Festivals and Events | SiarScéal Festival and the Hanna Greally Literary Awards

Hanna Greally Literary Awards 2023 Now Open for Entries

– part of SiarScéal Festival 2023 celebrations –

Entries are now being accepted for the Hanna Greally Literary Awards 2023, which takes place as part of the annual SiarScéal Festival. Cash prizes totalling €400 are up for grabs but better be quick: the closing date for entries is this coming Friday, 22 September, to be received no later than 5pm (Irish time).

Entry is free but limited to one per participant. Entries may be in the style of poetry (maximum of 100 lines) or prose/short story (maximum of 2000 words). A cash prize of €200 will be awarded to each of the overall winners in the Poetry and Prose/Short Story categories. Detail of how to enter (including competition rules, etc) are available from the website of SiarScéal (see Competition page).

Winners will be announced and prizes presented at SiarScéal Festival 2023, to take place on Saturday, 21 October at Roscommon Co. Library, Abbey Street, Roscommon Town. Also featuring in this year's festival programme of events is a symposium of young authors, who will read from their work contained within their own handmade book, produced with the help of artist, Vanya Ward

SiarScéal is an annual arts and literary festival that has run every year since 2007 and takes place in Roscommon, drawing inspiration from unique culture and heritage of the Roscommon environs, together with the regional counties of Leitrim and Sligo.

SiarScéal – annual arts and literary festival that takes place in Roscommon

Festivals and Events | SiarScéal Festival 2022 | Hanna Greally Literary Awards

SiarScéal Festival 2022: Dates for Your Diary

– including the Hanna Greally Literary Awards –

SiarScéal Festival 2022 takes place on Saturday, 12 November at Roscommon County Library HQ. Proceedings get underway at 10am and a full programme of events is available from the festival website.

The closing date for the Hanna Greally Literary Awards, which takes place annually, in conjunction with the festival, is Friday, 14 October. There is every enticement to get you entries in. A total prize fund of €600 will be dispensed, including prizes of €200 each for overall winners in the poetry and prose categories plus, €100 each for highly commended entries and a €100 prize for overall winner in a separate Student category.

Entry is free but limited to one per person and may consist of poetry or prose/short story writing styles but should be on the theme of this year's competition, which is Sunlit Mornings, Ebbing Tides. Full details, including terms and conditions and how to enter are available from the SiarScéal website – see Competitions page.

Results will be announced and, prizes presented at the festival in November. Music, recitals, readings from the winning entries, an open-mike session will also feature on the day.

For further information about SiarScéal Festival and the Hanna Greally Literary Awards may be found on the SiarScéal website.

Dates for Your Diary

Hanna Greally Literary Awards

• Closing date for entries is Friday, 14 October 2022 with results to be announced at ...

SiarScéal Festival 2022

• Date: Saturday, 12 November 2022
• Time: starts 10pm
• Venue: Roscommon County Library HQ, Abbey Street, Roscommon (see Google Maps for directions)

Literary Awards and Bursaries | John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize 2021

Entries Sought for John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize 2021

The John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize, valued at €10,000, is awarded annually to the author of an outstanding debut collection of poems, published in the English language.

Submissions are now being considered for the 2021 award, to be adjudicated by a panel of judges nominated by the John Pollard Foundation and the Oscar Wilde Centre at the School of English, Trinity College Dublin. The panel will be chaired by the director of the centre or, a nominee.

Criteria for entry for the 2021 awards include the following:

• The prize will be awarded to a first book of poetry, published originally in the English language, between 1 October 2019 and 16 October 2020
• Only single-authored books are eligible
• A book shall be defined as having at least 48 pages
• A publisher may submit one nomination for the prize
• The winner must be available to accept the prize, in person, at Trinity College Dublin.

Submission by the publisher (by e-mail to wilde@tcd.ie; subject line: JP Prize Submission 2021) should consist of a PDF copy of the book and a brief author biography (200 words maximum). The deadline for submissions is 16 October 2020. Further information may be obtained from the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College Dublin

The winner of the award will be announced during Trinity Week 2021.

