Monday 30 April 2018

Bray Literary Festival - Accepting Applications May 1st - 31st


I was lucky enough to read at the inaugural Bray Lit Fest last year - see link. It's a wonderful festival run by warm, generous people and great way to get out and meet other writers in a relaxed convivial setting. I urge anyone who is serious about their writing to send in an application.

From the organisers' FB page:

Hello All! We will once again be holding an open applications period for those who wish to take part in Bray Literary Festival. You may email a short bio/presspack to: braylitfest@gmail.com from May 1st-31st. Also tell us about any themes running through your work.

Please note that submissions sent outside this period, or to this page will not be considered.

Apart from two headlining events, we will continue to favour those who have not done a plethora of readings throughout the year. Our aim is to give publicity to writers, who despite the excellence of their work, fail to receive the recognition or exposure they deserve from media and other outlets.

We may ask you to send a sample of your work, but it is not necessary to send this unless requested.

We look forward to this year's applications, and to bringing you a weekend festival filled with an eclectic mix of new and established talent.

Monday 16 April 2018

Two Short Story Prize Opportunities from RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland


The RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition

Rules: All entries for the RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition 2018 should be original, unpublished and previously not broadcast short stories in English, of 2,000 words or less. Paper manuscripts must be typed and cannot be returned. Entrant’s name and contact details (address, phone and/or email) should be on a separate page. There is no fee for entering the competition but only one entry is allowed per person. The deadline for this year’s competition is 6pm, Friday, June 15, 2018.

Send your entries to: RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition 2018, PO Box 1480, RTÉ, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 or you can email to rteguidepenguin2018@gmail.com making sure to label your mail RTÉ Guide/Penguin Ireland Short Story Competition 2018.

RTÉ Radio 1 Short Story Competition (in honour of Francis MacManus)

The 2018 RTÉ Radio 1 Short Story Competition in honour of Francis MacManus is now accepting entries.We are seeking submissions of original, unpublished short stories, written for radio, of 1800 to 2000 words.

The writer of the first prizewinning story will receive 3000 euros, the second prizewinner 2000 euros and the third prizewinner 1000 euros.

Winners and shortlist will be announced by the end of September 2018. The top three stories and seven shortlisted stories will be broadcast on a two week season of new writing on RTÉ Radio 1 in the autumn. They will also be podcast.

The top three prizewinning stories will also be published in thejournal.ie. 

Judges Cormac Kinsella, Sinéad Crowley and Danielle McLaughlin will select a shortlist of 10 stories, from which they will choose the top three prizewinners. The full shortlist of 10 stories will then be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 over two weeks in the autumn, read by some of Ireland’s leading actors.

The shortlist will be announced by the end of September 2018. 

Find out more about the competition and its history.

How to enter

Please consult the Guidelines for all the competition rules, regulations, and where to send your story. 

Submissions will be accepted by post only. You may email fmacmanusstories@rte.ie or phone 01-2083277, providing your name, phone number, and postal address, to request an entry form to be posted to you.


The closing date is Friday 8 June.

Tuesday 3 April 2018

Shake up at The Incubator

the incubator
No, that's not the title of my next maternity hospital-based flash fiction....

The Incubator Journal is really changing the way they do things. Beginning in July 2018 they are renaming to The Incubator Selects and will showcase one work of short fiction per month. Submissions are open 1st April - 30th June and 1st October - 31st December. They are also widening the submission net to a global audience and are not Irish-focused any more. We wish them the best of luck with this venture and hope the submissions roll in.

Further information can be found here

Sunday 1 April 2018

The Moth International Short Story Prize 2018





Closing date for receipt of entries is 30 June 2018.
The name of the author must not appear on the same page as the story.
It’s not a requirement, but we strongly advise you to purchase a copy of The Moth.
Entries must be in English, typed, with each entry on a new sheet.
No name or address should appear on the same page as the story.
Entries will not be returned, so make sure you keep a copy.
No corrections can be made after receipt, or fees refunded.

Eligibility
The Prize is open to anyone (over 18).
Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published, selfpublished,
published online or broadcast.
You can enter as as many stories as you like.
There is a word limit of 5,000.

Fees
Payment can be made by cheque (euro/sterling/dollar), by credit/debit card via PayPal (to enquiries@themothmagazine.com) or by postal order (Ireland only)
Entry fee is €12 per story
Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to ‘The Moth Magazine Ltd.’, with the sender's name and address on
the back.
Postal entries can also be paid in cash (either in US dollars, Sterling or Euros at the current exchange rate).

Receipt of entry
Enclose a stamped addressed postcard marked 'ACKNOWLEDGEMENT' if you require acknowledgement
of receipt of your postal entry (include international reply coupon if entering from overseas).
Online entries are confirmed by the email receipt of your payment to PayPal.

Copyright
Worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the author, but The Moth will have the unrestricted right to
publish the winning stories in the autumn 2018 issue and any relevant promotional material.

Judging
The judge is Kevin Barry. His decision is final and no individual correspondence can be entered into.

Prizes
A 1st prize of €3,000, a 2nd prize of a week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France (including €250 for travel) and a 3rd prize of €1,000.

Prizewinners
Prizewinner will be notified in writing by the end of July 2018.
The winning stories will be published in the autumn 2018 issue of The Moth.

Entry implies acceptance of all the rules. Failure to comply with the entry requirements will result in
disqualification

Print ENTRY FORM, fill in and then post with fee and entry to:

The Moth Short Story Prize
The Moth
Ardan Grange
Milltown
Belturbet
Co. Cavan
Ireland H14 K768

or

ENTER ONLINE
Good luck!