Swift Satire Competition 2011

An unusual writing competition, launched by the Boyne Writers Group, Trim, has been prompted by the sudden interest among prominent dignitaries – so far, Queen Elizabeth and President Obama – in paying a visit to Ireland this year.

‘Travels Into Several Remote Nations Of The World: Ireland 2011’ is the subject set for the €1,000 competition, which is for satirical writing and is being held to commemorate Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels and many other works of satire.

The competition is sponsored by the Trim Swift Festival which this year runs from Thursday, 30^th June, to Sunday, 3^rd July.

Announcing the details of the competition Boyne Writers Group chairman Paddy Smith said they expected to receive lots of entertaining entries because of the latitude provided by the subject matter. “Gulliver saw many strange and wonderful things in his day,” he said, “and we’re looking forward to reading what the modern visitor would find in Ireland.”

Entries will be judged on the basis of satire, irony, absurd humour, acute political insight, grotesque imagination, and lacerating wit – the hallmarks of Swift's best works. Extra explanatory material of not more than 100 words may be included with each entry. “This is to facilitate judging of entries,” explained Paddy Smith, “because this type of material sometimes lends itself to allegorical references which may not be immediately clear.”

Entry fee: €7 (or £5 or $10) per entry. There is no limit to the number of entries, but each must be accompanied by the fee of €7 (or £5 or $10). Cash is acceptable.

Length: Prose - minimum of 600 words, not more than 800 words. Poetry – minimum 30 lines, maximum 100 lines.

Prizes: 1st €500, 2nd €300, 3rd €200. Closing date is Tuesday, 7th June, 2011. Entries (by email or post) will be judged by members of the Boyne Writers Group and a Guest Judge.

Entries should be sent to Boyne Writers Group, c/o P Smith, 25 Saintjohns, Trim, Co Meath, Ireland, OR emailed to swift@boynewriters.com (and please put Boyne Writers Competition in the subject line of the email).

Full details on the group's website where you can also find details of winners from previous years.