Hanna Greally International Literary Awards 2017 – part of SiarScéal Festival

Hanna Greally International Literary Awards 2017

- Entries now being accepted. Closing Date: 10th October -

The Hanna Greally International Literary Awards happen in conjunction with SiarScéal Festival, held in Roscommon every year since its inception in 2007. This year's 10th anniversary festival takes place over two days: Friday and Saturday, 20-21 October at Roscommon County Library in Roscommon Town, from 10am to 4.30pm on each day. The full programme of events has been announced and is posted online (also available to download in handy brochure format).

Winners in this year's Hanna Greally International Literary Awards will be announced and prizes presented as part of the formal proceedings that follow the Official Launch. There will be much anticipation and excitement surrounding the announcement of the Overall Winner, who will take away the prize of seeing his or her book published professionally and formally launched at the following year's SiarScéal Festival (dates to be announced). The estimated value of this prize, which is sponsored by The Manuscript Publisher, is put at €2000. Full details of what the winning author will receive are outlined here.

In addition to the Overall Prize, there is also a First Prize – a cash prize of €700 – with trophy prizes for Highly Commended entries in the various categories of poetry, prose/short stories. The Ger Hanily Memorial Cup will be awarded to the best local entry received.

Day One of the festival, is entirely devoted to the Student Awards presentation, including a Student of the Year Trophy. This event is sponsored by Allied Irish Bank. The following day, Saturday 21 October, will see the presentation of awards in the other categories, including Overall and First Prize winners.

Previous festivals have been lively gatherings, with readings, prize ceremonies, open mike sessions that are open to everyone – an opportunity to showcase one's literary talents to a public audience! This year's festival promises to continue in much the same vein. Mary Melvin Geoghegan, who is the adjudicator of this year's awards, will be the guest speaker. She herself is an award-winning poet. To date, four volumes of her poetry have been published, the most recent being, Say It Like a Paragraph (2012).

Entries are now being accepted for the 2017 Hanna Greally International Literary Awards. They may consist of poetry and/or prose compositions, previously unpublished, on the theme of Beneath Western Skies. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Tuesday, 10 October. Full details of how to enter (including how the facility to enter online), terms and conditions, rules of entry are available from SiarScéal.

SiarScéal Festival 2017 – including Hanna Greally International Literary Awards

SiarScéal Festival 2017 will take place over Friday and Saturday, 20-21 October. The annual Hanna Greally International Literary Awards form a core part of this festival – winners will be announced and prizes presented over the two days.

Roscommon County Library in Roscommon Town is the venue. Friday's programme will host presentations for winners in the student categories. Remaining presentations will take place on the Saturday, from 10am to 4.30pm with a break for lunch. The presentations will be followed by readings and an open mike session.

Entries are now being accepted for the Hanna Greally International Literary Awards. They may consist of poetry or prose (or both – there is a maximum of three entries per person and an entry fee of €10) but must somehow reflect the theme of this year's competition – Beneath Western Skies. The closing date is Friday, 1 September. Full details, including competition rules and how to enter, are available from the SiarScéal website.

A publishing package from The Manuscript Publisher, valued at €2000 will be awarded to the Overall Winner, who will see their book published professionally in print and e-book editions, publicised, promoted and given a special launch at the following year's SiarScéal Festival.

There is also a First Prize, which consists of a cash prize of €700. Trophy prizes will be awarded to Highly Commended entries in the various categories (poetry, prose/short stories – national, international, schools). A Beneath Western Skies anthology will be compiled and published from entries received in the schools category.

Further details about the festival, including programme of events and the Hanna Greally International Literary Awards, are available from the SiarScéal website.

Cork International Poetry Festival 2017, 14-18 February

Cork International Poetry Festival runs from today (Tuesday, 14 February) until Saturday. A line up of Irish and international authors will provide readings and workshops on various subjects and themes.

The full programme of events (available to download from the festival website) will also include the presentation of the Gregory O'Donoghue Poetry Prize and the launch of The Well Review, a new, international poetry journal, named after the neighbourhood of Sunday's Well in Cork City.

John Montague (1929-2016), the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry, was originally scheduled to give a reading on the publication of his latest book. Instead, an evening of homage to the late poet, who passed away in December, will take place on the Saturday at the Cork Arts Theatre.

Many of the events advertised are free but pre-booking may be required in some cases. Tickets are no longer available to pre-book online but can be bought on the door at at the Cork Arts Theatre's ticket office. For further information about times, venues and events, see Cork International Poetry Festival website.

Doolin Writers' Weekend 2017

Doolin Writers' Weekend, which starts today (Friday, 3 February) and runs until Sunday, is now in its fifth year. It claims to offer "an eclectic mix of workshops, readings, music and food and has something for every level of writer, from beginners to expert wordsmiths and lovers of literature alike."

Hotel Doolin is the venue once again. Doolin is a coastal village in north County Clare. It has long been a popular tourist destination, situated as it is close to natural wonders such as the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren. It also claims a long association with the arts, "providing inspiration for musicians, painters and writers. Many of the greats spent time in Doolin, including JM Synge, George Bernard Shaw, Dylan Thomas, Augustus John and Oliver St. Gogarty."

Writers who will be making their way to this years festival include Mike McCormack, Sara Baume, Rita-Ann Higgins, Alan McMonagle, Karl Parkinson.

"It's a great opportunity for aspiring writers as well as literary fans and established authors to get together and mix. As Anne Enright, Irelands Laureate of fiction says, 'there is no VIP room in Irish Literature,' and this is true also for the Doolin Writers’ Weekend. One of the key aspects of the festival for us is that it has the feel of a community, with people joining us here every year and just picking up where things left off; audiences and artists feeling at one and enjoying the communal spirit of the weekend." - Donal Minihane, Event Organiser, Hotel Doolin

A total prize fund of €2500 will be disbursed when winners of the Doolin Writers' Competition are announced.

Further information, including details of how to get there, are available from Hotel Doolin's website.

New Roscommon Writing Award 2016 - now accepting entries

The New Roscommon Writing Award 2016 is offering monetary prizes that include €500 for the overall winner, whose entry will also be published in the Roscommon Herald. Four runners-up prizes of €50 each will also be awarded.

The competition is open to anyone over 18 who has a connection with Roscommon. The closing date for entries is 30 November 2016. Results will be announced in 2017 on a date and venue to be announced.

Full details, including competition entry rules, are available from the website of Roscommon County Council. You can also e-mail entries or enquiries to ghoare@roscommoncoco.ie

Wesport Arts Festival - 5 days of music, theatre, literature, visual art

Westport Arts Festival begins today (Wednesday, 28th September) and runs for five days, to Sunday, 2nd October, offering a strong and diverse selection of events to appeal to all ages and tastes.

As well as talks and literary readings, the festival programme of events is promising "top class music, theatre, visual art, comedy, film and craft from local, national and international artists". Full details are available from the festival website and can also be downloaded, in brochure form.

The festival also hosts an annual poetry competition. This year's competition offers its largest prize fund ever, with a first prize of €1000.

Books Ireland Short Story Competition 2016

Following the success of the 2015 inaugural short story competition, Books Ireland have announced that another competition will take place in 2016, as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations.

Cash prizes are on offer, including €400 for the winning entry plus a writing course at the Irish Writers Centre and publication in Books Ireland. Entries should be no more than 2600 words and must be original, unpublished and not currently submitted for publication nor for any other competition or award. Otherwise the competition "is open to all writers of any nationality writing in English, with no restriction on style or theme."

An entry fee of €10, or €5 for subscribers to Books Ireland or members of a creative writing group applies. The closing date for entries is 31 August, 2016.

Full details on how to enter are available from the website of Books Ireland where you can also view the results of last year's competition and read the winning entries.

Write a Sonnet Competition - Kells Arts Club

Continuing the celebrations surrounding the quarto-centennial of William Shakespeare's death, a sonnet writing competition is being organised by Kells Arts Club. Prizes of €25 and €75 are on offer and and will be presented at the Hay Festival, which comes to the town of Kells in Co. Meath from 23-26 June 2016.

Further information can be obtained from Kells Arts Club - see below. Entry forms can also be obtained obtained from Kells Public Library, Bookmarket Cafe in Kells, Blackbird Books in Navan, Antonia's Books in Trim or just download from this link. The closing date for entries is Friday, June 10. Entry is free so what do you have to lose?