Competitions, Submissions & Opportunities

Deadline: 5th May 2024

Tolka

Submissions for Issue Eight of Tolka are open from 17 April until 5 May. They publish all forms of non-fiction: personal essay, memoir, reportage, travel writing, auto-fiction, and “the writing that falls in between.” They have published exciting new work from some of the best writers in Ireland and they also pay their contributors a flat fee of €500.

More Information here:

Deadline: 6th May 2024

Associate Membership Support Scheme 2024

With support from Dublin City Council, we are delighted to offer 20 subsidised associate memberships for writers who are living in the Dublin City Council area. This opportunity is for writers from backgrounds that are typically underrepresented in the arts in Ireland.

• These schemes are open only to beginner and emerging writers aged eighteen or over who are based in the Dublin City Council area.
• This scheme is specifically for writers from backgrounds typically underrepresented in the arts in Ireland. This scheme is specifically for writers who identify as one or more of the following communities/backgrounds/identities: Black or Person of Colour, Disabled, LGBTQIA+, Member of the Travelling Community, Roma, Unwaged/low income.
• Applicants can apply for multiple support schemes as long as they are eligible under each individual scheme.
• Applicants do not need to have had prior engagement with the Irish Writers Centre to be eligible.
• Applications will be evaluated by an external selection panel, with reference to the case made in your application.

More Information here:

Deadline: 8th May 2024

Sparánachtaí Cúrsaí do Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge 2024

Tá áthas ar Áras Scríbhneoirí na hÉireann a fhógairt go bhfuil sparánachtaí nua dá gcúrsaí ar fáil do scríbhneoirí Gaeilge, agus iad á maoiniú ag Foras na Gaeilge.

Tá 8 sparánachtaí ar fáil sa bhabhta seo. Cuirfidh na sparánachtaí seo ar chumasscríbhneoirí a gcuid scileanna a fhorbairt agus iad ag freastal ar chúrsaí sa scríbhneoireacht chruthaitheach agus cúrsaí forbartha gairme ó Áras Scríbhneoirí na hÉireann. Cabhróidh fordheontas do na cúrsaí seo le daoine nach mbeadh ar a gcumas freastal orthu gan an maoiniú sin. Gheobhaidh scríbhneoirí creidmheas an chúrsa ar luach €165 le freastal ar chúrsa de chuid ÁSÉ.

More Information here:

Deadline: 8th May 2024

Irish Writers Centre: Course Bursaries 2024

The Irish Writers Centre is pleased to announce a new round of course bursaries for writers living on the island of Ireland, made possible with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. These bursaries will enable writers to develop their skills through funded places at Irish Writers Centre creative writing courses, and create access by subsidising costs to individuals who may not otherwise be able to take a course.

15 bursaries will be awarded to writers from backgrounds typically underrepresented in Irish Literature. Bursary recipients will receive course credit worth €165 towards a course at the IWC.

Applications will be evaluated by an external selection panel, with reference to the case made in your statement.

• These schemes are open only to writers aged eighteen or over who are living on the island of Ireland and are a part of an underrepresented background / community in the arts*.
• Applicants can apply for more than one support scheme as long as they are eligible under each individual scheme.
• If you have benefitted from this scheme in the last three years you are ineligible to apply. This is in the interest of benefitting as many Irish writers as possible.

More Information here:

Deadline: 8th May 2024

Irish Writers Centre: Course Bursaries for LGBTQIA+ Writers 2024

The Irish Writers Centre is pleased to announce a new round of course bursaries for LGBTQIA+ writers living on the island of Ireland, made possible with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. These bursaries will enable writers to develop their skills through funded places at Irish Writers Centre creative writing courses, and create access by subsidising costs to individuals who may not otherwise be able to take a course.

Applications will be evaluated by an external selection panel, with reference to the case made in your statement.

• These schemes are open only to writers aged eighteen or over who are living on the island of Ireland and who are LGBTQIA+.
• Applicants can apply for more than one support scheme as long as they are eligible under each individual scheme.
• If you have benefitted from this scheme in the last three years you are ineligible to apply. This is in the interest of benefitting as many Irish writers as possible.

