forms: short story
Prize: First prize of €1,000 and the winning story published in Anthology magazine. Second prize: €250 and third prize: €150
Entry fee: €12.
More Information here:
anthology-magazine.comDeadline: 25 May 2025
Oxford / 42 New Writing Prize
The Faculty of English at the University of Oxford is delighted to announce the launch of a multi-disciplinary storytelling competition in conjunction with management and production company, 42. The Oxford/42 New Writing Prize is looking for talented new voices in storytelling. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 living, working or studying in the UK and Ireland at the closing date for submissions.
Accepted forms: aspiring novelists, playwrights, and screenwriters
Prize: £1500 along with professional representation by 42.
More Information here:
www.humanities.ox.ac.ukOpens Spring 2025
Royal Society of Literature Scriptorium Awards
The RSL is set to launch a new prize for writers founded and generously supported by its President Bernardine Evaristo. The RSL Scriptorium Awards will provide free writing residencies in a cottage in Ramsgate owned by Evaristo.
The residencies, which can be for up to a month at a time, will offer uninterrupted time for professionally active writers to focus on their projects.
More details coming in 2025. Opens Spring 2o25
More Information here:
rsliterature.orgDeadline: 30 June 2025
Heroines Anthology / Heroines Women’s Writing Prize
Heroines Anthology publishes literary writing by women. The anthology focuses on telling women’s lost history, untold stories, and myths, fairy tales, folklore or legends reimagined from the perspective of their women characters.
The special theme for the next edition is witchcraft: from the history of witches and witch trials, to medicine women, mystics and herbalists, spells and enchantments, shapeshifters and familiars, covens, hags, crones and sabbats. They welcome writing on witchcraft as the old religion, remembered or imagined, and the depiction of witches in fairytale, folklore, literature and film (both good and bad) across cultures.
Anthology copies can be ordered at a 10% discount. All submissions are considered for the Heroines Women’s Writing Prize.
First prize winner receives $500. The first prize may be won by either a poem or a piece of short fiction. All short-listed entries are published in Volume 6 of the Anthology
Submission fee per poem $ 15
More Information here:
www.writingtheheroine.comDeadline starts 31 August 2025 to 30 Nov 2025
Anthology Creative Competitions 2025
Five new writing competitions have just opened at Anthology, with various deadlines starting 31 August 2025. Check out each one individually on their website.
Prizes range from €300, €500 and €1000 with entry fees starting at €10 / 12 euros
Poetry: https://anthology-magazine.com/awards/poetry-competition/
Flash Fiction: https://anthology-magazine.com/awards/flash-fiction-competition/
Travel Writing: https://anthology-magazine.com/awards/travel-writing-competition/
Personal Memoir: https://anthology-magazine.com/awards/memoir-competition/
Nature Writing: https://anthology-magazine.com/awards/nature-competition/
More Information here:
anthology-magazine.comDeadline: Ongoing
Guernica / a magazine of art & politics
Founded online in 2004, Guernica is an award-winning 501(c)3 non-profit magazine focused on the intersection of arts and politics. A home for incisive ideas and necessary questions, Guernica publish memoir, reporting, interviews, commentary, poetry, fiction, and multimedia journalism exploring identity, conflict, culture, justice, science, and beyond. They offer honoraria of $50 for poetry, $100 for original essays, and $150 for original fiction and for reportage/journalism.
More Information here:
www.guernicamag.comDeadline: Ongoing
PN Review
PN Review considers submissions in hard copy form only (unless you are an individual subscriber to the magazine, in which case electronic submissions, word files rather than PDFs, will be considered). Writers wishing to send work should familiarise themselves with PN Review. Submissions should generally not exceed fifteen double-spaced pages of work (prose) or four poems/five pages (verse in English or translation). Copies of the original texts should accompany translations where possible. We discourage simultaneous submissions. Writers wishing to propose projects should send a synopsis and covering letter, with sample pages, having first ascertained from the website that the kind of proposal is suitable for PN Review.
We publish no short stories, children’s prose/poetry and very little non-poetry related work (academic, biography etc.) at the current time. We are not considering fiction in English or in translation at this time.
More Information here:
www.pnreview.co.ukDeadline: Ongoing
The Poetry Review
The Poetry Review, founded in 1912, is the magazine of the Poetry Society, UK, and has a long-standing policy of publishing the very best work by new, up and coming poets, and established poets. All submissions are read by the editor and considered on an equal basis. Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions we receive, we cannot offer any individual criticism. Our aim is to accept or reject work within three months – but please read, and follow, the submission guidelines below, in order to facilitate our response.
More Information here:
poetrysociety.org.ukDeadline: Ongoing
The Orphic Review
The Orphic Review (Orphic Press) formerly known as Crow of Minerva was created as a blog featuring monthly interviews with women artists. It was created in 2019 by the artist Roisin Ní Neachtain with the aim of supporting and promoting emerging women artists working in any medium. It closed temporarily in March 2023 and reopened January 2024. It is currently running as a poetry journal and micropress.
More Information here:
orphicpress.comDeadline: Ongoing
The Dublin Review
The Dublin Review welcomes submissions of fiction and non-fiction previously unpublished in the English language. We do not accept poetry submissions. We especially encourage submissions from members of groups traditionally underrepresented in literary magazines and other cultural forums.
More Information here:
thedublinreview.comOngoing
The 12th Ó Bhéal Five Words International Poetry Competition
Every Tuesday at 12pm (Irish time) from 9th April 2024 – 28th January 2025, five words are be posted on their competition page. Entrants have one week to compose and submit one or more poems which include all five words given for that week. The winners & shortlist are announced around the first week of March 2025.
More Information here:
www.obheal.ieDeadline: Ongoing
Spellweaver
Spellweaver is a new Cork based online and print journal dedicated to supporting new and emerging writers, particularly in the Fantasy genre. We accept stories and poetry, anything with a hint of the unreal. Submissions are open year-round. Contributors will be paid.
