Tuesday 31 October 2017

Reflex Fiction - Flash Fiction Competition

Prizes: £1,000 first, £500 second, £250 third (approx. $1,290, $645, $325)

Deadline: November 30, 2017

Entry fee: £7 / $9 / €9

Judge: Shasta Grant

Enter here

Saturday 28 October 2017

Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition at Omagh Literary Festival



I attended the 16th Omagh Literary Festival over the weekend to read my winning story, Eden is Burning, at the inaugural Benedict Kiely Short Story Competition event at the Strule Arts Centre (Strule Hoose o' Airts). Omagh is the county town Tyrone and it sits on the Strule River which was heavy and brown  with autumn rain when I visited. Benedict Kiely, after whom the competition is named was born near Dromore in 1919, not far from Omagh and would go on to become one of Ireland's most prolific writers and broadcasters. I was honoured to come first in the competition and very grateful to head judge Carlo Gébler for deeming my story worthy of the win.

The great Ben Kiely
It was a privilege to meet people who knew Benedict Kiely personally, especially his wife Frances, who presented me with a copy of his selected stories. It was also my pleasure to meet current and previous organisers of the festival, all of whom made me feel very welcome. My time at the festival left me with a desire to read more of Kiely's work and to further explore Northern Ireland's history and relationship with the south.

LtoR: Carlo Gébler, Frances Kiely, Adam Trodd
The festival also hosted its first ever poetry slam event which was run by poetry (and life) partners Colin Dardis and Geraldine O'Kane. Colin also runs Lagan Online which is a great resource for all things writing. The overall winner was Nathan Armstrong whose poetry packed a punch and gave us a giggle at the same time.



Saturday 14 October 2017

Poetry Jukebox - Changing the Message


The Poetry Jukebox
I was honoured to be selected as one of the twenty poets for Ireland's first ever Poetry Jukebox with my poem This Place Meant, which I wrote as a response the unfolding horrors of the global refugee crisis. What is the Poetry Jukebox you ask? It's a public installation, shaped rather like the smokestack of a ship that plays recordings of poets reading their work at the push of a button and is part of the Qoutidian – Word on the Street project which seeks to put poetry into public space.The dynamic duo behind the project are poets and writing mentors Deirdre Cartmill and Maria McManus, who were interviewed by the Irish Times about it and do a way better job than I do of explaining what it is.
Before the launch the participating poets were invited to do a video recording of their reading. I was asked to go to the HQ of poetry Ireland, a beautiful Georgian building on Parnell Square, Dublin (see front door and fireplace below) You can see my video here.


The launch was held at Belfast's Crescent Arts Centre, a bustling creative hub with a great cafe housed in a stunning four storey listed building. Each poet read their piece and there was a reception afterwards. I really enjoyed being back in Belfast and reacquainting myself with the warmth of its people.
Crescent Arts Centre
Me, reading at the launch
Here is the full list of the poets on the Poetry Jukebox

Joan Newman
Michael Longley
Eavan Boland
Celia de Fréine
Stephen Sexton
Mark Granier
Paula Meehan
Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
Katie Donovan
Padraic Flacc
Mary Montague
Adam Trodd
Adrian Fox read by Matthew Price
Nessa O'Mahony
David Brazíel
Seanín Hughes
Olive Broderick
Eamon McGuinness
Afric McGlinchey
Glen Wilson







Tuesday 3 October 2017

Banshee - Open for Submissions in October

Banshee is a relatively new but increasingly well regarded Irish literary magazine that publishes poetry, short stories, flash fiction and essays. The editors are Laura Jane Cassidy, Claire Hennessy and Eimear Ryan. Open for submissions during the month of October. Full details here.

A flash fiction of mine, Ophelia, was published in Issue 3.

I also interviewed the editors for Bath Flash Fiction, read it here.