More Information here:

Deadline: 15th May 2024

Irish Writers Centre: Foundation Programme 2024

The Irish Writers Centre in association with Dublin Book Festival is delighted to invite applications to the Foundation Programme, a collaborative programme designed for six emerging writers who are resident in the Dublin City Council area and who are also from a background typically underrepresented in the arts in Ireland.

This programme includes:

• A one-to-one session with the programme writer-mentor.
• A place on an Irish Writers Centre creative writing course.
• Foundation Day: An in-person day of talks by industry professionals at the Irish Writers Centre.
• A performance opportunity at Dublin Book Festival in November 2024

More Information here:

Deadline: 15th May 2024

Irish Writers Centre International Lamplight Residency 2024 (Online)

Co-presented by the Irish Writers Centre and Varuna, The National Writers’ House, Australia, this online programme is a two-week residency opportunity for fiction writers to enjoy the combined warmth and support of both organisations.

This two week online residency includes:

• Two one-to-one consultations with Mary Anne Butler and Conor Kostick to discuss your current work.
• Q&A session with a multi-award winning Irish writer TBC*
• Q&A session with bestselling and award-winning Australian author Charlotte Wood.
• Daily writing opportunities together as a group.
• Group workshops with your peers throughout the week, including the opportunity to share work, talk about the writing process, and to receive feedback.

All sessions will take place online: Participants will need a reliable internet connection, and a computer or mobile phone with a camera and microphone.

Programme dates: Monday the 8th of July to Friday the 19th of July.

More Information here:

Deadline: 31st May 2024

The Bridport Prize

With categories in Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction and the Novel as well as a list of previous winners that includes Kit de Waal and Kate Atkinson, the Bridport Prize is one of the most exciting creative writing competitions you could submit to right now. This year Wendy Erskine will judge the short story category, Liz Berry will judge Poetry, Jasmine Sawers judges Flash Fiction and Ross Raisin will judge the Novel. Applications close on the 31st of May so make sure to check out their website for rules and instructions on how to apply.

More Information here:

Deadline: 21st June 2024

Write By the Sea Writing Competition

Part of the Write By the Sea literature festival this lovely competition has been running for years.

There are four competition categories:

1. Fiction Short Story (maximum 2,500 words)

2. Flash Fiction (maximum 700 words)

3. Poetry (maximum 40 lines)

4. Memoir/Personal Essay (maximum 1,000 words)

The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of €500 and a free weekend pass to Write By The Sea festival 2024. All four winning pieces will be published on the Write By The Sea website. The runners-up in each category will receive €300 and third place will receive €200.

Entrants can submit as many entries as they wish at €10 per entry, or enter 3 pieces, in the same or different genres, for €25.

More Information here:

Deadline: 30th June 2024

The Moth Short Story Prize

The Moth Short Story Prize is an international prize, open to anyone from anywhere in the world, as long as their story is original and previously unpublished. The winners are chosen by a single judge each year, who reads the stories anonymously.

Previous judges include Ottessa Moshfegh, Kevin Barry, Mark Haddon, Ali Smith and Sarah Hall and this years judge is Louise Kennedy.

1st prize €3,000

2nd prize a week at Circle of Misse plus open travel stipend

3rd prize €1,000

More Information here:

Deadline: 1st July 2024

The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize

This prize supports writers who have not yet published a book-length work, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication in Wasafiri magazine. All winners and shortlisted writers will be offered the Chapter and Verse or Free Reads mentoring scheme in partnership with The Literary Consultancy (dependent on eligibility), and a conversation with The Good Literary Agency to discuss their career progression.

There are three categories: Life Writing, Poetry and Fiction.

No entry may exceed 3,000 words.

It costs £12 per entry.

More Information here:

Deadline: 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:

Deadline: 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:

Deadline: Ongoing

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.

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:

Deadline: 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:

Deadline: 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:

Deadline: 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.

More Information here: